Posted on USA Today, August 20, 2016
Tech columnist Marc Saltzman breaks out his favorite toys that stimulate interest in science, tech, engineering and math learning.
Now that summer is winding down, parents may be looking for ways to keep the kids entertained after school or on weekends.
The good news: many of today’s toys reinforce learning through STEM – Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math – which not only straddles the line between entertainment and education, but helps sharpen young minds for a future career in the digital space.
Coji by Wowwee ($59)
Quite simply, this pint-sized robot can teach your child to program using a language they already know: emojis. Junior coders first download the free Coji app (iOS and Android), and after a phone or tablet synchronizes with the toy there’s a few ways to play: tapping on icons in the app to make Coji move and act a certain way; learning to program multi-move “macros”; playing interactive games; changing Coji’s facial expressions and sound effects; or simply driving it around. Kids can also create and store custom animations on-board the robot, so they can still play with Coji when the smartphone or tablet isn’t around.
