Intelligent Toys

Day 18.
Intelligent Toys
 
I'm going to take a moment to reminisce about a simpler childhood before all the gadgets that go beep-beep-beep.
 

 
 
I'm not that old... a child of the 80s really. But times and toys have changed considerably since I was growing up. Although I am to some degree impressed that my five year old nephew can work my cell phone better than I can (which may actually say more about my technical skills than his), I can't help but think that in an age where everything is so electronically focused that kids growing up today may not be developing their cognitive skills in the same way the previous generation did. I hope they aren't losing the abilitiy to think and create and be challenged by things that don't have an electronic component. I'm not trying to negate the benefits of understanding new technology (it seems almost second nature to children today), but I am going to say there is great benefit to other kinds of intelligent toys that make you think for yourself and figure things out. I have two great examples for you here.

 

http://www.fatbraintoys.com/toy_companies/fractiles/fractiles_7.cfm  

This toy, Fractiles-7, is very impressive to me. It reminds me of a similar magnetic toy I had as a child. You can spend hours on end figuring out the geometric patterns and how things connect and inter-connect differently than they did moments before and I think toys like this get the brain and the hands working in sync. I think that's really cool. Here's another toy that I would have loved and think is so clever...newspaper builders!

 

http://www.fatbraintoys.com/toy_companies/roylco/newspaper_builders_.cfm

 

On a larger scale kids can "figure it out" and see how geometric patterns connect to build a structure around them. Using old newspapers as the base opens up an opportunity to explain about re-using and recycling things when we are finished...and who knows, the child might actually start to READ something in one of those newspapers.

 

My hope is that no matter how far ahead we move with our technology that we won't lose the part of our minds and ourselves that is engaged by creative and cognitive challenges...even when the cell phone battery dies!