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.

Hour of Code 2017 - Robotics

It's that time of year again: Hour of Code Week, 4-10 December. Last year we highlighted some of our favourite hour of code activities for families to join in with at home.

This year we thought we'd highlight the Hour of Code robotics activities. We're big fans of teaching kids robotics and physical computing here at Tech Age Kids. Take a look at our post on why kids should learn about robotics.

We've previously tried out and reviewed many of the robots and physical computing devices that are used in the Hour of Code. A lot of schools participate in the Hour of Code but it's a great event for families to participate in at home too.

It's always good to have more resources to encourage kids to get their robots out and try something new.

You can find the official Hour of Code robotics activities at:

Note that several of the activities include the option to program a virtual robot so you can still join in even if you don't (yet!) have a robot or robotics kit.


  1. Ozobot Bit and Evo

    Ozobot Bit and Evo are cute mini robots that can follow lines and read colour codes as well as being programmed with code. Evo is the newer version with extra social features and sound. Bit is still great for coding. We've previously reviewed Ozobot and done lots of activities with the cute little robots. 
  2. Wonder Workshop Dash and Dot

    Dash and Dot from Wonder Workshop are two of our favourite programmable robots for younger children. They've been around for a while now so there are lots of great resources available including the Hour of Code activities.

    You can read our review of Dash and Dot and we have enjoyed using them in projects
  3. Wonder Workshop Cue

    Cue is a more grown up robot for tweens and teens with social features and more advanced coding. Cue is new for this year and Cue's starter guide features in the Hour of Code to help get new owners up and coding. 
  4. littleBits Code Kit

    The littleBits Code Kit is also new this year. It's a kit that allows kids to program littleBits modular electronics components using a block-based language. There are several Hour of Code activities that use the kit.

    Our review of the littleBits Code Kit is coming soon but we've reviewed other littleBits sets and created activities with them in the past. 
  5. LEGO Mindstorms EV3

    LEGO Mindstorms EV3 is the current version of the popular LEGO robotics kit for older kids. There are some Hour of Code activities from LEGO Education that use the EV3 robotics kit to solve challenges.

    We've previously written about LEGO Mindstorms EV3. It's not cheap, but it's a great kit with lots of resources and competitions.
  6. LEGO WeDo

    LEGO WeDo is LEGO's STEM and robotics kit for younger children. It's a product for the education market though it is possible to buy it for home use. 
  7. Let's Start Coding Code Car

    Let's Start Coding make kits that teach children text-based coding using the Arduino platform. We've previously reviewed their Let's Start Coding Kits and the Code Car which feature in the Hour of Code activity. You can complete the Hour of Code activity using an online Code Car simulator.
  8. BBC micro:bit

    The BBC micro:bit is a fab and inexpensive mini programmable computer from the UK. There are Hour of Code activities to turn the micro:bit into a virtual pet using block based coding or Python.
  9. VEX EDR and VEX IQ

    VEX IQ is an introductory robotics system for elementary and middle school children whereas VEX EDR is a more advanced sytems that targets middle and high school students.

    Whichever kit you have, there's an Hour of Code activity featuring Blockly, block-based coding. If you don't have a kit you can program a virtual robot. 
  10. Hummingbird and If Finch

    The Finch is a small robot designed for computer science education. The Hummingbird robotics kit comes from the same educational technology company, BirdBrain Technologies.
  11. Parrot drones

    Tynker is an app that allows kids to create code with graphical drag and drop blocks. You can also program connected robots including drones and Sphero robots.

    We've found that Tynker is a great way for kids to work with Parrot drones - coding can be more reliable than tricky controls!
  12. Sphero, Ollie and BB-8

    Sphero has a big range of programmable robots and we've written a guide that explains the different Sphero options.

    These robots do a great job of being fun and entertaining and also educational without compromising on either. That's quite an achievement.

    There are Hour of Code robotics activities that work with various Sphero robots. 

The Hour of Code is a great opportunity to try out something new. Why not make it robotics this year?


Happy Hour of Code from Tech Age Kids


24 days of Scratch coding book cover and cute penguin
Name

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Tech Age Kids | Technology for Children: Hour of Code 2017 - Robotics
Hour of Code 2017 - Robotics
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Tech Age Kids | Technology for Children
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