Toys of teh future are way cooler than toys I (we!) had.

mrk

mrk

mrk

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MIT grad student David Merrill demos Siftables -- cookie-sized, computerized tiles you can stack and shuffle in your hands. These future-toys can do math, play music, and talk to their friends, too. Is this the next thing in hands-on learning?
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http://www.ted.com/talks/david_merrill_demos_siftables_the_smart_blocks.html

An MIT grad has demod his new building blocks toys which looks like it could be lots of fun and have hundreds of uses not just in kids toys but board games and business use too!

The video is very cool.
 
Hes certainly onto something big with those.

In a few years i can see something like this being used in schools all over, assuming the costs can be brought to a sensible level.

I suspect hes going to be a very rich man ( if he isnt already ) :D
 
Very nice design!

I like the fact he is clearly a Computer Scientist as he has produced a product which does its basic function well (i.e. being a block that can sense its movement and other blocks around it), meaning the scope for developing useful applications becomes far larger.

So often you see somebody with what could be a good idea who has developed something for one specific purpose, (like the music thing at the end perhaps) but the resulting product is soemthing that is difficult to transfer to other ideas.

I like TED, don't think I would have the nerve to present to that audience though!!
 
The pouring the paint....

THe words....

The Maths even....

The Cartoon....

The Music....

Ya know they look so cool :D Honestly that is some toy and some of the things it can do can only benefit education and are so fun at the same time!
 
What a fantastic invention! The music sequencer with the filtering controls was amazing, the maths and word games looked very useful too.

MIT seem to have some truely brilliant people, they are way ahead of British universities in some respects. Helps when you have a $10 billion endowment though!
 
As far as tech universities go, MIT definately produces some of the best graduates in the world.

As you say though, the budget of US universities helps them enormously, especially in subject areas like computer science, where the ability to physically purchase masses of top spec equipment really really helps.

MIT also has a suprisingly outward facing persona for such a top US university, most are very introverted. You can really get a feel for what MIT departments are doing looking through their online resources.
 
And you thought lego bricks were expensive.

This is indeed clever well thought out stuff. I'd definitely get some of these for my kids (if I had any). Mainly for the educational side.
 
That is cool and looks good for older children particularly (as well as adults tbh!). Better than sitting at a desk computer.

I think the best toy is no longer available like it used to be, LEGO. The early 90's stuff including technic was excellent, you had nearly infinite possibilities with a good set of parts!
 
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