NOHOME wrote:+
And I have no ide why you would have even waited this long!
My 8 year old has pretty much asked for exactly this. I've considered too, then I stepped on a Lego while bare footed, at least I don't need a tetanus shot when I step on a Lego.
Robotics? Mindstorms...duh!
NOHOME wrote:
if you have him welding pipes together.. could you consider them "Lincoln logs"?
HappyAndy wrote:NOHOME wrote:My 8 year old has pretty much asked for exactly this. I've considered too, then I stepped on a Lego while bare footed, at least I don't need a tetanus shot when I step on a Lego.
let him find something that interests him. i built a series of plywood "go karts" to race down the street in front of my house starting when i was about 6 years old and i started tearing apart cars and stuff at about 14 and actually managed to put an engine back together and start it when i was 15- i learned the cool way that a 350 Chevy revs straight to the moon if you dump gas down the intake manifold and start it without a carburetor on it, and it's really really really breathtakingly LOUD if there aren't any exhaust manifolds on it- but i had been helping my dad and then my grandpa work on cars since i was a kid..
Yep. Never too old.
singleslammer wrote:kylini wrote: I...uh...hate recommending this, but if it's critical thought you want to promote while being a touch more social (hah!), have you thought about getting him addicted to Magic the Gathering? Somehow, it might be cheaper than Legos.I like how this was entirely ignored. I feel your pain brother. Also, Kaijudo is the kid version. Much cheaper.
I want him to do something with his hands other than shuffle cards. building something is great for small motor control and strength.
Gotta say, I like the beater 4 wheeler/dirtbike idea if you can find one cheap enough. However, I know what my son and the rest of his wrecking crew do to these things
How about bicycles? Cheap, infinitely customizable/upgradable, and useful for transportation as well as bombing around in the woods. Looking further ahead, some high schools are working on developing MTB racing as a sport.
Building it, and then flying it is fantastic for that. You can pick up a ready to fly airplane for less than a hundo, brand new. Nothing on that plane that can be broken, save for the electronics, and replaced for more than $20.
eastsidemav wrote: If he's at all into electronics and computers, how about an Arduino or Rasberry Pi?
I was thinking an Arduino too.
I'll second R/C cars. You can get a 2-channel radio for beer money: http://www.amazon.com/FS-GT2-Channel-Digital-Transmitter-Receiver/dp/B00KHLDCX4/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1439819438&sr=1-1&keywords=2-channel+radio
Grab a Lunch Box kit for under a $100: http://www.amazon.com/Lunch-Box-Kit-2WD-Off/dp/B000BMVIGW/ref=sr_1_5?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1439819534&sr=1-5&keywords=tamiya+rc+kit
Grab a cheap NiCD battery and charger: http://www.amazon.com/HPI-Mustang-2000mAh-BATTERY-CHARGER/dp/B00NBB4J3O/ref=sr_1_9?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1439819585&sr=1-9&keywords=7.2v+battery+with+charger
Yes you can get a ready-to-run car for about the same money, but the point is you build the kit.
Does your son have a place to work? I built my son a work space of his own. His tools, his space. That will help him tinker more.
I'm 38 and I still get Legos for Christmas...
+1 to never too old for legos.
+1 to arduino.
Arduino's a good option (or maybe some single-board computers that are good for messing around with like the RasPi or BeagleBone). Custom robots are cheaper and more educational and interesting than Mindstorms stuff.
Although you're never too old for Legos. If he's losing interest in them that's a different thing.
I don't know a dang thing about the RasPis. Don't know what you can do with them, or how.
Whatever you do, do NOT buy him a chemistry set. I got one when I was 11 and even though the manufacturer did a good job of keeping recipes that made loud noises out of the mix, it launched me on an obsessive quest to create chemical reactions that made a lot of noise. Smoke was good also. THANK GOD the internet was many years in the future and I was over it and into cars by then.
Bouncy balls full of oxygen and acetylene were a really good bad idea.
Legos are the standard, but I always preferred erector sets. You can get pretty creative with those things and I always felt like I actually BUILT something.
That was about the age I went from regular legos to the technic sets. But if real car stuff is an option, that would be better.
Ummm...he's 13? Is it not too soon to just buy him a semi-running hulk that he'll have to fix up for his first car?
My dad bought be a $400 car when I was 13. It needed a lot of help. Only rule was that I had to help when he was working on it. Learned basic mechanics by the time I was 16, and (really basic) bodywork by 18.
Of course if you do this you WILL be setting him up for the unhealthy addiction to fixing up E36 M3heaps that we all seem to share.
I hate to say it, but he has little to know interest in cars. Now, his first car will be something that he buys and we fix up, but not a complete project.
As mentioned, that's about when I got into R/C cars. Of course they were a lot slower and all came in kits then, now they're stupid fast and almost all come pre-assembled.
The Technic sets are a good suggestion as well- you can build some pretty impressive stuff with them. You may also look and see if there are any local Mindstorm clubs- there's at least one here that meets every few weeks and has challenges to build different kinds of robots. I believe that the club has all the equipment so you don't have to buy so many expensive sets...
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