<commit_before>---
title: Smart Toys Gift Guide 2016 - Hackable Devices for Kids
date: 2016-10-20 13:59:00 -04:00
---

As you may or may not know, hackable devices for kids are a trend. [Even Kickstarter says so](https://medium.com/kickstarter/our-tech-predictions-for-2017-5810bb931d63#.gryfq73mv).

Here at Move38, we're developing just such a device, in this case a (screenless) tabletop game platform with digital components that you can make your own games on (in addition to playing the ones we make).

You can read about it here, here, here, and here, but we're not selling it yet and I'm not writing about it today.

In the course of starting this company, we've done a lot of research on hackable tech toys. It occurred to us the research might be helpful to folks scrambling to find gifts for their rugrats that might actually teach them something.

# The Big Three

There are three products that stand out above the rest, in our opinion. When in doubt, pick one of these. They are Sphero, Little Bits, and Cubetto

## [Sphero](http://www.sphero.com/)

<iframe width="720" height="405" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/A14Hjxh1ejw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

A remote controlled, programmable ball that you guide with your mobile device. It's famous for being the technology behind the BB-8 droid in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and is the most well-known smart toy on the market.

The company behind it makes [a range of products](https://store.sphero.com/). They're all fun to play with as toys, per se, but some have more learning value than others. The one most geared to hacking is the [Sprk Plus:](http://www.sphero.com/sprk-plus)

...which offers a refined system for teaching the rudiments of programming. See [here for a detailed rundown on what it can do](https://www.cnet.com/news/sphero-sprk-and-lightning-lab-a-coding-robot-with-new-improvements/), and a video run down here:
<iframe width="720" height="405" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wmtncRJ_UP8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

## [Little Bits](http://littlebits.cc/)

<iframe width="720" height="405" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fMg5QPQQOOI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Little Bits are like Legos but for electronics: simple, modular electronics that work like building blocks. The company sells them in kits, where each kit contains a few projects with instructions, like for building a musical instrument or a robot with creepy eyes that glow green when it hears a sound. The simplest kits can built by 8-year olds. You can [see all Little Bits kits here](http://littlebits.cc/shop/kits).  You can [see a more in depth review here](http://www.hanselman.com/blog/ReviewLittleBitsGadgetsAndGizmosElectronicsKitsForSTEMKids.aspx) and watch an adorable video review by a cute kid here:

<iframe width="720" height="405" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-bHNlTyQ75M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

## [Cubetto](https://www.primotoys.com/)

<iframe width="720" height="405" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Kp1p2lh2D64" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The tagline for this product is "Teach your child to code before they can read" and they aren't kidding. Cubetto is for kids three and up and by all accounts it really does work for kids that young. 

It's a system for controlling a simple, wooden, square shaped robot with wheels. There's a wooden board with shallow hole in it a bunch of differently shaped blocks with pegs that fit into the holes. Each shape represents a command you can give to the robot. When a child puts a sequence of blocks onto the board, it makes the robot do a particular sequence of things. We're big fans. 

## [Cubelets](http://www.modrobotics.com/cubelets/)

<iframe width="720" height="404" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4EDsLayRKQA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

These are like Little Bits above but are mostly just for making robots. They can be used by kids as young as 4, as they're a little simpler than Little Bits (and the scope of what you can do with them is more restricted)

Makey Makey

invention kit that turns everyday object into digital user interfaces

Ozobot - programmable robot

Cubetto - programmable robot
Root
Osmo
Honeycomb

Fabulous Beasts!<commit_msg>Updated Smart Toys Guide<commit_after>---
title: Smart Toys Gift Guide 2016 - Hackable Devices for Kids
date: 2016-10-20 13:59:00 -04:00
---

As you may or may not know, hackable devices for kids are a trend. [Even Kickstarter says so](https://medium.com/kickstarter/our-tech-predictions-for-2017-5810bb931d63#.gryfq73mv).

Here at Move38, we're developing just such a device, in this case a (screenless) tabletop game platform with digital components that you can make your own games on (in addition to playing the ones we make).

You can read about it here, here, here, and here, but we're not selling it yet and I'm not writing about it today.

In the course of starting this company, we've done a lot of research on hackable tech toys. It occurred to us the research might be helpful to folks scrambling to find gifts for their rugrats that might actually teach them something.

# The Big Three

There are three products that stand out above the rest, in our opinion. When in doubt, pick one of these. They are Sphero, Little Bits, and Cubetto

## [Sphero](http://www.sphero.com/)

<iframe width="720" height="405" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/A14Hjxh1ejw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

A remote controlled, programmable ball that you guide with your mobile device. It's famous for being the technology behind the BB-8 droid in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and is the most well-known smart toy on the market.

The company behind it makes [a range of products](https://store.sphero.com/). They're all fun to play with as toys, per se, but some have more learning value than others. The one most geared to hacking is the [Sprk Plus:](http://www.sphero.com/sprk-plus)

...which offers a refined system for teaching the rudiments of programming. See [here for a detailed rundown on what it can do](https://www.cnet.com/news/sphero-sprk-and-lightning-lab-a-coding-robot-with-new-improvements/), and a video run down here:
<iframe width="720" height="405" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wmtncRJ_UP8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

## [Little Bits](http://littlebits.cc/)

<iframe width="720" height="405" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fMg5QPQQOOI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Little Bits are like Legos but for electronics: simple, modular electronics that work like building blocks. The company sells them in kits, where each kit contains a few projects with instructions, like for building a musical instrument or a robot with creepy eyes that glow green when it hears a sound. The simplest kits can built by 8-year olds. You can [see all Little Bits kits here](http://littlebits.cc/shop/kits).  You can [see a more in depth review here](http://www.hanselman.com/blog/ReviewLittleBitsGadgetsAndGizmosElectronicsKitsForSTEMKids.aspx) and watch an adorable video review by a cute kid here:

<iframe width="720" height="405" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-bHNlTyQ75M" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

## [Cubetto](https://www.primotoys.com/)

<iframe width="720" height="405" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Kp1p2lh2D64" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

The tagline for this product is "Teach your child to code before they can read" and they aren't kidding. Cubetto is for kids three and up and by all accounts it really does work for kids that young. 

It's a system for controlling a simple, wooden, square shaped robot with wheels. There's a wooden board with shallow hole in it a bunch of differently shaped blocks with pegs that fit into the holes. Each shape represents a command you can give to the robot. When a child puts a sequence of blocks onto the board, it makes the robot do a particular sequence of things. We're big fans. Here's a very thorough video review:

<iframe width="720" height="405" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NzF_ng0ELZw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

## [Cubelets](http://www.modrobotics.com/cubelets/)

<iframe width="720" height="404" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4EDsLayRKQA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

These are like Little Bits above but are mostly just for making robots. They can be used by kids as young as 4, as they're a little simpler than Little Bits (and the scope of what you can do with them is more restricted)

Makey Makey

invention kit that turns everyday object into digital user interfaces

Ozobot - programmable robot

Cubetto - programmable robot
Root
Osmo
Honeycomb

Fabulous Beasts!
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