Christmas 2007: Fun and Educational Toys for Children

Christmas shopping season is coming. Want to get the child in your life an educational and fun toy that will help develop and strengthen his/her logic, strategy, problem-solving, motor skills, etc.? Here are this year's most sought-after educational and fun toys for children.

Lego Mindstorms NXT

With Lego Mindstorms, your children won't be building just a robot out of blocks - they will be constructing a car, machine, humanoid, or even animal that they program to do what they want! No kidding! The Lego Mindstorms allow your children to build such robots from 570+ Lego pieces consisting of motors and sensors. They include a light sensor, touch sensor, sound sensor, and the "brick" where the sensors and motors plug into. Then children use drag and drop computer software to program commands into it. Connect a USB or use Bluetooth to watch their creation move and do exactly what they told it to!

Lego Mindstorms NXT also has online support, tips, ideas, and challenges for users to read and share. The robot kit is for children ages 10 and up. It can be purchased at most toy stores or at the Discovery Channel Store for around $250.

Magnet Artwork Kit

Mom and Dads, put away the messy paint, markers, and crayons! The Orb Factory has magnetic art kits that will provide your children with hours of creative fun. The kits range in size and colors, but typically each kit includes foam magnets, steel art board, zip-loc storage bag or storage tin, and project ideas. This is a great activity for children to make butterflies, fish, flowers, and anything their minds can think of! When they are done, you can display their mosaics. Children can easily clean up this artwork and the pieces are re-usable. What other art project is that simple, easy, and clean?

Magnetic Artwork Kits are available through The Orb Factory catalog for around $20 for a large kit and $10 for smaller kits.

Candy Factory Science Experiment Kit

The Candy Factory was recently showcased on CBS's Early Show as one of the 12 hottest toys for 2007. The kit comes with a 48-page manual that guides them through experiments and recipes while at the same time teaching them about taste, chemistry of sugar, history of candy, and many other scientific phenomena of sweets. The experiment produces chocolates, caramels, hard candy, gummy candies, and includes all the tools and molds needed to make these. The kit even includes wrappers, foils, and lollipop sticks. You will, however, need to purchase the ingredients.

This Candy Factory Kit is recommended for ages 10 and up. At Growing Tree Toys, the kit is selling for $42.