Author Topic: meccano (or other gifts for young engineers)??  (Read 4847 times)

scrubbyfish

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meccano (or other gifts for young engineers)??
« on: November 02, 2014, 03:38:52 PM »
I'm pretty keen on a Meccano kit for my kid. He likes building things (models and freehand), robots, mechanics, etc. A toy store directed me to the Mecanno sets with motor.

What are people's experiences with these? Have they sustained your child's interest for only hours/days, or months? Does the motor work well? Do parts stand the test of time? Do you strongly recommend the 6V motor set over the 3V? Is it worth getting a kit with 250 pieces vs 100 pieces? Do kids actually build their own stuff, or generally follow the models (in which case the kit with 40 models may be a better one than that with 20)? Other thoughts? Other products meeting the same ends?

There are several kits, ranging in price from $80-$120. I'm willing to spend for something awesome, but not more than would actually be of value.

deborah

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Re: meccano (or other gifts for young engineers)??
« Reply #1 on: November 02, 2014, 05:54:32 PM »
When I was little we had dad's meccano set. We played with it for hours. This was before lego was readily available (although when lego came out, we still preferred the meccano). We played with it for many years (although I wasn't really allowed to play with it - it was for boys). I remember my brother making several types of gear sets with the meccano when he was 15 or 16. The small nuts and bolts that held it together were a bit fiddly. It was metal (I don't know if it still is), and we had an enormous box of bits (dad must have been given sets for just about every birthday). It was totally the best toy we had when we were children! I cannot remember any bits breaking.

TeresaB

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Re: meccano (or other gifts for young engineers)??
« Reply #2 on: November 03, 2014, 08:22:30 AM »
I loved Meccano as a kid. We never had a set with motors. I think that some of our thin flexible plastic pieces (windshields and stuff) did break eventually. We started with the models but then took them apart and played with the pieces separately.

You could look into Capsela. Those were fun. The motors didn't last incredibly long, though. And I would say they were less flexible than Meccano, as well as less compatible with Playmobil people, which was a drawback for me.

I don't know how old your kid is, but you should look into First Lego League/First Tech Challenge if you're also looking for extracurriculars. Can't say enough good things about the program based on my experience.

scrubbyfish

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Re: meccano (or other gifts for young engineers)??
« Reply #3 on: November 03, 2014, 08:59:25 AM »
Thank you, both, TeresaB and deborah! Good to know I may be on a good track here.

I've never spent so much -anywhere near!!- on a birthday gift for my kid! I'm thinking this is a nice one as he can play alone or with friends, and indoors through the winter. I'd be buying it locally so he can return it if he doesn't love it. It's just hard for me to spend this much, and I also don't know whether the extra $40 is worth it.

He's 10.

Chranstronaut

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Re: meccano (or other gifts for young engineers)??
« Reply #4 on: November 03, 2014, 12:16:31 PM »
Do they sell an expansion pack or extra parts outside the main kits?  Personally, I'd suggest starting off with the smaller kit to make sure he likes it and see what his preferences are.  I don't know how varied the meccano kits are, but if he prefers to make certain things, you don't want to end up with the double the number of useless parts!

As far as gifts go for engineering kids, I've also heard really good things about Snap Circuits, but don't have them myself: http://www.snapcircuits.net/faq

scrubbyfish

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Re: meccano (or other gifts for young engineers)??
« Reply #5 on: November 03, 2014, 12:49:47 PM »
Do they sell an expansion pack or extra parts outside the main kits?  Personally, I'd suggest starting off with the smaller kit to make sure he likes it and see what his preferences are. I don't know how varied the meccano kits are, but if he prefers to make certain things, you don't want to end up with the double the number of useless parts!

Good points! I'm not sure yet if they sell adjunct parts. Yeah, that helps me realize that one of my concerns was that I buy the smaller kit, he craves more parts/options and then has to spend at least that much again to get more. i.e., Between the two of us, ultimately spending at least double instead of just, say, 50% more in the first place.

As far as gifts go for engineering kids, I've also heard really good things about Snap Circuits, but don't have them myself: http://www.snapcircuits.net/faq

YES!! That's what I got him for his last birthday! :)    He LOVED it! We did leave it behind with our recent move, though, as he seemed finished with it. The only qualification I would make to the Snap Circuit Kit is that you do so many models, and then some experimentation, and then you've "done everything" (which is a concern I have about the Meccano too, but he is quite obsessed with robots so there may be more sustained interest). However, other than that, I do recommend it. He loved it, learned a lot, and even ended up presenting a public demo (over an hour) to lots of super interested kids.

...look into First Lego League/First Tech Challenge if you're also looking for extracurriculars. Can't say enough good things about the program based on my experience.

Thanks for this, too, TeresaB. We're quite rural and also without much internet, but I'll look those up to see if it might be a good fit for him within our whacky details.

Goldielocks

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Re: meccano (or other gifts for young engineers)??
« Reply #6 on: November 03, 2014, 01:07:31 PM »
We bought a second hand, good condition Meccano set for our son, but he did not like it very much compared to other sets.  Dad remembered loving his as a child, which is why we tried it, but the nuts /bolts are fiddly as another commented.  Compared to the modern sets, it was used only once.

Alternatives include Capsela, KNex (roller coaster), or the absolute best one: an electrical circuit toy called Snap Circuits.   (we never had capsela, but it looks great)
Both Snap Circuits and Capsela keep their condition very well, and don't have parts / kits that get lost or lose value when unpacked, so you should be able to get excellent second hand versions. 

KNex is the one our son keeps taking out, over three years, but has hundreds of pieces.  He loves the roller coaster aspect and had created his own versions that circle the room.
Snap circuits was a hit and requested by all his friends when they came over, and was used for 2 years, 8-10.

swick

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Re: meccano (or other gifts for young engineers)??
« Reply #7 on: November 03, 2014, 07:11:50 PM »
Depends on the age, but a family subscription to MAKE Magazine Would be awesome! The latest issue actually has a great "Tinkering Toys" buyers guide.

http://www.makeymakey.com/ or http://www.raspberrypi.org/ if the kids are interested in electronics at all - I have seen some kids to really awesome things with Makeymakey set-up and can be reused over and over for new projects.

scrubbyfish

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Re: meccano (or other gifts for young engineers)??
« Reply #8 on: November 03, 2014, 07:47:54 PM »
Wow, yeah, Swick!! The MaKey MaKey and Makers Magazine are excellent fits! I didn't know of them. He and I went to the mini-makers faire in Vancouver a few months ago and we were both just over the moon there. I think that of the two, the magazine is the better fit -he'd LOVE to get something in the mail every eight weeks, LOVES reading, would be thrilled with all the ideas, act on them, etc. The MaKey MaKey seems like it might rely on regular internet access (?, it suggests downloading this or that, and engaging with that) and definitely on computer (and I'd like to keep encouraging him toward other materials/media).

So, I might get him Mecanno so he has something to open by his b-day (I think he'll love it, and there seems to be consensus here that this is an awesome, loved, and relatively sturdy item), and order the magazine subscription now for his Christmas present.

Man...I just had a wave of awareness about how grateful my kid will be able to feel toward the MMM community. Right now, because it gives his mum joy, next when he gets awesome presents over the next while, and when he grows up to realize he has both solid wisdom and a good financial base ready for him. Thanks, everyone!!

Chranstronaut

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Re: meccano (or other gifts for young engineers)??
« Reply #9 on: November 04, 2014, 11:05:38 AM »
Depends on the age, but a family subscription to MAKE Magazine Would be awesome! The latest issue actually has a great "Tinkering Toys" buyers guide.

http://www.makeymakey.com/ or http://www.raspberrypi.org/ if the kids are interested in electronics at all - I have seen some kids to really awesome things with Makeymakey set-up and can be reused over and over for new projects.

Never heard of makey makey, that looks pretty cool! 

I think Raspberry Pi is something to grow into in the future.  Adults use it a lot for clever control solutions around the house, so it's not just a toy for kids.  Maybe an idea of another gift.  I don't think it's something he could grow out of as easily.

Happy birthday to little fish!  He's got a cool mom looking out for him :)

gimp

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Re: meccano (or other gifts for young engineers)??
« Reply #10 on: November 04, 2014, 12:39:26 PM »
Honestly, I'm disillusioned with the ras pi. Its GUI is shit. Its command line interface is fine, but your kid needs to be pretty damn persistent to work with the CLI at a young age. It's also pretty bad at interfacing with hardware - you need a lot in between the GPIO (connections used to output/input signals) and your eventual hardware. (Buffers, controllers, level shifters, overvoltage protection, and so on.) By the way, I own three ras pis.

The arduino on the other hand I would gladly recommend to anyone who wants to learn programming and hardware. Get a starter kit ($50-100 depending on how much you want to spend) and you can control motors, send signals wirelessly, wire up various basic input/output devices, and so on. Want a wifi- or bluetooth-controlled car? Yeah, you can build that for about $100 with an arduino.

By the way, the arduino really set me on my current path. I knew how to program, and figured I wanted to go into electrical engineering to "round it out," but the arduino really showed me that I enjoy the whole EECE (electrical and computer engineering) stack, top to bottom. Something like $100 taught me what a university charges about $10k for. Or $100k, depending. I am by the way almost entirely serious - about $500 in hardware, and a lot of effort, will teach you almost an entire engineering curriculum. (By "a lot of effort" I mean "several years of dedicated study, thinking, and several hours daily average." Otherwise known as approximately what a university curriculum requires. I recommend doing both in parallel like I did.)
« Last Edit: November 04, 2014, 12:44:23 PM by gimp »

 

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