Five Guilt-Free Gadgets for Kids

As a parent, I know how hard it is to select a new toy for your kids. You want them to enjoy themselves without turning into mindless, blood-splattering video game addicts. Say the word "educational," though, and that pricey new gizmo will find its way straight to the bottom of the abandoned-toy box.

Fortunately, there is a middle ground: software and gadgets that are fun and also help teach fundamental principles of electronics, engineering, music, and more. Some of my top five picks are new for 2007, while others debuted in years past but are still worthy of note. Just don't call them educational.

1. A Little Soft Music

True or false: All iPods are small, come in durable hard-plastic cases, and are built by Apple. It's true if you're an Apple lawyer. But Super iPod DIY Kit lets you build a pillow-size iPod out of, well, a pillowcase, along with a handful of electronics, a "hacked" Coby MP3 player, some conductive fabric, and a whole lot of thread. Along the way your children learn the basics of electrical schematics, conduction, and insulation, as well as how to wow their friends at the next sleepover. The project comes via Tech DIY, a site devoted to science projects that mothers can do along with their kids. You can purchase the $45 kits from Etsy.com.

2. Plug, Program, and Play

Like Lego Mindstorms, PicoCricket is an insidiously sneaky way to teach your children the basic principles of programming. The $250 kit from the Playful Invention Company combines Lego bricks, fuzzy pipe cleaners, and other goofy materials with highly sophisticated sensors for light, motion, sound, and touch. Your kids build an object, use the PicoBlocks software to program it, and then download their program to the device via a USB cable. Building programs is simply a matter of dragging different "blocks"--puzzle-like pieces with commands such as "play sound" or "light off"--into the proper sequence. Before long your young inventors will be able to create cats that purr when touched or a birthday cake that lights up when people sing. But Pico is not just for the wee ones in your house: The 2007 edition features new "motion modules" that demonstrate important scientific and engineering concepts for middle schoolers.