Some games are ready to go right out of the box. Others require a little more work. Here are four interactive kits that we know will keep you and your kids entertained for hours.
Light It and Shake It: Lectrify is a new company whose mission is to “make it easy and accessible for makers of all ages to build mechanical and electronic projects.” And after trying two of their kits, we can assure you that the company is achieving that goal. The core of each kit is a fully-functional circuit board.
Light It includes a battery, two LEDs, an on/off switch, and a momentary switch (like an on/off switch but it only works when you press and hold it). Shake It includes a battery, on/off switch, vibrating motor, and more. Young makers (and their parents) can experiment with the board. Then, when they’re feeling confident, they can snap the components out of the board and embed them in any project they’d like. One especially cool feature is that the circuit components are compatible with LEGO and other systems. For ages 5 and up (with adult supervision). lectrify.it
Totally Irresponsible Science Kit: Sean Connolly has done a great service for science and math, making both subjects a lot more interesting and engaging. The experiments in this book/kit combo aren’t terribly new, but it’s the approach that counts. For example, learning how to make bubbles out of soap or generate static electricity is okay (yawn). But when you put it in terms of encasing your little brother in a giant bubble or shooting a bolt of lightning from your fingertip, now you’ve got something fun. Includes the book, a beaker, a test tube, and a measuring spoon. The rest of the ingredients you probably have around the house. For ages 7 and up. $15 on amazon.com.
Build a Knight’s Castle: Paper Toy Archaeology: What a great way to spark in interest in archeology. You and your child start by reading about how people in medieval times lived, built their castles, and defended them. Along the way, learn how to pull clues from medieval documents, paintings, maps, burial sites, scraps of metal, and more. Then, use that knowledge to build a 3D castle. For ages 5 and up. Under $11 on amazon.com.
Malia’s Beach House Building Kit: Aimed mostly at girls (although plenty of boys will enjoy it too), this constructible dollhouse helps bring out those all-important STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, math) skills, including building, spatial reasoning, and problem solving.
Build &Imagine has a number of kits, all of which use magnetic panels and pieces and are 100 percent compatible with each other. For age 4 and up $60. buildandimagine.com.
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