The PicoCricket Kit (www.picocricket.com, $299), gives children (and adults too) a way to express artistic creativeness, learn simple computer programing and have a barrel of fun doing it. The kit looks like an arts and crafts set, but electric wires and gizmos give a clue that it’s different.
A colorful assortment of fuzzy balls, felt pieces, bells, glittery pipe cleaners and more are just waiting to be glued, twisted and strung together along with an assortment of Lego blocks, wheels and pulleys--all used with those electronic parts for interactive creative playthings.
The emphasis is play, but you also use the included computer, the PicoCricket, for a fun way to learn programming (really!).
Use Pico Blocks (a graphical representation of programing) on a PC screen and fit them together to form a program stack. The blocks show program flow and allow changes by dragging the blocks around. Voila! You’ve created a computer program to run your creation: turn on lights to a hand-clap, blow out a candle (LED light), make a cake sing Happy Birthday and much more.The tiny Pico computer has four ports for sensor inputs and action outputs, all directed by your programing. The input sensors are for light, sound, touch and resistance. The output devices include multi-colored lights, a sound box, numeric display and a Lego motor.
PicoCricket Kit is based on years of research at the MIT Media Lab and their Lifelong Kindergarten Lab. We found the Kit sparking lots of trial-and-error learning, a bit of programming and a whole lot of fun.
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