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Here's where you'll find all the latest news about technology for children. We love to follow cool new inventions on Kickstarter and we hunt out all the latest announcements about tech toys and gadgets for the coming Christmas holidays. You'll also get our take on children's technology stories in the media.

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Our kids technology product reviews are intended to help you work out whether a toy, gadget or kit is a good fit for your child or family. There's lots of cool stuff available, but is it the right choice for the child or teenager that you are buying for? We'll help you make the right choices and get the best value for money.

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Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends assemble. We create gift lists to help you make good choices for kids technology which helps them develop the right skills for the future. We research the best in Coding Toys and Games, Making / Craft Tools and Kits, STEM/STEAM related gifts, Programmable Robots, Electronics Kits and Gadgets for Tech Age Kids and Teens.

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Get crafty with technology. Here we'll post all our ideas and projects using technology to get creative and making with kids. You'll find anything from making a lemon battery to a glow-in-the-dark Minecraft sword. Our projects are tried and tested on our own kids or at events we run, so we are sure you can have a go at home with your kids. Some of our projects use specific tech gadgets which we provide links for you to purchase.

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STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. In recent years there is an increased focus in these areas of study. We like to include Art and Design too, so we often talk about STEAM (A stands for Art). At Tech Age Kids we believe Coding is a new literacy and children need to understand how technology works, practice making skills and grow in their curiosity to make a better future for us all.

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Coding is increasingly being recognised as an important skill for children to learn. Some will learn to code at school or at a coding club, but it's brilliant if they get support at home too.

ELECTRONICS$show=/search/label/electronics

We think it's really important for kids to get hands-on with electronics and learn how to make circuits and write code to control hardware. Younger kids can start with conductive playdough. For kids who like to combine craft and tech, littleBits are fab. And we love SAM Labs wireless electronics components for making it easy for kids to make Internet of Things inventions. Lots of electronics kits for kids have support for the Arduino microprocessor environment. The DuinoKit Jr is one of our favourites. Arduino is a fab skill for older kids and teens to develop.

ROBOTICS$show=/search/label/robotics

We love robots at Tech Age Kids, especially programmable ones. We've got lots of them and write reviews and projects that use them. Our programmable robots for kids buying guide is a good place to start if you're not sure what's available. Roby the mBot Meccano robot dog is one of our popular projects and has been with us to lots of events. Our Ozobot LEGO trailer is fab for kids who love LEGO and robots.

MAKING AND CRAFT$show=/search/label/making

We're advocates of the creative use of technology, but this needs to be balanced with developing physical skills such as papercraft, woodwork, clay modelling, technical drawing and soldering. If children don't develop these skills as they grow up then physical making projects can become frustrating rather than fun. The Maker Community uses the term 'making' as a broad term to include all sorts of artisan skills or craft activities. Being able to make things can lead to life-long hobbies or even careers. It's a great feeling to be able to take a project from an idea in your head to a real object that does something. We're particularly interested to explore products that combine maker skills with tech skills such as electronics but others focus purely on the physical making skills that are still important to modern making.

The BigTrak Programmable Robot is Still Fantastic!

BigTrak is a chunky programmable floor robot with shooting sound effects and an optional rocket launcher accessory. Well, technically its optional. You have to get it if you have a BigTrak and kids, they insist.

The original BigTrak was popular when I was a child. I didn't have one then but I've made up for it now! An updated (but faithful) BigTrak was released a few years ago and we got one. It comes out regularly, especially when the kids have friends around.

We've also got a BigTrak Jr which has the same programmability but in a smaller package.

BigTrak isn't a recent toy, even the newly released version, but we still think it's a lot of fun and they are still available to buy.



What is BigTrak?


BigTrak is an approximately 35cm long tank which can be programmed using its built in keypad.

Kids can program it from the keypad to navigate courses around a room using motion and direction commands.

There's no setup involved. Just make sure it has got batteries, turn it on and off you go. You can choose between hard floor and carpet settings.

BigTrak looks a big like a Moon Rover and has a fun blast effect as well as movement.

BigTrak Jr


I've just acquired a BigTrak Jr so we've got an additional BigTrak for Cubs and similar events.

The Junior version is a great choice if you have limited storage and play space. It has a scaled down version of the keypad but the same set of commands.

The Junior version also comes with a set of moon craters that can be used as obstacles to navigate around. The BigTrak definitely looks a lot like a Moon Rover so this works well.

Like its big brother the junior version also has an accessory port.

The rocket launcher accessory is  compatible with BigTrak Jr, it just looks huge! Note that the rocket launcher is a separate add-on that you buy separately.


Programming BigTrak


BigTrak can store up to 16 commands.

It moves in units that correspond to its length and it uses minutes (as in minutes on a clock) to specify angles so 90 degrees is 15 minutes.

You can program in a series of commands. This can be done incrementally so you can get the first part right and then add more commands.

There's also a blast effect that can be included in programs with a cool retro sound - this is always popular.

Rocket Launcher


Two BigTraks are even more fun than just one. Especially when they both have rocket launchers!
You can get a rocket launcher add-on that can be programmed to fire real foam darts. Note that the rocket launcher is sold separately. There's a command button on the keypad which is used in a program to trigger the accessory port and fire a dart. You can fire 4 darts before you need to reload.

You need to put batteries in the rocket launcher and turn it on separately. This feature works really well.

Is it Programming?


Is BigTrak programming? Well it's certainly good for teaching basic programming in a fun and very hands-on way. Definitely a good introduction, but there's only so far you can go with a small set of commands and a limited number of instructions. That can be an advantage though. Kids can learn some basic skills thoroughly and while having lots of fun. 

BigTrak is perfect for situations where you want to introduce a bit of coding in a really engaging way. Some schools have even used BigTrak as part of their curriculum due to its affordability and kid-appeal. 

For educational settings it's worth checking out the Probot, an educational car-shaped floor robot which is designed for educational use. It is a lot more expensive but does have more functionality that is targeted to a school environment.

BigTrak is fantastic for fun kids coding events and birthday parties. We're taking ours along to help our local cubs earn their Digital Maker badges. It's also a great ice-breaker when children have friends around to play - it gets them up and playing instead of just wanting to use screens all of the time.


BigTrak on eBay

You might be able to find a used BigTrak or BigTrak Jr, or even an original BigTrak on eBay. The original US model was gray whereas the UK model was white like the new models.


BigTrak Rover

BigTrak Rover is another toy from a few years ago that uses a smartphone to stream video. BigTrak Rover can be controlled from an app. It's just not as cool as a proper BigTrak.

BigTrak XTR

BigTrak XTR is an updated modern BigTrak with extra features. It was supposed to be released after the BigTrak Rover but hasn't appeared yet.

BigHak


At the recent Brighton Maker Faire we got to meet BigHak, a scaled up replica of BigTrak from Hitchen Hackspace with a mobile app! My boys loved this. What a cool thing to make.

Review Summary


BigTrak is a great toy to have around in a modern household. It's a lot of fun and will appeal to kids who might not be keen to sit down and a computer and learn to code.

Once they've learnt the basics kids will be able to play independently and there's no set up required. It's also a great toy for dragging kids away from a computer screen or tablet. 

We're definitely fans of BigTrak whichever version you can get hold of.




24 days of Scratch coding book cover and cute penguin
Name

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Tech Age Kids | Technology for Children: The BigTrak Programmable Robot is Still Fantastic!
The BigTrak Programmable Robot is Still Fantastic!
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