This week in Fund This! we highlight a few of the ways we can celebrate and use technology with the Arduino based mCookie to take Lego to another very cool level, LED stickers to light up just about anything, a building block based video game, and a programmable friendship bracelets.
Happy Funding!
I really liked the design and adaptability of this latest product from Microduino Studio. Magnetic for a good connection, LEGO compatible, easy to program, and open source. I can also tell they thought about the user and made these particularly sturdy. Finally, with my older kids I am always looking for ideas to extend and enhance the play of the vast LEGO collection we already have!
I happen to be really into conductive ink at the moment, and these little stickers are exactly what I want to level my creations up. I can think of a dozen projects to use them on right now, and the price point is fair—though I expect if this campaign is successful the price could even go down. My holiday cards this year are going to rock.
From the Bloxel Kickstarter campaign page, Mateo (age 9) says “If Legos, Skylanders, and Minecraft had a baby, it would be this.” I feel you, Mateo, because that is exactly what I was thinking when I saw Bloxels. I love the way they have connected tangible, spatial building with an immediate and direct impact on the game they are playing. It looks like fun, it connects different methods of learning and playing, and my son (who isn’t delighted by much these days) asked me to back this campaign. Wait, what? Holy mother-of-adolescents! Backed!
This was the only campaign that I initially hesitated on. Why? The aesthetics made me pause. I wasn’t sure if I liked the look of the product or not, though I was entirely sold on the idea. But when in doubt, ask a kid. Especially when the product is for a kid. My daughter and her friend went completely bonkers for these friendship bracelets. Neither girl is a stranger to technology, but they loved the idea of sending secret code and syncing their tech. Plus they can use them as walkie talkies? I stand corrected by two discerning young ladies who want their Linkitz and they want them now.
