Top Brands: Sphero - Wonder Workshop - Makeblock - Amazon Kids
BLACK FRIDAY: Amazon Fire Kids Pro 10"
BLACK FRIDAY: Amazon Fire Kids Pro 10"
NEWS$show=/search/label/news
Here's where you'll find all the latest news about technology for children. We love to follow cool new inventions on Kickstarter and we hunt out all the latest announcements about tech toys and gadgets for the coming Christmas holidays. You'll also get our take on children's technology stories in the media.
REVIEWS$show=/search/label/review
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.
GIFT GUIDES$show=/search/label/gift%20guide
Parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends assemble. We create gift lists to help you make good choices for kids technology which helps them develop the right skills for the future. We research the best in Coding Toys and Games, Making / Craft Tools and Kits, STEM/STEAM related gifts, Programmable Robots, Electronics Kits and Gadgets for Tech Age Kids and Teens.
PROJECTS$show=/search/label/project
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.
STEM$show=/search/label/stem
STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. In recent years there is an increased focus in these areas of study. We like to include Art and Design too, so we often talk about STEAM (A stands for Art). At Tech Age Kids we believe Coding is a new literacy and children need to understand how technology works, practice making skills and grow in their curiosity to make a better future for us all.
CODING$show=/search/label/coding
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.
Arckit is a freeform architectural modelling kit. It can be used by architects and designers or by those learning about architecture and developing their skills.
Arckit was originally designed for use by architects to save time on the traditionally time-intensive way models are constructed. Arckit now also focuses on STEM / STEAM education to develop future architects and encourage a wider interest in architecture.
Arckit's newer coloured kits (which are compatible with the rest of the range) are recommended for age 10+.
Disclaimer: Arckit sent us an Arckit A360 set to review. As usual our opinions are our own.
We met up with the Arckit team at both the London Toy Fair and Bett exhibitions. We already knew about their product but were keen to find out more.
At Bett I was working on the Friday and my children went round the exhibition with their Dad. At the end of the day my 10 year old came up and said 'Mum, there's something you've got to see.' Bear in mind that Bett is utterly packed with awesome tech. The 'something' was Arckit. Apparently my kids had spent ages at the Arckit stand building things and talking to Damien Murtagh the inventor and CEO of Arckit.
Unboxing
The larger Arckit sets come in a sturdy box which is intended for long term storage. The outer slip cover slides off and can be discarded.The box has a magnetic closure which we love, this is our favourite kind of closure as it's quick and easy and looks tidy. Inside there are storage trays with plastic dividers so you can keep your Arckit pieces organised.
Elbrie opened the set and tried it first with her family, she would have preferred fewer plastic bags to open and discard!
We're a bit obsessed with packaging as it's so important for making it easy to get a kit out and put it away. If that becomes a hassle then it discourages kids and parents from making the most of a kit. Arckit has got this spot on.
The packaging is a sensible size for its contents so it doesn't take up too much space and its really practical for storing the parts in an organised way. You could say the packaging is very well-architected.
The parts are high quality, this definitely feels like a premium product.
Getting Started
You can just dive in and start making but we think it's worth taking some time to find out how the parts fit together. There are a few tricks you need to learn. My kids were lucky enough to learn these from Damien Murtagh himself and shared them with me.
Each kit includes instructions for a model to build. It's a good idea to build this model first to get a feel for how Arckit goes together. Once you've done that you can go on to free form modelling.
Our Initial Experience
My kids were very excited to get building. We had a large kit so I was able to join in. There were enough pieces for the three of us to work at the same time with a bit of compromise and design constraint. We got the kit out after our evening meal and I had to drag the kids away from it just before 9 o'clock! When I came down the next morning my 10 year old had already dismantled his previous creation and built a new structure.
I was glad that I got hands on with Arckit as it gave me a really good understanding of how it works. My 10 year old seems to have a real affinity for the concept as he made amazing structures appear in no time while I worked away on a small boxy building! He built and rebuilt several large structures while I made one!
My eight year old was also able to work with Arckit though not as quickly as his brother. He also made several structures though they were smaller. He verbalises everything so he talked through the whole process of working out how the pieces fit together: "Ah, you need corner pieces here, do the other pieces fit next to them?, good." and "Hmm, I can't put floor pieces inside because the walls get in the way. I can use them on the roof." "Oh so that's what the little corner bits are for.", "Hmm, if I do this there's a gap here and there aren't any pieces that size so I can't do that."
Putting Arckit pieces together requires careful thought and manual dexterity. Work in progress models can be somewhat fragile and sometimes it's tricky to get everything lined up well. As you work with Arckit you get better at these things. Initially the pieces can be a little stiff to get together and perfectionists will find themselves trying to squeeze the parts together to get a neat join.
My kids were happy with the fiddliness compared to LEGO as a trade-off for more sophisticated models. Some children may not be. You should definitely be aware that there's skill and patience involved in building with Arckit. I don't consider this to be a bad thing, my kids need more activities that develop their fine-motor control skills beyond muscle memory for the Minecraft keyboard commands (we love Minecraft, just not all the time!)
As you work with Arckit you find yourself thinking about architectural concerns such as making sure there's enough room at the top and bottom of the stairs and that there will be enough natural light.
Adhesive Media Sheets
Arckit sets also include adhesive media sheets that can be cut and added to buildings to create the effect of wood, stone, tile etc. The Arckit 360 kit includes both pre-printed sheets and plain sheets that you can print on with an Ink Jet printer. You can download designs from the Arckit website or use your own.
We'll return to these sheets in a future article. At the moment my kids are enjoying the building process and are quickly building and taking apart models as they develop their ideas.
Once they're happy with a design we'll try out the media sheets (we have some interesting ideas on how we can use them.)
Arckit vs LEGO
Obviously comparisons will be drawn with LEGO. My kids felt that ArcKit feels much more grown-up that LEGO. LEGO has chunky pieces whereas ArcKit uses slim walls.
Arckit is a great progression from LEGO for older children that allows them to specialise in more realistic modelling.
Arckit is harder to work with than LEGO physically, at least at first, but the limited number of parts actually reduces complexity and allows you to build larger structures more quickly.
Incidently, Arckit make perfect models for LEGO minifigures.
Incidently, Arckit make perfect models for LEGO minifigures.
Arckit and Minecraft
Again there's a connection between Minecraft and Arckit. A lot of children spend huge amounts of time building in Minecraft. They plan and construct amazing buildings in virtual space.
Arckit gives those children an opportunity to make use of and enhance the skills they have developed. I love my kids spending time with Minecraft but I'm always conscious of the need for them to also keep developing their physical skills.
Arckit for STEAM
Arckit combines engineering and creative design skills so it's a fantastic tool for STEAM learning (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths.) Arckit has STEAM course materials available for use in schools and clubs.
I'm finding that my kids are full of ideas on how they can use Arckit as the base for projects using crafting, 3D printing, electronics and other STEAM techniques.
Arckit and Electronics
My eight year old couldn't resist though. Arckit's white surfaces are just asking for coloured lights so he soon had accent lighting rigged up with an LED and coin cell battery.
Arckit and 3D Modelling and Printing
Arckit parts are available for the SketchUp 3D modelling tool which means that you can create designs digitally before building them.
Arckit are also working on additional parts that you can order as 3D printed parts from Shapeways.
We'll explore these features in a future post.
The Arckit Range
Arkit have a range of kits from small starter kits through to the large kit that we reviewed. There are lots of options at a range of price points.
They recently added a brightly coloured kit designed to appeal to a younger audience with a recommended age of 10+. The recommended age of the larger kits is 14+.
Verdict
Arckit is a huge hit in our house. My kids are bubbling over with ideas for what they want to do with it.
It's difficult to recommend a starting age for Arckit because kids are so different. My eight year old was happy working with it but he has a lot of patience and spends a lot of time with construction toys and maker activities. I can imagine that plenty of 10 year old's wouldn't have the patience and fine motor skills required. Having said that, Arckit is a great way to develop those skills too!
Arckit will certainly appeal to tweens and teens. It's a great option for young people with an interest in architecture and design and those whose STEAM interest has a strong Arts (design) bias.
Just treat this as a modelling and STEAM educational product and it's fantastic. Arckit is a premium product, but if you're the kind of family that will make the most of it then it's worth the money.
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- drones
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- education
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- flutterbye fairy
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- gaming
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- grace hopper
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- hackaball
- hacksoton
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- halloween costumes
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- hexbug aquabots
- hexbug project
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- history
- home
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- hot toys
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- html
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- in app purchasing
- indiegogo
- industry event
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- java
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- k'nex
- k'nex robotics
- kano
- keyboard
- kickstarter
- kids
- kindle
- kindle fire
- kit
- kits
- kodu
- kubo
- label printer
- languages
- laptop
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- last minute
- leap motion
- leapfrog
- leappad
- leappad 2
- leappad ultra
- leappad2
- leapreader
- learning
- learning resources
- learning tablet
- learning tablets
- leds
- lego
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- lego chain reactions
- lego mindstorms ev3
- lego power functions
- lego technic
- lego wedo
- let's start coding
- lights
- lightseekers
- little kids
- littlebits
- logiblocs
- logic
- logical thinking
- loom
- machines
- magnetic
- make it
- makeblock
- makedo
- maker
- makey makey
- making
- mardles
- mars
- mars rover
- marty
- math
- maths
- mbot
- mbot ranger
- me arm
- meccano
- meccanoid
- meccanoid 2.0
- merge vr
- mews
- michael faraday
- micro:bit
- microbit
- microcontroller
- microscope
- microsoft
- middle school
- miles kelly
- mindstorms
- minecraft
- minecraft mods
- mixed reality
- mobile
- modular electronics
- monsters university
- morse code
- mothers day
- motion capture
- motors
- mover kit
- movie
- movies
- mu
- mu toys
- munzee
- music
- my first robot
- national dog day
- nature
- new
- new year
- news
- news coding
- nikola tesla
- nintendo
- nintendo switch
- ohbot
- ollie
- on the web
- opinion
- origami
- osmo
- outdoors
- ouya
- ozobot
- papercraft
- paperwhite
- parental controls
- parenting
- parrot
- pc
- people
- pet tech
- pets
- phone
- photography
- photon
- physics
- pi day
- picks
- pimoroni
- pinoccio
- pixel kit
- pixelart
- play
- playstation 4
- plezmo
- pocket code
- pocket money
- pokemon
- pokemon go
- poll
- pre order
- pre-teens
- prehistory
- preschoolers
- primary
- printable
- products
- professor einstein
- programming
- project
- projects
- puzzles
- python
- racing
- raspberry pi
- reading
- reivew
- remote control
- research
- resource
- resources
- retro
- review
- rights
- robot
- robot dog
- robot fish
- robot wars
- ROBOTERRA
- roboticals
- robotics
- robots
- role models
- role play
- romo
- romotive
- root
- rover
- safety
- sam labs
- samuel morse
- sandbox
- schools
- science
- scratch
- scratchjr
- screen time
- screenless
- screens
- sensors
- servos
- simbrix
- skills
- skylanders
- skylanders superchargers
- skylanders swap force
- smart pens
- smartphone
- smartwatch
- snap circuits
- social media
- solar power
- soldering
- sonic pi
- sony koov
- sound
- space
- sparki
- speaker
- speech sythesis
- sphero
- sphero mini
- spider
- star wars
- stars
- STEAM
- stem
- stikbot
- stop motion
- stop motion studio
- storage
- story
- strawbees
- students
- subscription
- subscriptions
- sugru
- summer
- swift
- tablet
- tablets
- tangible coding
- tech
- tech age
- tech craft
- tech is bad
- tech is good
- tech toys
- tech will save us
- technology
- technology will save us
- teens
- teknikio
- tekno
- teksta
- tenka labs
- tesla
- textiles
- thames & kosmos
- the extraordinaires
- tim berners lee
- tinkercad
- tinybop
- toddlers
- toot-toot
- top pick
- touch
- toy
- toys
- travelling
- TTS
- TV
- tween
- tweens
- tynker
- typing
- ux
- vehicles
- videos
- view-master
- views
- virtual reality
- voice assistants
- voice recognition
- vr
- vtech
- web
- websites
- wifi
- wii
- wii u
- windows 8
- wonder workshop
- wowwee
- writing
- writing. education
- xbox one
- xyzprinting