SingaporeMotherhood | Family Fun
September 2017
Children’s Day 2017 Giveaway: Award-winning littleBits Gizmos & Gadgets Kit (2nd edition)
The littleBits Gizmos & Gadgets Kit equips budding inventors with easy-to-use electronic building blocks to invent on their own – and SingaporeMotherhood has one set to give away this Children’s Day!
If size does matter, littleBits probably shouldn’t be the Goliath of childhood educational technology. But let not the smallness of its parts deceive you because put together, these bite-sized components pack a big punch – with a lot of fun! Our kids had the opportunity to play with a set of the multiple award-winning littleBits Gizmos & Gadgets Kit recently. Their verdict? Two thumbs up!
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What are littleBits?
littleBits are a system of electronic building blocks that budding inventors can put together to create anything – from a bubble blowing machine, to a diary lock alarm, to a remote controlled car. Sounds impossible? It’s not. First of all, the bits come colour-coded. Power is blue. Input bits are pink. Wires are orange. Output bits are green. Accessories are purple. Start with power, add the rest in this order, and voila! You’ve created a circuit. It’s almost like magic!
Even better, the bits snap together with magnets (and which kid doesn’t love playing with magnets?). Due to the fact that there’s no soldering or wiring needed, kids as young as six years can use littleBits to create (with some help from mum or dad). As a parent, I love this. “It’s magnets so you can’t go wrong. It’s just experimenting!” the kids said when I asked what they liked about it. Indeed, the magic is in the magnets. Since magnets attach only one way, success is guaranteed so kids are motivated to continue trying new projects.
They learn simple circuitry, cause and effect, and consequently, trial and error. “Every circuit starts with power” the instructions begin. They then explain: “it provides the electricity that makes your Bits spin, buzz, blink, and shine.” And so it began.
The eight-year-old put together a Spin Roller in 30 minutes. Then together with his older sibling, he built a BitBot that served as an in-house snack delivery system to transport his favourite Mamee snacks from the kitchen to the living room. Finally they built the pinball-inspired Bumperball game, which they loved and played with non-stop for several hours.
It was fun to play with, and part of the fun was knowing that you built it yourself!
(See also: Why STEM is Important for Children in Singapore Right Now)
What’s In the littleBits Gizmos & Gadgets Kit
Open the box, lift up the guide, and you’ll see a tray with everything you need to create 16 inventions and one challenge. The 60-page invention guide has step-by-step instructions plus ideas for spin-offs and new creations. You’ll also get ideas to create inventions you can control from a smartphone or tablet, thus turning screen time into hands-on learning.
Inventions that you can do with the items in the kit include a Bubble-blowing bot, a Crawling inchworm, a spinning, wheeley, wireless rover, and a DIY arcade game (the pinball machine above). Done all 16 in the book? Find more inventions and challenges on the littleBits Invent app that’s free to download, or check out inventions that the littleBits community has made and be inspired.
Pros: Colourful, fool-proof, and exciting to do, even for beginners and clueless mums!
Cons: We had trouble getting the app to recognise the Bits for some experiments. However this could be due to our wifi connection at home.
littleBits can be purchased online at Tinkercademy (https://tinkercademy.com), and in Challenger stores
:: GIVEAWAY! :: SingaporeMotherhood.com has one set of littleBits – Gizmos & Gadgets kit, 2nd Edition (worth $309) to give away this Children’s Day!
How to win:
1. Like and Share this article on Facebook (make sure your share is public so we can see it)
2. Tag a friend you’d want to invent with
3. Sit back and relax. We’ll get in touch if you’ve won!
Terms and conditions: This giveaway is applicable in Singapore only. Prize won cannot be sold or exchanged for cash.
Closing date: 12pm, Wednesday, 4 October 2017.
Header image credit: littleBits Facebook page
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