STEM Archives - Circuits and Cable Knit

2015 Gift Guide: Wearables For Kids

December 23, 2015

Wearable tech is not incredibly kid friendly. The devices tend to be expensive, not very durable, and, frankly, not appropriate for most 8 year olds. As much as they might want an Apple Watch or Fossil Q Founder, these are way overkill for their needs – and let’s not forget the untimely end a quick jump in a pool could cause the device. But wearables are new and exciting, so it is not surprising that a kid you know might want one. The good news is that there are wearables on the market designed especially for children. Whether you are looking to get them a wearable that can communicate with friends, one to make sure they stay active throughout the day, or simply something to trigger an interest in STEM, there are a variety of devices for you to gift the kid in your life!

by Doug Parker

Zac Posen Shows LED Dress Coded By Teen Girls At NYFW

September 11, 2015

One of the biggest hits at designer Zac Posen’s New York Fashion Week showcase this week was an LED dress. The dress, beautiful in its own right, was made even more striking because of the people behind it; a team of teenage girls coded the dress’s amazing LED display. Through a partnership with Google’s Made With Code initiative, mentor and fashion engineer Maddy Maxey reached out to NYC’s Flatiron School, Black Girls Code organization, and Lower East Side Girls Club. The girls were presented with a drag-and-drop coding interface and were given a day to design LED animations, but it was not until later that they were told what it was for. Fifty of the girls involved were even in attendance at Zac Posen’s show.

We have talked about it before, but getting women of all ages more involved in STEM is vital. According to Made With Code less than 1% of women study computer science. This is horribly disproportionate and worrisome, especially for a field which is having more and more of an impact on our culture. Made With Code attempts to make coding more accessible to girls through gamification and educating them about real-world applications of computer science skills. If you want to tryout the interface the girls used to code the dress, Made With Code has posted it on their website. Head past the break to check out the LED dress (worn by model model Coco Rocha).

by Doug Parker

Linkitz Encourages Young Girls In STEM With Wearable Toy

August 26, 2015

It is no secret that all of us at Circuits and Cable Knit love devices that encourage girls in STEM. Programmable technology that is designed for kids and girls specifically is the key to getting them engaged at an early age. Jewelbots is one of our favorite pieces of girl-oriented tech, elegant and full featured it allows girls of all ages to program the jewelry to whatever they can image. Recently we came across Linkitz, another wearable designed to help girls learn to program. To understand how the products are different, Linkitz is to Jewelbots as Duplo is to Legos.

Designed for young girls, Linkitz is a modular wearable device that is much more toy than jewelry. Three large, brightly colored plastic modules can be connected to a central hub. Each module brings different functionality, such as LEDs, a speaker, or a motion detector, which enable the device to behave differently. For example, the bracelet can customized to be a walkie talkie, a friendship bracelet, or a Simon Says game. To program the device, Linkitz wants to keep it simple and relies entirely on a pictographic programming language. The wearable toy is expected this ship this December following a successful Kickstarter campaign where it raised over $100,000. If you want to preorder a band, they start at $60, but if you want every module, you will need to order the set of two bands for $250.

by Doug Parker

STEM

2015 Gift Guide: Wearables For Kids

Zac Posen Shows LED Dress Coded By Teen Girls At NYFW

Linkitz Encourages Young Girls In STEM With Wearable Toy

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