The benefits of learning by playing are beyond doubt. Play stimulates imagination and creativity, develops social skills, concentration, comprehension, vocabulary and even the ability to express oneself in public.

Can toys awaken scientific vocations? It will depend on each child and each moment, but it is certainly something that is necessary and urgent. There are at least 10,000 vacancies in the technology sector in Spain due to lack of qualifications. Despite this, the number of enrollees in technical careers such as engineering and architecture fell by 28% between 2010 and 2017, according to the study The STEM Vocations Challenge.

Why not give toys that awaken scientific curiosity and promote vocations in engineering or robotics? There is no shortage of options for this. Here is a list of some of them to say goodbye to 2020 and welcome a more scientific and fun 2021.

Bits and Bytes

An inexpensive and simple option to get started in programming from the age of 4. It is a board game for them to learn the structures and programming language in a simple and motivating way.

A card game in whose game mechanics is to build algorithms using some funny monsters.

Augmented reality globe

It is a ball of the world like the ones we have always had, but with a special feature: it has no name written on its surface. No rivers, no mountains, no countries. The globe works by zooming in on a tablet or cell phone and using augmented reality to arouse the curiosity of children, who can then access much more data about the earth than can fit on a globe.

Codding Critters

A toy without screens designed to introduce children to the basics of programming. It is a storybook with a series of characters and accessories (a dinosaur, a dog…) According to each story or each adventure in the book you have to “code” the characters included in the pack to do something, such as catch a ball, play hide-and-seek, etc.

Edison

Edison is a Lego-compatible robot that allows children from 6 to 12 years old to get started in the world of programming. It can “see” and “hear” thanks to its sensors and functions as an attractive tool to teach children computational thinking and computer programming in a practical way.

Da Vinci Nano 3D Printer

It doesn’t seem like a bad idea to introduce young children to 3D printers. This model allows to design objects in a simple way. We can do it from a mobile application and send it to print directly.

Robotis Premium

It is a robotics kit with which you can build up to 29 different robots in a guided way. Designed for teenagers from 14 years of age, their design makes them attractive even to many university students interested in robotics.

Technology projects to spend time with your children

Another option, beyond toys, is to spend time with your children (or your nieces, nephews, students, or significant others) developing technology projects. You need, of course, previous knowledge for this, but if you have it and you also have a raspberry pi, you can spend more than one entertaining afternoon creating things like a surveillance camera for pets, an instant camera, a digital piano or a retro console. At In this article you can find detailed instructions on how to do it.