Crazy electronics for school: the practical, the impractical and the cheap
Know what this is? A solar-powered backpack, that’s what.
By Aimee Heckel
Studies tell us that kids learn better when they’re having fun. So does common sense. With technology, the creative and fun possibilities are virtually endless.
Here are some of our favorite back-to-school gadgets that can make your kids’ school year fun — and how to save money on them, too.
THE PRACTICAL: A solar-powered backpack.
Until they can invent a cell phone that can hold a charge for more than half a day, we can all need a solar-powered backpack. ThinkGeek.com sells this brilliant invention for $119.99.
Put the solar panel on your kid’s existing backpack, and while he walks to school or plays on the playground, this pack charges up. Plug electronics into the backpack to charge — so your kiddo is no longer chained to a wall indoors. Bring your backpack charging station to the park and write an essay under a tree in the grass, without having to worry about a power source.
This is the perfect way to get kids outdoors, but within the modern constraints of a techno-savvy educational system.
This is an example of technology put to its finest use. Practical? Life-saving? Well, no. But awesome? All the way.
ThinkGeek has an entire page dedicated to interactive T-shirts — shirts with guitars and synthesizers you can play. Does an electronic drum kit shirt get you extra credit in band class? The wifi detector shirt, $14.99, comes with a built-in wifi detector — perfect to help you find that free wifi to log on to (OK, this one’s actually pretty practical). Draw on your shirt with a UV laser with the laser interactive shirt.
Kids these days. And we thought Hypercolor was amazing.
Note: The kids’ electronic guitar shirt is super cheap — only $4.99!
THE CHEAP: Shop the sales.
Check out ThinkGeek’s sale page for other cool gadgets and inventions majorly marked down. For example, find an iPad joystick for $3.99 (67 percent off) and a Chewbacca messenger bag for $71.99 — wait, what? That’s a thing?
Yes, it so is a thing.
Read more articles about ThinkGeek here.
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