Some of Our Favorite Brain-Boosting Toys for Kids of All Ages
By testing kids’ physical and mental limits, these toys help children learn where the boundaries of their knowledge lie, and how to transcend them. Take
By testing kids’ physical and mental limits, these toys help children learn where the boundaries of their knowledge lie, and how to transcend them. Take a look at some of our favorite ways to color outside the lines. Orbita MIDI Color Sequencer Photograph: Antosh Sergiew This spinning sequencer is like musical roulette for budding ravers. Place the colored magnets anywhere on the four gray concentric rings, each of which controls a MIDI loop. Then plug the sequencer into a smartphone or computer, connect your favorite music software, and get creative. All four loops run simultaneously, with each magnet representing a different note or sound. You can adjust the pitch and mute individual loops too. Refreshingly mechanical, the Orbita makes visualizing music production child’s play. $458, playtronica.com Lego Smart Play System Pokémon Sets Photograph: Antosh Sergiew By combining a new smart brick with programmable NFC tags and minifigures, kids of all ages can now design and interact with Lego creations like never before. The 2- by 4-stud rechargeable smart brick is packed with a synthesizer, speaker, accelerometer, gyroscope, light and sound sensors, and LEDs. A positioning system can sense orientation between multiple smart bricks. A big bonus: Lego’s Smart Play System works entirely without attention-sucking screens. Lego’s first Pokémon collab almost crashed the website, so surely the Danes had IT on standby when 12 new Smart Play kits came online.
There are two all-in-one kits: Pikachu’s 400-piece Training House and the 751-piece Charizard-Jolteon battle. Both include smart bricks and tags that can trigger lights and sounds. $70 and up, lego.com Stapelstein Rainbow Set Courtesy of Stapelstein Kids can stack and arrange—then play or walk on—these 11-inch tiles to develop their balance. $299, stapelstein.com KidzLane Electronic Dance Mat Courtesy of Kidzlane Pump your music through the speakers built into this mat (using Bluetooth) and the flashing symbols tell kids where to step, stomp, and slide along with the beat. $19, walmart.com Takway Sweekar Courtesy of Takway.AI A Tamagotchi-like pet with an AI brain that listens and remembers as it grows. $149, takway.ai Looi Robot Courtesy of TangibleFuture Snap your phone onto this tiny, tank-like robotic body, and the assembly transforms into an interactive mobile robot. The companion app gives the creature an expressive face and a personality powered by ChatGPT. $239, looirobot.com Crocs Super Mario Core Classic Clog Courtesy of Crocs One iconic brand meets another. And if you know what this means, you’ll be very excited: Each pair holds 26 Jibbitz charms, and there are many Nintendo-themed charms to choose from. $70, crocs.com Gibson x Loog Les Paul Courtesy of Loog Loog makes three-stringed electric guitars that are a hoot to play—and actually sound and feel like a real guitar.
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