Lego Boost is going to turn all your Lego toys into programmable robots CES is full of robots, but Lego robots... well, that doesn't happen every year.Educational codable robot toys have been a mega-trend in kid tech over the last year, from Jimu to Cozmo. Lego has had its own Mindstorm educational robotics kit for years, but its pieces come from the older-skewed Technics sets, as opposed to the piles of multicolored bricks everyone's basements are full of.Lego Boost is the idea that Lego was overdue to debut. It's a set of motors and programmable bricks that can work with existing Lego kits and turn them into motorized or motion-sensitive toys. And the app can record voice effects... so, yes, you can make your robot Lego-cat speak.The $160 set, coming in the second half of 2017, comes with instructions to build five different things out of the box: "Vernie the Robot, Frankie the Cat, the Guitar 4000, the Multi-Tool Rover 4 (M.T.R.4), and the Autobuilder." After that, any existing Legos can be glommed onto new creations, according to Lego: "a walking base for making animals like a dragon or a pony, a driving base for building vehicles like a dune buggy or rover, and an entrance base so that children can make their own castle, fort, or even a futuristic space station."
The kit is targeted at kids 7 and older.A companion Android and iOS app will handle the programming parts, using what Lego claims are basic coding instructions. Similar ideas live in most toy robot kits made over the last couple of years. Lego's advantage is, clearly, that you could potentially make a dancing dinosaur, a DIY Batmobile or a robotic Star Wars base. Or something of the sort.The Lego Boost comes with three Boost bricks that do most of the robotic heavy lifting, including a tilt sensor, a color and distance sensor and a motor. The set also comes with 843 pieces and a special playmate that the robots can move on.Stay tuned for hands-on impressions at CES, but this sounds like the Lego holiday gift to beat all Lego gifts. The connected home experience you didn't know you wanted Everything you need in a phone, except the headphone jack Apple iPad Pro (9.7-inch) The best iPad ever can't quite kill your laptop -- yet Visit manufacturer site for details.
Scott Stein is a senior editor covering iOS and laptop reviews, mobile computing, video games, and tech culture. , Men's Journal, and Maxim, and regularly appears on TV and radio talking tech trends.Please confirm you are not a robot by checking the box. Fact: Lego is the best toy. Whether you're young or old, whether you follow the instructions or freestyle it, it's pretty hard to find someone whose day can't be improved with these tiny building blocks.A few years ago, Lego steamed ahead of its rivals to be the world's number one toy manufacturer. It's an impressive feat, considering the Danish brickmaker was on the brink of bankruptcy 10 years ago, and now it's hard to imagine an occasion when Lego wouldn't make an excellent gift. Distributed equally, there are (at least) 100 bricks for every person on the planet. Lego is a huge success, and with good reason.Aside from being an excellent toy that engages young minds, Lego's good fortunes can be largely attributed to the number of licenses it's picked up over the years.
The Lego Movie certainly added further to its burgeoning coffers. Then there's Star Wars, with The Force Awakens inspiring a huge number of great Star Wars Lego sets. Rogue One added to that, and now we've got the Lego Batman Movie.There's never a bad time to muse over your next Lego purchase, whether it's a gift for a loved one or – more likely – for yourself.Trying to choose with between so many different versions is always going to be tough. The costs ramp up if you start going down the road of wanting everything in a specific Lego range, be that Star Wars, Marvel Super Heroes, Lord of the Rings or Architecture. Then there are the the ranges for younger kids, like Duplo. Older kids like Lego Technic as well as Lego's own characters like Bionicle and Ninjago. And that's just a small sample. Here we run through some of the best Lego sets on sale right now. That should provide a decent Pokemon Go alternative for the the little (and big) kids in the family. Lego Batman Movie: The Batmobile
Lego Star Wars: Krennic's Imperial Shuttle Lego DC Super Heroes: Clash of the Heroes Lego City: Volcano Crawler Lego Marvel Super Heroes: Avenjet Space Mission Lego Batman Classic TV Series – Batcave Lego Ghostbusters: Firehouse Headquarters Lego Creator: Ferris Wheel Lego Creator: Big Ben Lego Technic: Porsche 911 GT3 RS Lego Creator: Tower Bridge Lego Technic: Mercedes-Benz Arocs 3245 December 2, 2015, 10:58 am Hmm, not so sure I'd include the Star Wars set, Tumblr, Architecture Studio or Tower Bridge in that list if you're just doing 7 sets. For Sci-Fi I'd say the best new set this year is the very recently released TARDIS with the Command Shuttle being a bit bland and (owing to lead times and secrecy on Force Awakens) not screen-accurate. The Tumblr is a seriously nice display model but fragile as hell, guess that one would come down to personal preference but I[d probably go for Slave 1 for around the same money.For a big showcase set I'd probably go for the Ferris Wheel.
£60 cheaper, just about as impressive and a lot less repetitive (as well as fitting into about half the space). Other big sets would be the modular buildings which, for my money anyway, are still the best sets Lego make. Incredible detail, very little repetition and wonderful final models for display or, at a push, play. For cheaper ones... actually I'm a big fan of the Speed line. £13 retail, around £10 in stores if you're lucky and the cars are surprisingly close to the real world equivalent (especially for such a small scale) and just about fit into a Lego city scene without being too obviously different. December 2, 2015, 11:10 am Birds kit looks good. Your review says it costs 39.99, but I can't find it for much under 70 pounds. December 4, 2015, 7:32 pm slave 1 is more fragile than tumblr December 16, 2015, 3:59 pm Building Social Skills with Educational BlocksIf you are looking for a popular toy with the intent of fostering educationand building children's social skills, consider the Laser Pegs® buildingblocks.
In addition, these blocks promote cognitive development, languageskills and social skills as well as physical development.Child DevelopmentSocial skills are important to a child's development, increasing interactionamongst school mates and other peers, even neighborhood kids and adults. LaserPegs® building blocks can be used in group setting – in the home and at school.Group activity is an essential part of interacting socially and the Laser Pegs®building blocks offers this opportunity to children.Having a ConversationLaser Pegs® building blocks allow kids to discuss ways in which they canconstruct different structures, coming up with ideas and suggestions that mayor may not work. The fact that kids can have a conversation about making apotential structure is enough to hone their social skills. Parents and teachersshould emphasize social skills in every possible kind of play.Play TimePlaying with Laser Pegs® building blocks will place children in a positionwhere block play fosters communication and negotiation with other kids, helpingto reach different resolutions such as which child receives which blocks as itrelates to the color, shape and amount of blocks.
Agree to DisagreeAs children start to build Laser Pegs® structures from building blocks, theywill potentially have a wide range of ideas on what to build. Those varyingideas must be finalized and reconciled before moving forward. Therefore,certain rules, guidelines and boundaries must be put in place with thepossibility of compromise. It is important, then for each child to have goodsocial skills to work out any differences and to come to an amicable agreement.When and if there are disagreements, social skills help to resolve them.Tips to FollowParents and teachers can help to develop social skills in children withLaser Pegs® building blocks by following some of these tips:Put kids in teams to construct block towers. Team effort will help to build social skillsHide the building blocks and then have a scavenger hunt so that a group of kids can do the findingArrange an imagination activity like constructing a house with the Laser Pegs® building blocks and ask kids how they would carry out this activity as a group.