Have four grandchildren. Ages (little over) 1 year; (almost) 3; almost 5 and almost 7. My seven year old grandson is very creative. Give him some play-dough and it's amazing the things he makes; along with the use of colors. Definitely a gifted child. Takes after me - no doubt. ")

Thought about getting him a 3D Pen. But they are similar to Hot Melt Glue guns. And they're probably rated for children a little older. Well, he's ahead of his class in just about everything, so I don't think this is a terrible idea, but I am concerned about the other children getting their hands on it and then getting burned. DEFINITELY don't want that.

I'm wondering if anyone has any ideas, suggestions that may be similar in nature, making stuff and such, but without the use of hot plastics. He has TONS of Lego's, other magnetic construction sets and snap-together things. What he makes with them is also impressive. His younger brother is also creative, but not on his level. I'm probably going to stick with more traditional gifts for the younger three. I'm primarily focused on the oldest and his level of creativity. Sculpting is one thing he's shown a lot of talent for.

Any ideas?

 

Hello,

How is the boy with tools?
I have been on a sculpting course that used ytong as stone to work with.
You have special saws for it and you can use a chisel and a small hammer to cut pieces of the stone.
Also a grater can be used easely on the ytong block.
I made a cat from the ytong block.
The final result was this:



Bertus

 

One thing that has not only stood the test of time, and evolved over the many decades, but I know it definitely had influence on my early learning was/is Meccano erector set.
Now not quite the simple concept that I knew, but the basics are the same and has evidently evolved to include some modern technology, by the look of it.
From 1898 origins, ~six generations!.
Max.

 

Meccano erector set

WHOLLY CHIT! I thought the erector set was a long gone thing of the past.

https://www.amazon.com/Meccano-Erec...o+erector+set&qid=1567718589&s=gateway&sr=8-4

Looking at the title, this almost belongs in the jokes thread. In particular they say
"Meccano Erector Super Construction 25-in-1 Building Set, 638 Parts, for Ages 10+, STEAM Education Toy" Focus on the "STEAM" Further down they describe it as being a part of the STEM - - - but yeah! I think (maybe I think too much, but I think) he might be ready for something like this. I'll have to discuss it with his father and see whether they will be able to supervise his activities because his little brother wants to be just like the big brother. They don't compete but Bram wants to do everything Clark does. And Bram is showing signs of creativity too.

Thanks so much Max. I almost want one just for myself. Or maybe I can keep it here and when I'm not playing with it Clark can. AWESOME SUGGESTION!

 

Hello,

How is the boy with tools?
I have been on a sculpting course that used ytong as stone to work with.
You have special saws for it and you can use a chisel and a small hammer to cut pieces of the stone.
Also a grater can be used easely on the ytong block.
I made a cat from the ytong block.
The final result was this:

View attachment 185538

Bertus

I would suspect Clark would be pretty good with this too. However, I think my daughter would probably kill me for the mess that will be made. BTW, that's a pretty cool cat. My wife would like that. Great idea too. Thanks.

 

Have been thinking about model rocketry. The construction might be a bit beyond his years, but I could make them, let them choose the paint colors for their rockets and let them place the decals on the rockets. Did that with my kids when they were small.

Funny (true) story (might even be in the jokes thread); my daughter was crying because she couldn't catch her rocket. The older, taller kids kept catching the rockets as they came down. So I made everyone sit under the tree while she and I went out in the field. Had my oldest boy fire the rocket. All afternoon we'd been launching by the western goal line of the high school football field. All afternoon the rockets had been coming down about the 25 yard line from the east goal. So there we are, just the two of us. The rocket takes off. Starts drifting down toward the west goal line. I had to scoop her up and dash the 75 yards with a little girl tucked under my arm like a football. Keep in mind she'd been in tears for not catching her rocket. I made the dash and we got there JUST as the rocket reached the ground. She caught her rocket. She went to tears over it. I asked "What's the matter now?" She said "Nothing. I'm Happy."

Just one of the memories I'll keep to the grave. I hope. I hope not too soon.

 

Anything that let's him build and explore is probably good. You might try some of the electronic DIY kits that are around, especially if he's never been exposed to electronics and such. The worst that can happen is he doesn't like it and that, in and of itself, is a useful thing to know. The LEGO Mindstorms (or whatever might have succeeded it) is an option, too.

 

There is an amazing game for 7-8 year olds called Turing Tumble. It used plastic shapes and marbles to teach about logic gates and computers. And it’s just plain fun. What kid doesn’t like marbles rolling down. It starts out simple and then gets more complex. I just cannot wait until my grandson is old enough for me to give it to him.

 

Now the moderators are reviving 4 year old threads. ?!

 

Now the moderators are reviving 4 year old threads. ?!

At least his grandson is now almost 11 and could probably better enjoy some of the suggestions

 

Looking at the title, this almost belongs in the jokes thread. In particular they say
"Meccano Erector Super Construction 25-in-1 Building Set, 638 Parts, for Ages 10+, STEAM Education Toy" Focus on the "STEAM" Further down they describe it as being a part of the STEM ...........

The added "A" is not a typo or anything. It was added to STEM to include art.
Science
Technology
Engineering
Arts
Mathematics

 

Now the moderators are reviving 4 year old threads. ?!

It was actually revived by a spam post (since deleted) and I didn't notice that the prior post was so old. Sorry.

 

The added "A" is not a typo or anything. It was added to STEM to include art.
Science
Technology
Engineering
Arts
Mathematics

Which always ticked me off.

The entire point of creating the STEM concept was to promote and foster interest in technical careers. The Arts already have all kinds of programs that promote and foster them and you don't see the techies demanding that they be expanded to include them.

 

You might try some of the electronic DIY kits

Well, maybe an update: He loved the electronics kit I got him right off. However, he wanted to start off with the most advanced project in the kit. Having not followed the lessons he found the big project difficult and lost interest. He still picks it up from time to time. His younger brother messes with it far more than he did. So it's going to good use.

Now the moderators are reviving 4 year old threads. ?!

I was surprised to see this thread come back. But that's OK. It gave me a chance to update his progress.

It was actually revived by a spam post (since deleted) and I didn't notice that the prior post was so old. Sorry.

No, no, I don't mind. Yeah, it's not likely it will yield anything VERY exciting. However,

There is an amazing game for 7-8 year olds called Turing Tumble. It used plastic shapes and marbles to teach about logic gates and computers. And it’s just plain fun. What kid doesn’t like marbles rolling down. It starts out simple and then gets more complex. I just cannot wait until my grandson is old enough for me to give it to him.

View attachment 288799

looks like it could be something interesting and handed down to his siblings. He has three younger brothers and a younger sister. Though she's more into pink and unicorns.