As distance learning ends, we wanted to share new options on our store from MakeDo and Tech Will Save Us. Perfect for some laid-back summer STEAM with plenty of opportunities for students to keep their key skills sharp, there are a variety of new kits from each company on our store. Grabbing any of these helps make home projects or summer camp lessons more engaging, relevant, and fun for elementary students. Plus, the kits come with just about everything creative makers might need—except the cardboard for MakeDo inventions. But, we figure it’s usually easy enough to find some of that around!
Before we get into the MakeDo kits, some of the Tech Will Save Us kits on our store are revamped and made to better help facilitate learning outside of the classroom. We’re currently selling some of the classics, like the Electro Dough Kit, Synth Kit, and Thirsty Plant Kit. But, there are also some new ones, like the Sew and Glow Kit, Light Racer Kit, and Creative Coder Kit! Plus, the popular Gamer Kit is now available in a 6-pack and the Electro Dough Kit is available in a 15-pack for anybody in charge of leading group STEAM projects this summer!
Engineering and coding with the kits.
With the Tech Will Save Us kits, students can enjoy an interactive way of learning key STEM concepts and skills. Many kits involve circuitry, helping students see what it’s like to build circuits and use it in a bigger project. They can also fine tune their coding skills with the Creative Coder Kit specifically. Using Tech Will Save Us’ downloadable Bolt software, students can write programs to control the lights on the Creative Coder. They'll also learn more about programming as they run tons of different code options from anywhere!
The Gamer Kit can also help students develop new coding skills—only, with this one, they do the building themselves! All of the interactive instructions and coding options are accessible through Tech Will Save Us’ Make portal. This helps educators create an efficient learning experience for students (very much like the MakeDo kits). They’ll use components like a gamer board, screen, chips, nuts, and bolts, to build their Gamer Kit. All they need once finished building is a 9-volt battery and they can program pre-made video games. If you’ve tried any of the other Tech Will Save Us kits, these two are a bit more involved. But, they're the perfect next step for any student who’s completed other projects with other kits.
The MakeDo kits in STEAM learning.
As for the MakeDo STEAM kits, the three new kits feature some of the same plastic MakeDo tools for easy, scalable STEAM learning and some new ones, like the FOLD-ROLLER and the SAFE-SAW JNR! They're easy for educators to incorporate as students can build and invent large or small structures out of cardboard! The building and construction kits from MakeDo have long been some of our favorite low-tech STEAM learning options for students. Since there’s not a lot of technical knowhow associated with the plastic building pieces and cardboard strips students tend to connect together using them, we thought it would be a good time to get these new options on our store.
The MakeDo Invent kit, in particular, comes with 366 tools in total, making it an excellent STEAM kit for as many as 24 students to use in a collaborative space. Among the items in the kit are eight SAFE-SAWS, eight SCRU-DRIVERS, 240 SCRUS, 90 SCRU XLS, and 12 MINI-TOOLS. Then, you have the added FOLD-ROLLERS and TOOLBOX for storage and transport to help make this MakeDo kit more appealing.
Where to find the MakeDo kits.
The MakeDo Discover Kit is a scaled-down version of the Invent Kit and includes many of the same plastic tools. It contains 126 pieces in total, including the addition of the SAFE-SAW JNR for younger makers to work with. This kit also contains one SAFE-SAW, one FOLD-ROLLER, one SCRU-DRIVER, 90 SCRUS, 30 SCRU XLS, two MINI-TOOLS, and one toolbox, able to support 1-5 students at a time. Finally, the MakeDo Explore Kit contains 50 tool pieces and supports one or two students at a time, making it perhaps the best option for children to use at home. The Explore Kit comes with one SAFE-SAW, one SCRU-DRIVER, 36 SCRUS, 12 SCRU XLS, one MINI-TOOL, and one TOOLBOX.
We’ll be publishing more content about our newest STEAM tools but it’s tough to beat these for hands-on summer learning. To purchase or request a quote for MakeDo or Tech Will Save Us kits, click above to visit our store. Be sure to create an Educator Discount account if you have not already and make sure you’re following us on Twitter and Instagram for all of our latest news and product announcements!