(Part 3) Reddit mentions: The best learning & education toys

For some reason not listed on the RadioShack website (RIP), but this kit has been a really great start for many in your exact situation.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GYYEL8I?keywords=electronics%20learning%20lab&qid=1453722260&ref_=sr_1_1&sr=8-1

Not super cheap but definitely cheaper than your local community college. The workbook is simple and light hearted and will definitely put you in a better place, (& maybe even be more employable!) at the end. I also remember going through the Electronics Merit badge and learning quite a lot. Might be a good shout to go down to their local office and see what the requirements were to get that and get whatever kits they offer there.

Get through those, maybe organize a small making event based around one of the projects found in this kit and you'll be well on your way to be leading your local maker movement! Don't forget that it's all about empowering others in the end, and I think you'll find you learn the most about the real world applications of your designs when you share them with others.

Hope that helps. I love that kit and recently for one for my niece. Best of luck!

Dave from EEVblog recommends building power supplies. They're pretty simple, and it doesn't hurt to have a bunch of them. You can find kits, which will teach you how to solder parts onto a PCB, but it's not too hard to design a supply around an LM317 regulator, the data sheet will have the circuit you need right on it. This will also be a good chance to learn the non-electronics skills you'll need; instead of buying a plastic box, make one out of plywood and paint it up.

Once you have a power supply or three, start playing around with simple analog circuits. You should have a breadboard and jumper wires and at least one good multimeter, though the aforementioned EEVblog recommends two, and not cheaping out on them. He did a $50 multimeter shootout , if you don't want to watch an hourlong video this was the winner, but it's worth watching to see why it won. Anyhow, you can find kits and project ideas online, get some random parts and start playing around until you have a good feel for old school analog circuits. Try to make up your own project and build it, even if it's completely useless.

At some point, preferably after you have a good grasp of analog circuits, you're going to have to move up to digital. Arduinos are a good start, they're popular enough that you can't look at a single page of Instructables without tripping over an Arduino project. You're going to have to learn some programming to make it go, but there's a million tutorials online. To make the pinball machine go, you're going to have to learn how to use the Arduino (or something like it) to control analog components, probably while giving them their own external power source. You'll also need to know how to drive a display for the scoreboard, and of course you'll have to program the logic for keeping track of the number of balls left, current score, and what inputs translate to what increase in score. The programming alone is a big undertaking, so if you go forward on this, be prepared to spend years on it.

A good project to do would also be to make a MAME cabinet. It's much simpler on the electronics side, you either hack the buttons and joysticks into a USB keyboard controller, or buy one of these which does the same thing, and then use an old PC and monitor. The hard part is building an arcade cabinet, which is still a lot simpler than building a pinball table. You'd be looking at a couple hundred dollars in parts, but that's not too bad compared to what you want to end up doing.

Learning electronics is a lot like music. There is an insane amount of information, but if you get an economic working knowledge under your belt, you can really do some amazing things. In order for you not to get lost in the rabbit hole, I will provide you these methods of learning practical hobby electronics.

First, is simply just a suggestion. There are two "domains" of electronic thinking and analysis: digital and analogue. Fuck analog right in its dumb face. The math used in analog is fucking super duper hard, and analog circuits are prone to interference problems. Digital is where you want to be. It's vastly simpler to use programmable digital parts, and analyze digital circuits. Don't get lost in AC equations of capacitor, or the god damned transistor equation (seriously, fuck that. )

Okay here is how I learned hobby digital electronics:
First buy this, and go through all the examples in the workbooks. When you learn electronics you 100% HAVE TO DO HANDS ON LEARNING! DONT LEARN IT FROM A BOOK! MAKE CIRCUITS!
https://www.amazon.com/Radio-Shack-Electronics-Learning-20-055/dp/B00GYYEL8I

At the same time, read this (which is a good topical explanation, and free):
http://jacquesricher.com/NEETS/

And buy and read this (which is an EXCELLENT formal introduction into the physics):
https://www.amazon.com/Practical-Electronics-Inventors-Third-Scherz/dp/0071771336

Also you are going to learn how to program, which is an entirely different topic. Programming and hobby electronics make you a master of the universe, so it's worth it. I learned programming in the electronics domain and it was awesome. I made a microcontroller FM synthesizer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TvuzTK3Dzk

So basically, the way I learned programming in general was self-teaching with books. Again, you have to do it hands-on. Actually complete the examples in the books, and you'll be fine.
First, learn procedural c programming using C primer plus. Buy an older version so it'll be super cheap:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0672326965/ref=sr_1_3_twi_pap_1_olp?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1465827790&sr=1-3&keywords=c+primer+plus

Next, learn Object oriented programming using head first java. They do a great job of tackling OOP, which can be a difficult thing to learn.
https://www.amazon.com/Head-First-Java-Kathy-Sierra/dp/0596009208/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1465827860&sr=1-1&keywords=head+first+java


You're overwhelmed because they're deep topics. But, seriously, its the most fun shit ever. You'll love learning how to do it.

What about getting her a journal? That can be a great way to process trauma, but it's also a fun gift that she might really enjoy. There are some cool ones that even come with a lock, like this one (blank) or this one (with prompts). Get some nice gel pens to go with it. Or Wreck This Journal is a fun alternative if she's not into writing!

You can probably find better, and cheaply too. The octave being a bit off would drive me nuts. If it were me I'd look for something where the octave sounds right. I remember playing with musical instruments as a kid, and finding the octave was always the first thing I did.

My daughter's first "instrument" at maybe six months old was a piano/xylophone hybrid-thing. It plays four notes, one of them an octave (I think it's tonic/3rd/5th/octave). Pleeeenty for a baby to play with. But the intervals are proper intervals, and the octave is a proper octave. The kid won't care but at least it won't drive me up the wall.

At a year and a half, we got her a toy piano - I got lucky and found a Schoenhut 25-key cheap at a yard sale. Piano is a great instrument to be familiar with, it helps you understand how the scale works. Even if you just bang on it for fun, the keys are right there.

We're not going to push lessons on her, unless she shows an interest. But... she sees me playing piano and guitar, and working on notation, and taking Skype lessons, and she's here for band rehearsals. And she's had decent rhythm since she was a few months old. My guess is that she'll ask about music eventually.

Base-10 blocks are great for this!

Start by making sure she's comfortable with the ones blocks. Put several in front of her and ask her to count them out and write down her answer. Then write down a smallish number and ask her to collect that many ones blocks.

Use this same process with some numbers in the teens. Then introduce the tens blocks and help her understand how to use as many tens and few ones as possible to represent a number. Help her understand this is what determines which digit appears in each place value of the written number.

Clear the table and put down 7 or so cubes. Ask her to keep adding 1 cube and writing out the new count. If she doesn't replace 10 cubes with a 10-valued stick sometime after passing 10 (or 20 or 30 if you're both patient enough), ask her when she could have started using the 10-valued sticks.

Once it's clear she's got a good intuition for the mapping between the base-10 written form and the cubes/sticks, hide the cubes and do the same exercises with the sticks and 100s squares. After it's clear she's caught on to the carry-over effect between the 10s place and the 100s place, add the cubes back to the mix.

Basically it sounds like she's struggling with the notion of place value and the relationships between adjacent place values.

You are going to want to balance tools and parts.

TOOLS (must haves)

• Multimeters (At least two, I suggest starting with one cheapo ($5-$10) and one in the $30-$50 range)
  
• Variable regulated power supply with current limiting (Skip the cheap/dangerous chinese crap and get a used HP/Agilent/Keysight one off ebay like this or this.)
  
• Breadboards (several)
  
• Jumper wires
  
• Wire strippers and cutters
  
• Decent soldering Iron ($50-$100) (DO NOT CHEAP OUT ON THIS)
  
• Desoldering pump and/or wick (The ctrl-z of the soldering world)
  
• Heat shrink tubing for sealing connections (Especially if you are going to be doing outdoor stuff)
  
• Microcontrollers (I suggest starting with an Arudino Uno since it has the largest amount of online support material, you could get an Uno kit, any of them will be fine)
  .
  .
  TOOLS (eventually)
  
• Logic Analyzer (Let's you see the logic signals in your circuit which is super helpful for debugging, I have a bitscope micro which is decent, but the software kinda sucks and is more than just a logic analyzer)
  
• A function generator (variable voltage and frequency for sine, square and triangle waves) (Again I suggest used off ebay, something like this.)
  
• Oscilloscope (a really amazing tool for actally seeing what is going on in your circuit)
  .
  .
  PARTS (vaguely in order of usefullness)
  
• Elenco Resistor Kit
  
• Elenco Capacitor Kit
  
• Elenco Transistor Kit
  
• Elenco Diode Kit
  
• Elenco LED Kit
  (Of couse you don't have to get the Elenco kits, those are just the ones I use and really like)
  
• Voltage regulator ICs (Great for providing regulated power to things that need more than what your arduino can provide)
  
• Trimmer Potentiometer Kit (really useful to have around for many projects)
  
• Old electronic equipment to scavenge parts out of (Many of my parts have come from old equipment or broken ATX computer power supplies. Tearing stuff apart is both fun and yields great parts.)
  .
  .
  .
  I think that's all for now...

> How about...arrange red LEDs in a heart shape. Make that a big heart and a small heart.

I made that for my sister when I was about 12. Its now one of her most prized possessions. Your wife will love it!. Available as a kit.

Well, I think one tough thing here is that all babies are different, so a toy that might be enjoyable for a baby who can grasp objects and sit up at that age might not be usable for a baby who can't yet do those things. But at least for my baby, who is now 6 months, here are a few things that have been a big hit:

• This rattle, which lights up, changes colors when you bang it on stuff, and has a mirror on the bottom
  
  
• Mobiles
  
  
• A play mat that looks like a town, and comes with baby-safe cars to "drive" around it (they're stuffed, not plastic)
  
  
• Stuffed toys that have crinkling and squeaky stuff in them (warning: if you have dogs, it will take everything in your power to keep these from being absconded with and becoming dog toys)
  
  
• This toy piano, which she loves to play with her feet, for some reason. This isn't an appropriate toy to let a baby that age use without very direct supervision since it has hard metal xylophone...things on the top, but I think it's just fine as long as you're holding or sitting right next to them while they play it, and ensure they aren't in a position where they could bonk their head on the top part.
  
  
• Dolls of all types. But more specifically: dolls, when you act out stories for her with them. She loves that. It doesn't even have to involve any props or other items; she's just ecstatic if you make the dolls "talk" to each other and her.
  
  

For me, as far as functionality goes, tons of misc parts were the most useful. I was always going "shoot I don't have a <whatever>!" for a while after starting out. Resistor kits, toggle switches, power supplies, LEDs, common integrated circuits, wire jumpers, etc. You can get a LOT of really useful miscellaneous stuff if you don't go through the Arduino branded sources. Something like this: https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0002HBQHC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_vOS.BbNP2CZQ6

A soldering iron is super useful too if he doesn't already have one.

An ESP32 development kit would be awesome too! They're like arduino on steroids and will let him do WiFi projects and similar stuff.

Surprisingly, our kid really likes this and this which are both educational. He also enjoys flashcards and doing "circle time"... Watercolors are fun, and easy enough to clean up after.

I highly recommend the Hakko 936 soldering iron Hakko 888 soldering iron, which is still actually available. It's hard to fathom how a $100 soldering iron could be that much better than a $20 one, but once you start doing anything more serious than just sticking some wires together, it's worth it.

As for other tools,

• Standard needle nose, dikes, and pliers set
  
• Tweezers - Additionally plastic ones if you're going to do PCB etching.
  
• Dental Picks - for positioning surface mount parts and pushing wires into molten solder.
  
• Wire strippers - You'll often see people using the combo wire stripper / crimpers. They're not as nice as a real pair of strippers.
  
• +/-12V power supply for basic analog electronics, 5V for digital work
  
• Breadboard
  
• Solder sucker - Copper braid is useful for the same thing, but given the choice of the two, I prefer the sucker to undo soldered joints.
  
• 30x Jewelers Loupe - Mostly useful for surface mount work, but pretty much all soldering is easier when you're able to look at it.
  
  As for components, I've been buying them piece-meal for years, so other's will probably be able to yield you a better recommendation for kits than anything I can find just from a quick search. I do mostly digital work, so as far as passives, my main stock is:
  
  
• 0.1uF and 100uF capacitors, 25V
  
• 100, 330, 1k, 4.7k, 10k, 100k, 1M resistors
  
  If I need any other resistor for a specific project, I'll tend to just buy an extra 10 and keep them in labeled coin envelopes.
  
  Random other pieces:
  
  
• Precut Breadboard jumper wires
  
• 7805 - 1A 5V linear regulators
  
• 1N4007 diodes
  
• 1N4148 small signal diodes
  
• 3V linear regulators if you do low power work (MSP430, etc)
  
• An Arduino - If not for real projects, I use this a lot to hack together crude digital signal generators to test other chips.
  
• LEDs - I found a good deal on bright red ones, but any will do
  
• push buttons, power switches, DIP switches (4 in a tiny package that fits in breadboards)
  
• Copper clad perf board - To make through-hole projects permanent. Be careful because this also comes without the copper pads, which is just more of a pain in the ass to use.
  
• Copper Solder braid
  
  Edit: Fixed the soldering iron model.
  
  Disclaimer: I'm using my Amazon Associate links for all of these, which always feel a little amoral and a conflict of interest, but really, if my apartment were to go up in flames and I could afford it, I'd buy every link on this list right now. Does anyone have strong opinions one way or the other on using them?

I recommend magnetic letters like these for the fridge.

Books are also great. Read as much as possible. I ordered [Curious George Learns the Alphabet] (https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0544105230/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1493249665&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=curious+george+learns+the+alphabet&dpPl=1&dpID=51TdcM5l1EL&ref=plSrch) and thought it was pretty nice. There are laminated flashcards and it even has a little storage space in the book.

Might be worth doing a little beginners kit that you care less about to test your skills first (something like this). Don't worry, It's not that hard though, good luck.

IMHO this concept is best taught with manipulatives, like so: http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-Plastic-Base-Starter/dp/B000F8VBBO

Really good for enhancing visual math thinking and can be introduced to the child gradually through play.

The best thing you can do is work with her yourself. Point out everyday items like a ball, "Look at the ball. Ball starts with a b. B says 'buh,' can you say 'buh?'"

Leapfrog also makes a phonics toy that my guy loved when he was learning.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B008J5551M/

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000JSGLBK/

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000239E6Q/

There are entire websites/blogs devoted to science toys.

Sometimes something as simple as a pair of large superstrong magnets makes a lovely Christmas gift for a responsible boy or girl. http://unitednuclear.com/index.php

happy panda!

Cheer up, buttercup! :)

[alphabet maagnets](http://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Magnetic-Wooden-Alphabet/dp/B000IBPD76/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_nC? ie=UTF8&colid=VZZHUJDVFXXS&coliid=I2NN100D651FB4) would make me happy since i am teaching the little guy his letters right now.

Yeah, I'm looking for a tumbler.
I've found a few online, but they look kind of sketchy....
http://www.ukge.co.uk/UK/Stone-Tumblers.asp?gclid=CNquv8S53a4CFUcRfAodqk9Kag
and this one is purely for kids, don't know if it's going to be worth a try at all.
http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Crafts-Rock-Tumbler/dp/B00000ISUU

.... and good luck try not to electrocute your self too hard.

In theory yes. In reality, you would need so many batteries to do any good. You can pick up a small tumbler for around 40$ I have one myself, and think it’s awesome! I’m working on an idea with a 55 gallon drum, however the noise would be hellacious. Lame part is waiting like a month to go through all the different grits to make em shine. I’ll plop this here.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01I56RV0C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_SlxQCb675V0DA

https://www.amazon.com/Peaceable-Kingdom-Secrets-Dreams-Wishes/dp/B00HOSDC60/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1492940976

I would recommend buying the feather pens combo its super cute.

Pandemic is great for cubes.

For other things it depends on what you want. I am using catan houses in a prototype right now, and before I used an othello board/tokens for something else.

One thing that I have is a bunch of circular colored tokens. (something like this https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-LER0131-Transparent-Counting/dp/B00004WKPM IDK where I got mine)

and a bunch of dice in ten colors. I got this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B074C8N5XG/ref=sspa_dk_detail_0?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B074C8N5XG&pd_rd_wg=Y6rqd&pd_rd_r=5YFCCSC3XA4CFKBSB0HV&pd_rd_w=yuvJX two of the dice had a little extra paint on the two side that made them look like a three at a glance, so I threw them away. Still got 98 dice though.

Forgot to mention, for his 2nd birthday I got him these two items:
Drum Set
Piano
He loves them!
In the mornings when we get ready he will take a break and go play some music and dance around.

I have something very similar to the link you posted, in fact it's probably the same product with a different name. It doesn't actually go to the music, but honestly it really seems like it does when you're tripping. I use mine in tandem with this

I used this while tripping for the first time on Saturday while listening to Emancipator and I felt like I was flying through the universe!

Edit: formatting mistake

I concur with the /u/sandy_catheter. shield the electronics in lead, or other dense material, have some kind of antenna passthrough to get to the outside of the case. my evidence, robots used for cleanup at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear powerplant

Only EM radiation should effect EM signals(radio), I hope you aren't planning on kilometers of range, due to the limits of line of sight, frequencies above 30mhz do not travel over the horizon easily. Gamma may effect the electronics and digital onboard storage, so I recommend analogue whenever possible(especially with when dealing with nuclear material, it should take longer to degrade), or to store the telemetry, videos, and data remotely, not onboard.

If you are not dealing with highly emissive nuclear radiation, here are my recommendations for the project:
* Ardunio temp/humidity/co2
* Ardunio 433mhz telemetry/data transmitter and reciever
*2.4 ghz wireless camera and reciever

with good antennas, you could cover a mile, possibly more with this hardware above. Raspberry Pi is not even needed, unless you want to control the "rover" via WiFi on a computer. this may limit your range, due to most wifi hardware only transmitting at weaker ~30-50mw. which is even further limited indoors. I would go with a remote well suited for range, like those of RC aircraft.

The link by RKNFXX shows excellent examples what to aim for, I know you said you’re new to soldering, so I highly suggest buying a practice board before attempting again.

Quick advice, dial it back on the amount of solder you use, it looks like you’re globbing onto iron tip then lowering onto the contact points (just a guess) it’s better to hold the iron tip on to the pad (and if you can, slightly touching the pin legs) and then feed a bit of solder onto the pad until you get a small cone shape. Do not keep the soldering iron on any surface for more then 3 seconds — if it takes longer to melt the solder then you’re iron isn’t hot enough yet.

Practice boards:
WHDTS 4-Digit Digital Clock Kits with PCB for Soldering Practice Learning Electronics with English Instructions https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0711MHKDZ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_7nf7CbRRH12A3

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F392121560808

Poppy seeds

A jeweler's loupe for admiring your dank weed

There are some videos on r/lsd, I think, of someone who combined these two trip toys. It ends up looking pretty cool. http://www.amazon.com/Creative-Motion-12665-1-Laser-Sphere/dp/B003150CFO // https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009S3IBI8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_jq4xwbNWTAEY9

1500 lady bugs

Edit: here's a video of those two projectors together https://youtu.be/1LSuhEAC3u0

I miss having a 3 year old! We started with the earliest Singapore Math stuff around then. I made it very gentle. Oh, also, these things https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-Plastic-Base-Starter/dp/B000F8VBBO are the greatest things ever. We used them for years to try out different concepts in math.

This does me justice. If you want something more creative, try what /u/namgorf said with miniature market or buy some Warhammer 4000 miniatures and paint them yourself. It's up to you.

Maybe something like this: Velleman MK101 Flashing Led Sweetheart Velleman http://smile.amazon.com/dp/B000LQGC00

Found some on amazon. "Magnetic viewing film"

https://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Viewing-Film-Field-Display/dp/B00129CCGS

May be a good place to start :)

Good idea!

I searched amazon for "trippy toy" and didn't get much, but looked for phsyics toy and found a couple cool things, like these

https://smile.amazon.com/Flow-Ring-Kinetic-Spring-Sculpture/dp/B014M8IP9S/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1492437384&sr=8-3&keywords=physics+toy

And plasma balls, which I'd totally forgotten about

https://smile.amazon.com/Plasma-ball-Theefun-Sensitive-Novelty/dp/B01NCN8SLI/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1492437518&sr=8-8&keywords=physics+toy

And this thing

https://smile.amazon.com/Toysmith-791709-Eulers-Disk/dp/B000239E6Q/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1492437518&sr=8-3&keywords=physics+toy

A lot of the problems with this subreddit would be fixed if if everyone just picked up and used one of these. Not to mention it's a best seller as well so it must be good.

Dedicated PC for a wired or wireless camera. You many not need to dedicate a computer to it, but it might not be a bad idea. IIRC, there are programs out there that you can use to build your own video security system that can do timelapse video. You can hook a wired camera to a video capture card or, in the case of something like this, you can hook the receiver for a wireless camera to the capture card. In that example, the wireless camera is transmitting analog video on 2.4GHz but not via wifi. The problem is that they usually have interference issues due to the proliferation of devices on that band.

Wifi/IP/whatever you want to call them cameras (like the Dropcam, for instance) would require a connection to an access point. I suggested the wired camera or non-wifi wireless camera as there seem to be more options out there as far as concealable cameras are concerned.

Ah right. Thanks for the correction. I was under a false impression.


When I first read about the lighthouse set up I imagined it was somewhat like my wife's star projector.

I figured that the sensors on the headset were seeing the laser points projected around the room in a similar way to the early HMDs that operated by observing a bunch of QR codes plastered around the room, only this time they're invisible to humans.

http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-365-Piece-Resistor-Kit/dp/B0002HBQHW/ref=pd_sim_t_4?ie=UTF8&refRID=14BEKDGCZYR4BRZH99QE http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-100-Capacitor-Component-Kit/dp/B004YHZDW0/ref=pd_sim_t_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1ZY4TZ8KX03R67FCGF50 do these look like a good deal?

With RadioShack struggling, these things are getting harder and harder to come by. In my opinion, the best way to learn circuits is hands-on. The books are very well written, and get into circuit operation without dragging you down with the math that's behind it all. Totally worth $100.
https://www.amazon.com/Electronics-Learning-Lab/dp/B00A7AT41E

Oh dear god, please buy one of these:

http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-Piece-Pre-formed-Jumper-wire/dp/B0002H7AIG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345765743&sr=8-1&keywords=jumper+wire+set

http://www.amazon.com/Breadboard-jumper-wire-70pcs-pack/dp/B0040DEI9M/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1345765764&sr=8-2&keywords=jumper+wire+set

You are going to injure yourself cutting and stripping wire for your project.

A rock tumbler like this one from Amazon. It is fun project plus a geology lesson and when the included rocks are done, she can use small rocks from her own yard. Ages 8 and up.

I like Pathfinder Pawns, but they don't work for everything (and are still pricey to collect).

I have 1", 2", and 3" wooden circles and 1", 2", and 3" hole punches. I print off the minis on card stock, punch them out, and glue them onto a wooden circle of appropriate size.

I also have some multicolored counting chips that I can write numbers on for large groups of monsters. They also double as status effects when needed.

Essentially, I go through the pawns first, but they don't always have everything, so then I go to printing.. but sometimes if I have a pawn of it, I'll just use the one pawn, then use the tokens for the rest of them. One representation is good enough usually.

I was thinking more like a rock tumbler instead of a Yeti type thing. Lol.

For breadboarding and a good intro I suggest Radio Shack's Electronics Learning Lab. Strangely, it's on Amazon now. If you work through the examples and the included books, you will have some good hands-on knowledge.

https://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Viewing-Film-Field-Display/dp/B00129CCGS

$12.99 on Amazon and free shipping!

I've taken a lot of 2 year olds to Disneyland. Usually they're pretty bored, overwhelmed, not that into it. Disneyland is for older kids. Too many lines!

My suggestion, get her the most annoying and loud toy you can find. There's these electronic drum sets that light up. Toddlers LOVE them. These toys are torture. Get that! worst toy ever


PS. Kids under 3 get into Disneyland free.

Radio shack used to have one called electronics learning lab
If you can find a radio shack you might be able to get one
Although, radio shack had also changed drastfically since I used to go there
Long story short , if you can find one of these :
https://www.amazon.com/Electronics-Learning-Lab/dp/B00A7AT41E
It's a great kit.

So what I would do is get a piece of magnetic imaging film [1] and survey the desk area for fields. Besides that I would introduce an insulator, for any development board I work on, I have used those green craft boards [2] which are seem to be great insulators. You might also try using a wrist connected grounding strap [3]. If there are any electrical posts built into the table, unplug them, and inspect the insulators and neutral & ground runs.



[1] https://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Viewing-Film-Field-Display/dp/B00129CCGS


[2] https://www.amazon.com/Hobby-Craft-Double-Healing-Cutting/dp/B00GEKIM8W


[3] https://www.amazon.com/Anti-Static-Wrist-Strap-Grounding-Adjustable/dp/B002O6U65W

> I have very little experience with actually building practical circuitry "in the real world"

Then build circuitry. Get an assortment of parts (something like this http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-CK-1000-Component-Kit/dp/B0002HBQHC), a breadboard, and a lab manual (I'm a big fan of the Art of Electronics and it's companion lab manual) and go to town!

With such a setup you could have the thing prototyped in the amount of time it takes you to start a thread on Reddit...

Snow, snow, go away

This plus this = $20 exactly.

You are so very pretty :)

I’m curious to know which type of magnetic letter it was. There are the typical plastic ones with the tiny magnets on the back, and there are wooden laminated letters that are all magnetized on the back like these ones. https://www.amazon.com/Melissa-Doug-Wooden-Alphabet-Magnets/dp/B000IBPD76

Have an earlier version of this one which was a little cheaper if I recall correctly and it is amazing.
Note that:

> It does not project actual constellations or stars, it's an entirely random display of projected stars.

http://www.amazon.com/Can-You-Imagine-Twilight-Projector/dp/B009S3IBI8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1449210884&sr=8-1&keywords=laser+twilight+stars+projector

Yes, telephone feeders work good.

You can buy kits that has the wires pre-bent too. They are easy to use and much faster to build with. I use pre-formed for most stuff then use phone feeder for those lines that can't be laid flat for some reason.

http://www.amazon.com/Elenco-Piece-Pre-formed-Jumper-Wire/dp/B0002H7AIG

This is a 350 piece kit, but they make smaller kits too.

Well, this is Awesomely Randomly Random

=]

If you want to practice your soldering technique I suggest buying a cheap practice kit on Amazon. Something like https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0711MHKDZ/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_My2iDbACSXY8Y or just search online for soldering practice kits.

This walker - it keeps making noise after your kid stops playing with it: VTech Sit-to-Stand Learning Walker (Frustration Free Packaging) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0053X62GK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_JNivDbSERAGDE

And this drum set: VTech KidiBeats Kids Drum Set https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007XVYSDE/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_CPivDb37NDZPP

Which counters? Are you talking about the digital ones? It's just a calculator.

There's stuff like these: http://www.amazon.com/Richards-Company-Counter-Finger-SPR24100/dp/B0008GOGI8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1457999673&sr=8-3&keywords=counters

or just small tokens

http://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-Transparent-Color-Counting/dp/B00004WKPM/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1457999673&sr=8-5&keywords=counters

Magnetic Viewing Film - Magnetic Field Display Film 6" x 6" - COOL ! https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00129CCGS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_-rw7BbVFD2QTA

I would work to rectify that at your new place of residence. You can always buy a wireless webcam, hide it well, and hook it up to your computer so you can see who is out there. http://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Micro-Spy-Camera-Complete-Package/dp/B000JCN6SW

There might be better ones than that, was just the first google result.

You'd be better off with a low powered 2.4Ghz video transmitter - like these:
http://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Micro-Spy-Camera-Complete-Package/dp/B000JCN6SW

My kiddo just turned 7 months, and this is his most favorite toy ever: https://smile.amazon.com/Little-Tikes-627576M-Tap-a-Tune-Piano/dp/B00840LCAK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1474325357&sr=8-1&keywords=little+tikes+piano

She might enjoy this: NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Starter Rock Tumbler Kit https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01I56RV0C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_ugN8Bb26CR0H1

This is the newer version of the one I first saw. :)

The "book" Electronics Learning Lab is great. It's two books that go through most fundamental aspects of electronic circuit design, combined with a prototype board and pile of components you use to build and test the circuits described. It's discontinued, but you can likely find one at your local radio shack. Or pay a premium on Amazon or someplace similar.

https://www.amazon.com/Electronics-Learning-Lab/dp/B00A7AT41E

Purchasing link from Amazon.


I could not find a link to purchase hurricane balls though. I was more interested in a set of those.

Edit: For a reasonable price.

This one is easy if you have a soldering iron
http://www.amazon.com/Velleman-MK101-Flashing-Led-Sweetheart/dp/B000LQGC00

Something like a rock tumbler?

Same principle as the thin film that does the same, except easier to see how it functions.

The film I’m talking about

Nice. I had (and still have) a similar one when I was young also.

Get the pre-made wires and don't bend them. The lengths provided are at breadboard sized increments and will fit without bending.

Usually in the URL you will see something like this, It's almost always a 20 after the name in the "tag" parameter.

&tag=affinamehere-20

For example:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007XVYSDE/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B007XVYSDE&linkCode=as2&tag=affnamehere-20&linkId=E3UFYXEESH4I6L7J

Query: If I had several small stones like OP's, and wanted to do something fun with them, what kind of results would I get by passing them through one of those cheap, commercially available tumbler/polisher things like this one? I always wanted to give it a shot, but I always thought the results on the box seemed suspect. Do you have any experience with such devices?

LeapFrog Fridge Phonics Magnetic Letter Set https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00JLHVX36/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_.BDKAbWFQ3CPQ

There are a few of these leapfrog sets of magnets. You put this "reader" on the fridge too and the kids and put a letter in the leader and press the letter and the reader will say something to reinforce the letter to the kid. It basically turns your fridge into a learning toy. Good stuff. The sound the reader makes will get repetitive quick.

With the proper bits, polishing paste, a rotary tool stand and an industrial rotary tool that specific agate could take hours. With just a regular old dremel, water and some crappy bits /u/ces614 is right that agate could take you days.

Source I do a lot of rotary tool work on shells, and have practiced on some small soft stones. On the Mohs scale they would fall between 3 and 5, an agate is what roughly 7 on the scale. The hardest thing I've worked on with the dremel I have is a striped fox conch, if you mesured it against the Mohs scale it would be about a 6 maybe 6.5. I was making a shell horn, it took an hour and a half total to finish it. Imagine spending an hour and half on that agate, thats if you only do one side. You'd have to take a lot of breaks even with a stand or a flex shaft. I guess if your just doing the one stone you could do it but man that's ify.

Personally just drop the $80 on a nice Lortone tumbler, they are simple and last damn near forever. Use the rotary tool, or whatever you already have to shape your agate then throw it in the tumbler. If you want to do it super cheap, buy a toy tumbler they cost about $30. After 2 or 3 sets of rocks they start to leak, unless they have improved them any since I was a kid (I'm 30 now) which I doubt.

This basically you put everyday rocks you find in world into it and it tumbles them for like a week i think and when you take them out they are all shiny and smooth. then i don't know what you do with them, but you would have a bunch of really shiny and smooth rocks.

I only own of a couple of these, but if I were to throw a prototyping jam I would get:

Color Sharpies

Blank Boards

Blank Cards

Blank Tokens

Pawns

Counters

Dice

I think that would cover 95% of anything you'd want!

Colored plastic tokens are $5.60 on Amazon, you can write in them with a sharpie or erasable marker.

[Learning tokens] (https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00004WKPM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_sbfHAbT0B0Q9R)

You'll find a ton on Amazon/eBay. I bought a few for my 11 year old to practice with.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0711MHKDZ/

https://www.amazon.com/Icstation-Soldering-Assemble-AT89C2051-Electronic/dp/B0146I2PFY/

Check the Related Items at the bottom of the Amazon page for other ones.

I've always wanted one. Don't know why I didn't bother to check Amazon til now.

http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Crafts-635-Rock-Tumbler/dp/B00000ISUU/ref=sr_1_2?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1406207238&sr=1-2

I've been using these colored counting chips:

https://www.amazon.com/Learning-Resources-Transparent-Color-Counting/dp/B00004WKPM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1465596815&sr=8-1&keywords=colored+discs

Cheap and small. The transparency does make them harder to see if they're in a pile. And you'd have to remember what color is what denomination.

You can also try pennies/nickels/quarters as someone else suggested.

http://www.amazon.com/Toysmith-441709-Eulers-Spinning-Disk/dp/B000239E6Q/

https://www.amazon.com/NATIONAL-GEOGRAPHIC-Starter-Rock-Tumbler/dp/B01I56RV0C/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=rock+tumbler&qid=1562519447&s=gateway&sr=8-5

It's a DIY clock, I've been learning to solder. Here's the kit: https://www.amazon.com/WHDTS-Soldering-Practice-Electronics-Instructions/dp/B0711MHKDZ

Somebody get that child a [drum set] (https://www.amazon.com/VTech-KidiBeats-Kids-Drum-Set/dp/B007XVYSDE)

I don't know what a 3D graphic class is but it reminds me of the base ten blocks I used in elementary school to learn math!

Toss it into a rock tumbler for a month or so and you could sell it on eBay for a few bucks. Might have to get one a little larger than this one though.

I believe it's this one

https://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Viewing-Film-Field-Display/dp/B00129CCGS

My school used these!!

I know you said you didnt the longer lengths, but at a cost of $20 you get the whole kit which includes every size you could need for a single standard size bread-board....

https://www.amazon.ca/Elenco-Piece-Pre-formed-Jumper-Wire/dp/B0002H7AIG

this magical film lets you see magnetic fields

Mermaid tail blanket

Hair chalk

Secret diary

Use this on the key http://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Viewing-Film-Field-Display/dp/B00129CCGS to figure out how the magnets are organized then arrange your own to match and boom key made

Counting chips

Learning Resources Transparent Color Counting Chips, Set of 250 Assorted Colored Chips, Ages 5+ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00004WKPM/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_-XoRDbAK621V7

I already have the whole alphabet http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000IBPD76/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1420917668&sr=8-2&dpPl=1&dpID=51ie90PF1OL&ref=plSrch&pi=AC_SX200_QL40

For anyone wanting to get one here you go.

> Noone here is saying that this would substitute a formal education with more advanced tools

>overly complicated.

You're building a strawman here. Breadboards are not "overly complicated." They're actually quite simple and extremely versatile. If you ask me, the pen is overly complicated as it only really solves the problem of using a piece of wire. You still need a way to connect the wire, so they're promoting using magnets which to me is very clumsy and much more fragile than a breadboard.

If you're really that scared of wire, just buy a pre-cut wire kit. You can even re-use it when you're done!

The only "feature" of this pen is that it lets you draw which actually distracts from any educational benefit of the device.

Wear a thimble. It's not exactly a perfect shield, but stuff would stick to it instead of you. Also, when I passed a sheet of magnetic viewing film over sheet metal with a magnet on the underside, I got no reaction, so it's a decent shield.

I have this, and it makes me want to murder the person who bought it: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B007XVYSDE/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1451274309&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=vtech+drum&dpPl=1&dpID=51z-2FiUzUL&ref=plSrch

For our campaigns our group uses the miniatures for our characters, and those colored circles for enemies. These ones specifically.

Then I bought some small star stickers and used a sharpie to write numbers on them so we can keep track of hp. Different colors === different enemies.

Edit: we also use the lids to the dice containers for large creatures and three jenga blocks for huge