Children are learning from day one, and there's a multi-billion dollar industry to help us promote learning through the purchase of various entertaining and interactive toys. However with a little thought and experimentation - you can make your own and save money while customising the unit to meet your own needs (i.e. that of the child!). Instructables user "xLisax" has done just that by creating a circuit based on an Arduino that allows for various LED effects, a buzzer and so on. This is then mounted inside a 3D-printed enclosure designed in Tinkercad - as shown in the following video:
The neat thing is with this kind of project you can always update the sketch in the Arduino to alter the behaviour of the input and output devices, keeping the toy current. Overall it's an inspiring project - you could make one from scratch, or add the controls and output devices to existing children's' toys. Either way, visit the project page for more information. And for more, we're on twitter and Google+, so follow us for news and product updates as well.
If you'd like to learn about Arduino - but not sure how to start - then the best way to learn is with our Experimenter's Kit for Arduino:
The package includes a wide variety of parts, sensors and modules including: a servo motor, lights, buttons, switches, sound, sensors, breadboard, wires and more. Furthermore a Freetronics Eleven Arduino-compatible board is included to make this an extensive hobby experimenter, inventor and starter kit. However we don't leave you alone to figure it all out, included is a great project and instruction booklet, plus access to a supporting web page and software examples. In other words - this is everything you need to get started for a fun range of electronics and Arduino related projects!
So to get started or for more information and to order, check out the product page.
