Smart tech toys for your children

October 2, 2016

Now that it’s officially fall, the chilly days of autumn are creeping in, outdoor playtime is waning, and the push for the hottest holiday toys is starting to really heat up. Yep, nearly a full month before Halloween even. Sigh. Before the “I’ve been such a good kid this year,” even starts to go down, here’s the scoop on what to look for.

This year, the big buzz with tech toys is STEM — toys that disguise a smart spectrum of science, technology, engineering and mathematics as something’s that’s just really, really, really fun to play with. But STEM toys are not created equally, with some offering a whole lot more smart play than others. Here are a few of my favorites so far.

BoseBuild

Legendary audio company BOSE is encouraging students of all ages to go hands-on and actually construct their very own personal Bluetooth speaker.

BOSEbuild ($149) is an all-in one kit that will keep your kids’ hands and brains busy as they explore how a speaker makes sound. They’ll be learning about frequencies, electromagnets, and electricity as they customize and create the device. Then, when they build is done, the high-performance speaker syncs with their smartphone or tablet and will keep their music playing for a long, long time. 8+

I love this one because my brother used to take every single thing that made a noise — from our transistor radio, 8-track tape deck, and record player — apart down to the very last screw and wire, then try to put it back together again and make it sound better. It never worked. This toy would have been magical for him. (And the rest of our family.)

WowWee Lumi

The WowWee Lumi Gaming Drone solves a different problem (that I have as an adult) and it’s a pain point for many modern kids too. Toy drones are awesome, but man they crash a lot.

The Lumi ($79) is a full-featured quadcopter designed to take off with a touch of a connected app, then automatically avoid obstacles — like running into walls, or people — all by itself. Pair it with the included beacon in the “Follow-Me” mode and Lumi follows its pilot’s every move.

When your kids want to really explore their creativity — and this is where the STEM part sneaks in — they can customize Lumi’s movements with the app. With the principles of basic coding, they can create a color-changing pattern with the Lumi’s lights, and program their very own drone air show using a simple drag-and-drop system within the app. With this toy, the sky’s the limit. Really. 8+

Disney Art Academy

I know there’s no “A” in STEM, but a whole lot of people are talking about “STEAM” these days too, with the arts being right up with ways we want to engage more with kids. Everyone knows that kids love Nintendo and Disney, so a combination of the two is pretty much a guaranteed hit. Disney Art Academy ($29.99) for the Nintendo 3DS is a stellar art app that teaches kids how to draw their favorite Disney characters, from Mickey Mouse to new favorites like Frozen’s Elsa and Lightning McQueen from Cars. Using the handy 3DS stylus as a do-it-all art tool, boys and girls of all skill levels can explore their creativity in a simple, intuitive way. 7+

Sphero SPRK

Sphero was one of the first truly smart tech toys on the market and with the Sphero SPRK Edition ($129), kids can play and learn all at once. Kids can control this adorable little robotic ball directly via a Bluetooth device like a smartphone or tablet, but that’s really only a small part of what makes the Sphero great.

With the SPRK Edition, the SPRK Lightning Lab app lets kids program how the Sphero behaves, using simple block-based coding that makes it easy to see how tweaks in the robot’s brain changes how the Sphero works. The bot’s clear cover shows all of its tiny moving parts, and teaches kids about electronics, simple mechanics, and computer programming all at the same time, and they’ll love every second of it. 8+

Edwin the Duck

This adorable little rubber duck has no moving parts, but it’s a cutting-edge plaything all the same.

You wouldn’t normally think of introducing your toddler to a high-tech toy, but Edwin ($99.99) isn’t exactly your typical smart toy. This adorable little rubber duck has no moving parts, but it’s a cutting-edge plaything all the same. Along with the companion app, Edwin tells interactive stories, plays hands-on games and puzzles with built-in movement sensors, and a bluetooth speaker hidden inside plays catchy, original kids songs and relaxing bedtime sounds. It gets young children’s thinking, learning, and solving puzzles without them even realizing it.

But that’s not all Edwin has up his feathers; At bathtime, Edwin floats, plays music, and acts as a handy bath thermometer for mom or dad, relaying temperature readings to the app. Then, when it’s time to crawl into bed, Edwin’s built-in night light gives off a warm, comforting glow while Edwin hums soothing lullabies. Newborns to toddlers.

Fisher Price’s Think & Learn Code-a-pillar

This Fisher-Price smart toy is a colorful caterpillar with removable, swappable segments. l

A smart duck is one thing,but how about getting a pre-schooler interested in coding? I have to admit even I didn’t think that would be possible, but the toy gurus at Fisher Price somehow found a way. It’s called the Code-a-pillar ($50), and it’s part of Fisher Price’s Think & Learn collection of smart toys. It’s basically a big, colorful caterpillar with removable, swappable segments. Every time a child rebuilds the cutesy bug in a different way, it behaves slightly differently too, and kids learn as they experiment. 36 months to 8 years. Teaching kids how rearranging the different parts of the Code-a-pillar change the end result is essentially a crash course in coding built specifically for young minds. As they conquer simple issues related to how the segments work together, they train their fine motor and problem solving skills, while learning how to plan and execute their solutions.

Cognitoys Dino

Born on Kickstarter, the Cognitoys Dino ($99) is like Siri but for kids. It’s a chatbot built into a charming little dinosaur. This Wi-Fi-enabled toy is powered by IBM Watson, which makes it a seriously impressive conversation partner for children. Kids can ask it all kinds of questions — like how to spell words or solve simple math problem — but it’s Dino’s winning personality that is the real star of the show. Dino learns along with your child, remembering their name, favorite color, and other basic details, and can tell stories, tell jokes, and teach kids valuable social reasoning skills that they just wouldn’t get from a normal game or TV show.

You might notice that we left off a new array of robot toys from this list. That’s because we’re giving them their very own story coming soon. Do you have any other toys you and your kids are crazy about because they’re smart AND fun? Be sure to let us know in the comments section below.

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