7 Other Construction Kits for LEGO Lovers

One of my biggest challenges during the summer is keeping my kids off tech. That means finding projects to keep them busy. If this sounds familiar to you, then you'll enjoy my posts this week with ideas and products that are geared to challenge and engage!!

I'm listing these in order of age range, starting with products that the youngest kids can enjoy.

This post contains affiliate links.

Lincoln Logs 100th Anniversary Tin (Ages 4+)

I can't believe that Lincoln Logs have been around for 100 years! That just proves how special this product is. This set is made entirely of wood, just like the originals.

If there's one thing that doesn't change, it's history... and Old West play! This gift tin is perfect not only for this generation, but the sturdy logs can be passed down! Start a family tradition, or add onto a classic set, because these Lincoln Logs are compatible with other Lincoln Logs sets. The included design is for the old Meeting House from 1925. A thriving frontier town needs a great log-built Meeting House. Get the roof in place before winter storms and torrential rains hit the village! Put together hitching posts so the horses don't wander off into the wilderness.

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GoldieBlox and the Dunk Tank (aff) (Ages 4+)

Do you have a younger engineer you want to encourage? Think GoldiBlox! In this kit, Goldie has to find a way to give her dog, Nacho, a bath. One problem: Nacho hates water and loves being a dirty dog. After many tries, Goldie finally comes up with the perfect contraption: A dunk tank! Introduces the real-life STEM concept of hinges and levers. Designed for tinkering and creative exploration, GoldieBlox toys build spatial skills and confidence in problem-solving. All GoldieBlox toys are inter-compatible.

Ruby Rails Sky-High Cable Car (aff) (Ages 6+)

Help Ruby Rails, Goldie’s BFF, build a gondola ride and soar high above Bloxtown! Combine plastic construction pieces and durable chipboard to construct the two towers, and connect them with a pulley to send Ruby swinging right over the kitchen sink. Introduces the real-life STEM concept of tension.

Designed for tinkering and creative exploration, GoldieBlox toys build spatial skills and confidence in problem-solving.  All GoldieBlox toys are inter-compatible. Comes with 32 pieces, including Ruby mini-figurine. Hundreds of how-to building videos online to help spark creativity in young engineers.

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14-in-1 Educational Solar Robot Kit (Ages 8+)

This kit is recipient of the "Best Green Products Award 2013" from Dr Toy and Creative Child Magazine has anointed it with "Top Toy of the Year Award" and "Kids Product of the Year Award." This robot can be transformed into 14 different robot modes which include a multitude of comical and functional movements. The user can easily change from a Wagging-Tail Dog to Running Beetle to Walking Crab to Surfer to Speedster to Zombie Chaser! The robot kit provides unique accessories and parts that make the robot move on land and water.

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These Engino construction kits because I have a major LEGO-lover who enjoys building things. I love that these are not gender specific! Boys and girls alike will love these projects. 

STRUCTURES: Buildings and Bridges Set (Ages 8+)

Learn all about buildings and how they literally support our lives! Construct different types of bridges and find out how their architecture design provides massive weight support. Discover all the types of forces applied and how engineers manage to reduce their effects.

Build 9 working models such as a house, a pyramid and various types of bridges: beam, arch, truss, cable-stayed and suspension bridge.

Simple Machines (Ages 8+)

The SIMPLE MACHINES set is a combination of the basic 5 sets of "Discovering STEM" series and covers all Simple Machines mechanisms. These mechanisms offer a mechanical advantage and are crucial elements of many machines and devices. They are designed to multiply or reduce force, increase or decrease speed and convert one type of motion to another.

Build 60 working models that cover the subjects of levers, the wedge, the wheel and axle, the screw, the inclined plane, the pulley, as well as the more advanced gears and linkages!

Gears and Worm Drives (Ages 8+)

Learn how Gears can easily reduce or increase speed, change force or transfer motion from one position to another. Discover how Worm drives are used to greatly reduce rotational speed and how screws can convert rotational motion to linear, while greatly increasing force.

Build 12 working models such as an experimental crane, a gearbox, a carousel, a helicopter, a screw press and a crane with a rotating arm.

Other Posts You May Enjoy:

• Activity Books for Young Engineers
  
  
• Using Broken Devices to Nurture Your Child's STEM Interest
  
  
• Get Your Kids Excited About STEM With EEME
  
  
• The Search for STEMnauts

The Search for STEMnauts Contest

Calling all middle school and high school students!

If you are obsessed with space or enjoy coding, this is a great opportunity for you! NASA has partnered with Texas Instruments to create and host this super fun contest that features the skills astronauts use in space. And they are searching for young STEMnauts to complete their challenges.

To win great prizes, you and your team of up to 5 fellow students must decipher puzzles and brainteasers using the coding and STEM* problem-solving strategies NASA uses to make human life in space possible. You'll have to have an adult sponsor, but they canNOT help you with the challenges. ;)

Teams must be middle or high school students. Homeschoolers are eligible.



The team with the most points will win:

• A new Galaxy Gray TI-84 Plus CE graphing calculator for each team member
• A $500 Amazon gift card for your team
• Passes to choice of NASA visitor center
• An assortment of fun STEM and space-related objects, including:
  - ISS Drawstring Backpack
  - Squishy Astronaut
  - NASA Pins/Decals
  - Foam RocketsS
• A video chat with a NASA subject matter expert

In addition, each of the members of five teams chosen at random will win a Galaxy Gray TI-84 Plus CE graphing calculators.

I think there are only around 150 teams at the moment, so your chances are good! Get in there and start deciphering codes and riddles.

You can enter the contest any time before it ends on May 31st.

My daughter is totally geeked about participating and is lining up a teammate. :)

Good luck!!!

GoldieBlox

February is STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) month! And as the mother of a girl who LOVES science, I'm all about finding her materials, toys, and opportunities that nurture her interest. Given the fact that women make up only 24% of the workers in STEM fields, I believe parents and educators really need to encourage their female students who are passionate about these subjects. 

SO, I was super excited to find out about this exclusive GoldieBlox Sale that starts TODAY on Educents! I'm sure you've heard about this company that focuses on creating STEM toys for girls. Below is just one of the excellent kits you'll find up to 30% off now through Wednesday, Feb 15th. 

This post may contain affiliate links.

What is it?

GoldieBlox (aff): Construction toy featuring the world's first girl engineer character, Goldie Blox! This kit introduces the real-life STEM concept of prototyping. Designed for tinkering and creative exploration, GoldieBlox toys build spatial skills, eye-hand coordination, and confidence in problem-solving.

Why is it cool?

All GoldieBlox toys are inter-compatible with existing sets and perfect for curious and crafty kids ages 6+. The kit comes with 275+ pieces, a poster full of engineering terms and exciting build ideas, a caterpillar, bouncing robot, and a catapult! Hundreds of how-to building videos can be found online to help spark creativity in young engineers.

The Craft-Struction Box combines the best of crafting and construction for the ultimate open-ended play experience! Kids will think like Goldie to prototype and problem-solve, and with over 275 pieces the possibilities are endless!

Additional Suggestions for Use:

GoldieBox Craft-Struction naturally lends itself to following step-by-step directions included in the kit.

But, here’s how your child can extend the use of this construction toy with the STEM philosophy in mind:

• Give your child specific directions to help solve a problem with only a select few pieces. For example, using only 50 pieces, build a bridge that can hold the weight of a medium-sized potato.
• Have your child create a short animation of a creature they build.
• After building a tower, have your child design the blueprint with directions for the tower. Then, have someone else follow the steps to build the tower. How accurate were the directions? The design? Talk about why it’s important to be precise with directions and designs. Have your child made revisions accordingly.
• Have your child take photographs as they build a structure and put together a “how to” picture book for siblings.
• Have your child find the perimeter, area, and volume of the structure they build. Talk about the 2D and 3D geometric shapes and solids they find in their creations.

Other awesome sets include:

STEAM Skill Building with Keva Blocks

Screen time is a constant struggle around my house. My kids are constantly yammering, "Can I please get on the iPad/Kindle/computer?" We had to go to a firm schedule of 1 - 1.5 hours a day from this time until this time for it to work, and only if all their school work is complete and they've done chores and some reading. Their other excuse is that they are bored. So I've set out to find new products that keep my kids engaged and busy when they aren't on tech, and I'm going to share them with you. Today, I'm all about Keva Blocks!

This post uses affiliate links.

A few months ago, I bought a set of Keva Colors (aff). It comes with 120 planks, all the same size in four different colors. It's all about the stacking. You don't use glue, nor do they come with connectors. The set does, however, come with an idea book, and both my kids used it to create various masterpieces, including these:

But really, the sky's the limit with these blocks because your kids can build whatever their imaginations come up with. My daughter made this barn and corral. 

And my son also built this marble run...

I love this set because there's no age limit and because it embodies the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) concepts of engineering and arts. My kids must use their own creativity and ingenuity to build. It's not easy to make stairs with planks, you know!

I also love how much time they spent playing with it! So as far as I'm concerned, this set of Keva blocks gets an A+.

I looked it up and Keva has a whole collection of blocks (aff) in various play sets. I'm looking forward to buying another one simply because my kids had such a good time with this one and I love how great it was for developing their engineering skills...and their creativity!

If you're looking for a product that is fun, educational and keeps your kids entertained while they are off tech, you might consider Keva blocks.

Have fun building!

The 2015 Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge

Do you have America's Top Young Scientist living in your house? I do. I have two of them. There's always an ingenious invention in progress or some sort of experiment in the making. And this year, my eldest child is finally old enough to enter the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge. It's open to kids in 5th through 8th grade - a CRITICAL time in which many children (especially girls!) abandon their interest in science.

We're pretty excited because the Queen of Invention is always excited to share her ideas with anyone who will listen. :) Right now, she's having to sort through her ideas and do research to pick just one. Fortunately, the challenge website has a page with tips to help her narrow down her idea. I've printed the Project Template which takes my daughter through the Scientific Method step by step. She feels like a professional scientist going through the paper.

(The Young Scientists Challenge website even has lesson plans and special videos to help you bring your science studies to life.)

Anyway, in the next few days we'll be working on her video submission. To enter the contest, kids have to submit a 1- to 2-minute video that:

• explains the problem and how it impacts the entrant, their family, their community or the global population;
• describes a new innovation or solution that could solve or impact the problem;
• explains the science, technology, engineering and/or mathematics behind their innovation; and
• illustrates how their innovation could both address the everyday problem they’ve identified and have a broader impact locally or globally.

If your child is eager to enter, definitely check out these Entry Video Tips so that their video rocks! Check out some of last year's finalists and winner...



And guess what? You can even enter in Spanish!

But you'll have to hurry because the deadline to enter is next Tuesday, April 21st!! So hurry and print your Project Template, give it to your kids and have them prepare to tape their video this weekend!

In June/July, 10 finalists will be announced and have an exclusive opportunity to work directly with a 3M scientist during a summer mentorship program, during which they will be challenged to create an innovation which solves a problem in society. State Merit Winners are also announced at this time. 

And then in October, finalists will demonstrate their scientific innovation and creativity in a series of challenges at the 3M Innovation Center in St. Paul, MN.

The most exciting part for my daughter is that the ten challenge finalists will each be paired with a 3M scientist mentor. The mentors will help guide finalists to create an innovation that will be presented to a panel of judges at the final competition at the 3M Innovation Center in October.

And here's the best news: The winner will receive $25,000 and the title of “America’s Top Young Scientist.”

I would just really love to see a Latino student win this year's challenge! To learn more, go and visit their website! And follow the Young Scientist Challenge on Facebook and Twitter.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post in collaboration with HunterPr and Discovery Education. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own. 

Best Buy's LatIN Employee Business Network Relaunches with Force

Geek Squad Academy - photo courtesy of Best Buy

You may remember that last year I was a brand ambassador for Best Buy. It was a great experience and I'm grateful to have had the opportunity. Last week I was honored to speak on a panel for Best Buy's LatIN Employee Business Network. The program is one of the company's groups that promote diversity and inclusion. LatIN has recently fired up to become a resource for Best Buy Latino employees that helps them with their personal and professional development.

I had the chance to have lunch with two of LatIN's committee chairs. I found them to be full of youthful energy and enthusiasm for their EBN and eager to develop programs that give back to the Latino community. One of them - Brittani Uribe- actually works with Geek Squad Academy, which brings summer camps to at-risk children ages 9 to 18 in over 70 cities across the nation FOR FREE. The two-day camp curriculum covers a wide variety of subjects, including PC repair, robotics, digital literacy, online safety, digital video editing, and even basic programming.

In fact, they are currently accepting applications for their 2015 summer programming. If you are interested in hosting a camp in your community, you can apply here. There must be a minimum of 100 students (maximum 200) who will participate in the two-day camp. Brittani was actually one of the first Academy students served in Houston back when the program officially launched.

But the LatIN EBN is also making a difference in the lives of students in their local communities outside of official programs like Geek Squad Academy. In fact, Brittani and Andrew told me about how they recently helped to help convert 700 iPads from English to Spanish at a Spanish immersion K-5 school in Minnesota. The iPads are assigned to each student but remain on school grounds to be used during class time.

And children aren't the only ones benefitting from LatIN's community outreach. They also have an after-hours program for Latino health that provides classes for recent immigrants to help make the transition easier for them.

The panel that I participated in was designed to encourage and inspire both Latino and non-Latino employees and management. The other panelists consisted of Best Buy employees; all of them Latino, but with diverse backgrounds such as Peru and Mexico. The moderator asked about the benefits and challenges of being bicultural and bilingual, and how we bring our whole selves to work each day. I wonder how many Latinos in this country understand their value? Do we realize how important our bicultural experiences are to our success?

With Latinos over-indexing in technology and social media, it came as no surprise to learn that some of Best Buy's most successful stores are actually found in Latino communities in Florida and California. So I'm hopeful that the company realizes that NOW is the time to recruit Latino youth who are already tech savvy and can successfully communicate with and educate our community. I hope they continue to support their Latino employees, which are an invaluable asset, and that they also invest in our communities because by doing so, they benefit not just Best Buy, but our nation as a whole.

The Millenial generation is set to advance. Studies show that Latinos are more likely to start a business than the general market, and they are more likely to successfully grow a business. In today's world, that isn't possible without the use of technology and our youth only need a little more education and guidance in this area to blossom.

I am hopeful that companies like Best Buy will see the opportunities we provide and help us succeed so that our entire nation might benefit.

Disclosure: I was compensated for speaking on the LatIN panel. All thoughts and opinions are strictly my own.

Using Broken Devices to Nurture Your Child's STEM Interest

STOP! Don't throw that broken toaster in the trash! Don't discard that old radio that has stopped working!

Instead, save them for your kids.

A few weeks ago, someone (the kids) lost the remote to our last DVD player, which was a super basic model that I bought because it was the cheapest available at my local store. On the front was PLAY, STOP and EJECT. So to pause, rewind, or fast forward you needed the remote. And I only bought that one because the DVD player in our original DVD/VCR combo had stopped working. But we still have quite a few movies on VHS, so I kept the broken device.

The point of all this is that our entertainment center was a crowded mess. And after losing the remote, I finally had enough. So...

Last week, I bought a new DVD/VCR combo. On Tuesday, I unhooked the ghastly tangle of wires and cords that connected all of my old devices to the TV, and finally figured out how to hook up the new player. I was about to throw out the old devices when inspiration struck. I looked at my kids who were tired of reading and complaining about being bored and begging to watch a movie. Instead, I gave them the old DVD/VCR combo and told them to enjoy.

They were ecstatic.

Next thing I knew they were scrambling for screwdrivers, headlamps, sorting containers, and tweezers. Then they spent the next couple of hours taking it apart.

I love that my daughter pulled out her Inventor's Diary so she could take notes.

She even grabbed her camera to take pictures.

So next time you have something break, don't throw it out!

Give it to your kids instead.

CAUTION: Remember, that these device have tiny pieces that pose a choke hazzard, so they are not for small children to play with. My kids are 8 and 10, so I would recommend that only older children be allowed to explore the inner workings of small appliances. Make sure none of them have sharp parts and that they are NOT plugged in before your child begins to take it apart.

Girls Who Code: Nurturing Tomorrow's Female Tech Engineers

I was really excited to learn this week about Google's newest initiative to get more girls involved in computer programming. In addition to investing 50 million in grants for girls to learn coding, Google has also launched the Made with Code website highlighting girls and women who code and create amazing things. The site includes fun and easy coding projects for your girl to try, and online community, and a list of resources & events across the country that provide coding opportunities.

Despite that it is the fastest growing field in the U.S., less than 1% of high school girls consider computer science for a career choice. I can only imagine how many of them are Latinas! Which is why I think it is important to highlight this here on MommyMaestra. If your daughter is interested in computers - encourage her!

Here are a couple videos to introduce you to the program. Be sure to check out the second video of the EPA Chica Squad from East Palo Alto!