Is there a budding young maker in your life? Below you will find a handful of the projects, books, toys, and games that Adafruit offers to encourage the curiosity and geekiness of little kids everywhere.
My Little Geek by Andrew & Sarah Spear: Imagine the joy of hearing your young one chatting away about holographic ninja or time-traveling joysticks. From Android to Zombie, this educational book will entertain children and parents alike.
Suitable for children & l33t hackers 0-5+
Hans 555 Timer IC – Circuit Playground Plushie: Hans is the ‘old man’ of the group. He tends to be nervous and is often indecisive. Hans frequently changes his mind, and is a little fidgety (he oscillates) when he’s not moving around. He is very meticulous and precise in other ways; Hans does not like to compromise, preferring to be in a steady state until a dramatic change is called for. Hans speaks with the voice of a kindly old man with a Swiss-German accent, though his voice can become more nasally when he’s upset or feels strongly about something. His catchphrase is “maybe so, but perhaps not.”
Goldie Blox and the Parade Float: Goldie Blox is a fun combination of storybook and engineering. Follow the leading lady, Goldie, in her quest to solve problems with engineering skills! In this much-anticipated sequel, Goldie’s friends Ruby and Katinka compete in a princess pageant with the hopes of riding in the town parade. When Katinka loses the crown, Ruby and Goldie build something great together, teaching their friends that creativity and friendship are more important than any pageant.
Age range: 6+
myDazzu – Programmable Wearable Electronic Wristband: Design your own interactive light-up creation! Make a photo album that shines when you flip through it, a photo frame that lights up in the dark, a scrapbooking page that twinkles when you talk (with added sound/tilt/proximity sensors), and so much more. The Dazzu is an easy but inspiring introduction to wearable electronics.
No tools or soldering required! Just add the Dazzu board to any project, insert a watch battery (included), and it will start to twinkle. If you make the wristband project, please note its for child-size wrists, not adults!
Assembled Drawdio fun pack – v1.1: Drawdio is an electronic pencil that lets you make music while you draw! This fun pack has all the fun without the soldering. Essentially, its a very simple musical synthesizer that uses the conductive properties of pencil graphite to create different sounds. The result is a fun toy that lets you draw musical instruments on any piece of paper.
Snap Circuits® Jr. 100 Experiments – Elenco SC-100: Snap Circuits® makes learning electronics easy and fun! Just follow the colorful pictures in our manual and build exciting projects such as AM radios; burglar alarms; doorbells and much more! You can even play electronic games with your friends. All parts are mounted on plastic modules and snap together with ease. Enjoy hours of educational fun while learning about electronics. No tools required. Includes Projects 1-101 manual.
Age range: 8+
Geno the Giraffe – Kinetic Creatures: Geno the Giraffe is a walking cardboard animal sculpture that you assemble from pre-cut and scored cardboard pieces. Geno walks when you turn the included wire handle, or Geno can walk with mechanical and electrical additions, such as Lego motors or the Kinetic Creatures Motor Kit.
If giraffes aren’t your thing, give Rory the Rhino or Elly the Elephant a whirl!
No glue or tools required!
Age range: 11+
Discover Electronics Kit – 2.0: The Discover Electronics Kit contains everything you need to learn the basics of electronics and make your own projects. It contains the most common electronics components as well as a prototyping breadboard for you to get started right away. Easy full color diagrams teach you how to bring your own ideas to life.The Discover electronics kit uses standard components. All of these parts can be used by the beginner or the advanced user. As you grow and learn all of the parts in the kit are still useful in more advanced projects and can be expanded on by using additional parts.
MaKey MaKey by Jay Silver and Eric Rosenbaum – Made by JoyLabz: Ever played Mario on Play-Doh or Piano on Bananas? Alligator clip the Internet to your world.
MaKey MaKey is an invention kit for the 21st century. Turn everyday objects into touchpads and combine them with the internet. It’s a simple Invention Kit for Beginners and Experts doing art, engineering, and everything in between. MaKey MaKey was invented by Jay Silver and Eric Rosenbaum & Made by JoyLabz. Find out more details at makeymakey.com or watch the video at makeymakey.com.
littleBits Base Kit: Make circuits in seconds with the littleBits Base Kit – no soldering, programming or wiring required. This collection includes 10 of littleBits’ color-coded Bits modules that snap together with magnets to create larger circuits. Control a car through light with the dc motor and light sensor, or scare your friends with a hidden button and a buzzer. With over 150,000 circuit combinations, curious minds are guaranteed to be engaged for hours.
The Base Kit includes everything you need to start designing and prototyping your own interactive creations, including a 9V battery an attractive, re-usable case and the motorMate which makes it super simple to attach wheels, cardboard and other materials to the DC motor. There’s also a handy Project Booklet, with step-by-step instructions for 8 great projects like the Art Bot and Three Wheeler.
DIY Gamer Kit from Technology Will Save Us: Build your very own Arduino-based portable gaming toy with this kit from Tech Will Save Us!
The DIY Gamer Kit is an Arduino controlled gaming device. Once you solder the whole thing together, you’ll have an 8×8 LED matrix display that serves as the device’s screen. From there, just easily upload your game’s code onto an Arduino (not included) and play! It’s a great learning experience with a fun result.
Starter Pack for Arduino (Includes Arduino Uno R3): Heard about Arduino but not sure how to start?
Want to learn how to work with electronics and microcontrollers but need a little help?
You’ve come to the right place! This bundle is designed to get you started quickly and easily on your path of learning electronics. Once you’ve received your starter pack you can follow the introductory tutorials here on my site, designed for everyone, even people with little or no electronics and programming experience. The starter pack has everything you need (except tools) for all lessons.
Adafruit Holiday Shipping Deadlines 2014
Here are your 2014 shipping deadlines for ordering from Adafruit. Please review our shipping section if you have specific questions on how and where we ship worldwide for this holiday season.
The Adafruit Shipping Department works hard to get your orders out as quickly as we can, but once they’re in the hands of our carriers they’re out of our control.
Carriers have been struggling to keep up with the sharp rise in online orders. Last year UPS, FedEX, and USPS all experienced delivery delays (http://tinyurl.com/ku5f4a6).
So all the Adafruit Shippers say: Please be sure you get your gifts early! Order as soon as you can! Once you place your order we’ll ship like the wind!
UPS ground (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 12, 2014 – There is no guarantee that UPS Ground packages will arrive in time for Christmas.
UPS 3-day (USA orders): Place orders by Wednesday 11am ET – December 17, 2014 – Arrive by 12/24/2014.
UPS 2-day (USA orders): Place orders by Thursday 11am ET – December 18, 2014 – Arrive by 12/24/2014.
UPS overnight (USA orders): Place orders by Friday 11am ET – December 19, 2014 – Arrive by 12/24/2014.
Please note: We do not offer Saturday or Sunday service for UPS or USPS.
Thursday, Dec. 25, 2014, Christmas, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015, New Year’s Day, no UPS pickup or delivery service.
United States Postal Service, First Class and Priority (USA orders): Place orders by Friday– December 12, 2014 – Arrive by 12/24/2014 or sooner.
USPS First class mail international (International orders): Place orders by Friday – November 21, 2014. Can take up to 30 days ore more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2014 or sooner, but not a trackable service and cannot be guaranteed to arrive by 12/24/14.
USPS Express mail international(International orders): Place orders by Friday – December 5, 2015. Can take up to 15 days or more with worldwide delays and customs. Should arrive by 12/24/2014 or sooner.
Gift Certificates are always available at any time.
When in doubt contact us!
