News From TechTerra Education

It’s time! It’s time for…. (a little drumroll, please) ....our TechTerra Education 2016 STEM holiday gift picks for all ages!

Our picks this year include choices for every budget, from under $20 to up to almost $300. We’ve included manufacturers’ recommended ages. We always recommend heeding the manufacturer recommendations but we want everyone to remember, your choice will always depend on you and your child.

Think about your child’s experience and interests. Consider whether the gifts you’re choosing are for independent exploration, side-by-side peer play, or working together with an adult as a guide-by-the-side.

What we can tell you for sure is that we’ve used each one of these STEM tools with kids and adults in our Camp TechTerra locations and through our TechTerra Training professional development. We work with these companies and recommend them with the confidence that your family will enjoy these hands-on learning and play picks as much as we do here at TechTerra Education. Happy Holidays and here they are!

Hummingbird Robot Kit - Starting at $159

Make anything into a light-up sensing robot. These kits are terrific with kids of all ages for their expansive play. If your kids can imagine it, they can make and code it with these kits.

Ages 13 to adult (starting at age 8 with adult supervision)

Bluebee Pals - $64.99 (Website offering 10% holiday discount with code - bluebeecmas10)

A plush learning tool that connects with apps through smart phones, tablets, laptops or any Bluetooth-enabled device.

Ages 2 and up

Kamigami Robotic Kit - $99

Inspired by some of nature’s fastest animals, Kamigami robots can run up to five feet per second! A free Kamigami app allows kids to create behaviors, learn the basics of programming, and even play interactive games!

Ages 8 and up

Bitsbox Coding Kits - Sold as a subscription. Subscriptions starting at $20

Bitsbox teaches programming with honest-to-goodness code that kids type in using a keyboard—just like the pros do.

Ages 6-12

Kano Computer and Coding Kits - Starting at $284.99

It’s a real computer and screen you build yourself. Then, through simple steps, fun challenges and community projects you learn how to code. This year they’ve added three DIY devices, including a camera, speaker and pixel kit with simple, visual code that anyone can learn.

Ages 6-adult

Cubetto Robot - $225

Cubetto is the friendly wooden robot that will teach your child the basics of computer programming through adventure and hands-on play. Montessori approved, LOGO Turtle inspired.

Ages 3 and up

Chibitronics Chibi Lights LED Circuit Stickers STEM Starter Kit - $30

Chibitronics Chibi Lights Circuit Stickers are a creative and fun way to learn electronics. Circuit stickers are LED circuits on peel-and-stick stickers. Build circuits without soldering, plugging wires, or clips. Instead, use the stickers with conductive tapes to draw circuits on paper and other crafts. Learn to build circuits while you make interactive artworks. It's easy, fun, safe and creative.

Ages 6 and adult

Smart Letters and Smart Numbers - Starting at $34.99

The ultimate learning experience mixing traditional wooden toys and touchscreen technology. Stamp a wooden piece on the tablet’s screen and let the magic happen! Start to learn counting, reading and writing with these beautiful interactive wooden toys for tablets.

Ages 3 and up

SnapCircuits - Starting at $16.50

Learning electronics made easy and fun! Just follow the colorful pictures in the manuals and build exciting projects, such as FM radios, digital voice recorders, AM radios, burglar alarms, doorbells, and more. All parts are mounted on plastic modules and snap together with ease. Enjoy hours of educational fun while learning about electronics.

Ages 8 and up

Finch Robot - $99

The Finch is a robot for computer science education. Its design is the result of a four year study at Carnegie Mellon's CREATE lab. The Finch is designed to support an engaging introduction to the art of programming. It has support for over a dozen programming languages and environments.

Ages 8 to adult

Tiggly Shapes, Math and Words - $29.95

Tiggly Toys have silicone touch points so your tablet reacts to them just like your fingertips. Tap and the screen reacts. The toys are designed to help kids develop their fine motor and spatial reasoning skills alongside their language, math, and creative skills. Ages 2 to 8

Bloxels Game - $49.95

A hands-on platform for kids to build on, collaborate with, and tell stories through video game creation.

Ages 8-12

Osmo Coding - Pizza Co., Words, Numbers, Monster, Tangram, Newton, Masterpiece Games - Starting at $79

Osmo is an award-winning game system that will change the way your child interacts with the iPad by opening it up to hands-on play.

Ages 4-12 and up

NextX Nano Quadcopter - $18.55

Functions include: Up/Down, Forward/Backward, Left/Right Sideward Flying, Spin Left/Right, Hover, 360 degree Eversion, Hand Throwing Reset, Flying Speed Control, Low Battery Warning for the Transmitter.

Ages 8 and up

GoPIGo2, GrovePi, BrickPi Robot Starter Kits and GoBox USA-Robot Subscriptions -Starting at $179.99, mission subscriptions $19.99 monthly

The GoPiGo is a complete robot package for the Raspberry Pi, that turns your Raspberry Pi into a robot. It comes with everything you need to get your Raspberry Pi rolling, including a robot body, motors, controls, and a robust power supply.

Ages 9 and up

Puzzlets - $99.99

Puzzlets combines hands-on play with interactive gaming to form one seamless experience, engaging the mind and teaching the player new ways of thinking.

Ages 6-10

Home Wing™ Intelligent 3D Pen for Drawing - $36.99

This 3D pen can be used to print, draw, create, doodle; it can satisfy the creation needs of children as they grow, and also the creation needs of adults.

Ages 8 and up

No Starch Press DIY Books - Starting at $14.95

Check out books about Minecraft, Legos, coding for kids, making your own websites and computer games. Bonus, free ebook edition with every print book purchased from nostarch.com.

Ages 8 to adult

Flybrix Drones - Starting at $169

Build your own drones using Lego® bricks. The custom motors connect to the pre-programmed circuit board. Take your build to the sky with the Flybrix bluetooth app or optional radio controller.

Dinosaur, Animals, Space, Octaland 4D+ Augmented Reality Flashcards - Starting at $10

An immersive and creative learning experience with Augmented Reality cards.

Ages 3 and up

Watercolor Bot - $295

The Watercolor Bot is a friendly art robot that moves a paint brush to paint your digital artwork onto paper, using a set of watercolor paints.

Ages 10 and up

Lightup VR Circuitry Kits - Starting at $49

LightUp teaches kids how the technology we use everyday works. Build circuits, learn to code, and have fun with your creations!

Ages 7-15

Dash Robots and Accessory Kits - $149.99

Dash is a real robot, charged and ready to play out of the box. Responding to voice, navigating objects, dancing, and singing, Dash is the robot you always dreamed of having. Use Wonder, Blockly, and other apps to create new behaviors for Dash.

Ages 5-8

da Vinci Jr 1.0 3D Printer - $299

With its completely enclosed design and non-heated print tray, the da Vinci Jr. 1.0 is built with your safety in mind. Kids, beginners, and Makers can all enjoy countless hours of 3D printing.

Ages 8 and up

Ollie Robot - $99

The Sphero Ollie is a robot designed for speed and controlled by the Ollie app on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch. Compete with other Ollie robots as they race at up to 14 mph (6 meters/sec). Or spin, drift, stall, and flip Ollie with app-powered tricks.

Ages 8 and up

TechTerra Education is having a Top Pick Giveaway in December! We’ll be giving away some of our Top Picks every week starting on December 3. You can join in the fun and enter to win! We have hundreds of dollars of amazing gifts for learning! Four lucky winners each week will win a great prize!

You have five ways to enter. Here’s what you need to do:

• Send an email with the subject “TechTerra Education Holiday Giveaway" to TechTerraEducation@gmail.com, or

• Tweet out the link to this News from TechTerra Education Special Holiday Edition Newsletter, take a screenshot of your tweet and email the screenshot to TechTerraEducation@gmail.com, or

• Post an Instagram of this News from TechTerra Education Special Holiday Edition Newsletter, take a screenshot of your Instagram post and email the screenshot to TechTerraEducation@gmail.com, or

• Post the link to this News from TechTerra Education Special Holiday Edition Newsletter on Facebook, take a screenshot of your Facebook post and email the screenshot to TechTerraEducation@gmail.com, or

• Send a lesson idea that includes one, or more, of the tech tools found in the News from TechTerra Education Special Holiday Edition Newsletter to TechTerraEducation@gmail.com

  and we will share our favorite ideas in a future edition of our News from TechTerra Education Newsletter.

We will hold random drawings to select our winners on December 3rd , December 10th , December 17th, December 24th, and on December 31st. Winners will be notified by email and will be announced on Facebook and Twitter posts!

The TechTerra curriculum, inspired and informed by Maker Education and Project Based Learning, was developed by Susan Wells, a national leader in mobile-integrated education and public school educator.

In addition to offering professional development training, school solutions, and tool solutions, TechTerra Education's Camp TechTerra, held during fall, spring, and summer sessions, offers programs for students ages 5 to 14 that bring together the seemingly disparate elements of technology and nature to help young people better understand the natural world through coding, storytelling, and digital devices.

Contact TechTerra Education at

TechTerraEducation@gmail.com

(919) 627-4207

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www.techterraeducation.com

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@techterrraed