Virtual Tech Camps at iD Tech

During this time of school closings, keeping kids learning and entertained is tough to do. If you are like me, you are still working either from home or as essential personnel which makes it hard to homeschool kids. I have found a great solution! Did you know that iD Tech is providing virtual learning at an affordable price? Plus, I have a discount code so read on for that. This post was sponsored by iD Tech but as always, all opinions are my own.

Evan participated in iD Tech last year in a one-week Python coding class, which hopefully he will be able to continue this summer. In the meantime, they are offering Virtual Tech Camps for $499.

Use my code: GILDA125 and save $125!!!!

These online courses are limited to 5 participants per instructor and last a week for many different time zones. The camp includes 2 hours of live instruction and 2 hours of self-paced project development per day. It includes awesome topics that teenagers (and younger) love, including Minecraft, Roblox, Python, Java, AI, Unreal, 3D modeling. Classes are for ages 7-19 for all experience levels. Great STEM learning! 

There are even private lessons available year-round with iD Tech. You can purchase 5 and 12-packs of lessons.

More about iD Tech's Online Onsite Options:

iD Tech has 20+ years of experience with 450,000 alumni. There are 150 campuses worldwide, so you most likely can find one near you. Evan went to Bentley University. With all the uncertainty right now they are also offering unlimited changes and a flexible cancellation policy, you can read more here.

Evan's Python Camp was a week-long where they built their own laptop from a Raspberry Pi and other circuit boards! Evan is into coding and robotics too, so this was right up his alley. With lots of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) options students ages 7 to 19 can find something that interests them.

I liked that during the camp they got outside and got active, too. Here they are having water balloon fights during one of their camp days.

They also have overnight options, but we didn't take advantage of that option. Something that makes me love iD Tech even more is that they also offer all-girls camps (GIRL POWER!!!). As a woman engineer, I can really appreciate this. When I went to Worcester Polytechnic Institute I was one of 3 Aerospace Engineering majors with another 65 boys.

Register now for a Virtual Class!!

https://www.idtech.com/

USE CODE: GILDA125 to save $125!!!

Sessions sell out quickly so do it today!

THE SKY’S THE LIMIT WITH iD TECH!

Disclosure: I was provided monetary compensation for promotion of iD Tech. As always, all opinions are my own.

Discount Code for iD Tech Camps

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) is near and dear to my heart as a graduate from WPI in Aerospace Engineering, Robotics Competition Judge, Employee at a CAD (Computer Aided Design) Software Company, and Mother. Now with two children ages 12 and 14 I am excited for all the opportunities they have to pursue STEM education. When I learned about iDTech Camps I was beyond excited to share it with my kids as it will give them a jump on their future. This post was sponsored by iD Tech Camps, but as always all opinions are my own.
Read on as I have a $75 discount code for any iD Tech Camp!

When I was in High School there were limited options for programming languages and robotics was not even in existence. I remember taking Basic programming and wishing there was more I could do. Now with programs like iD Tech Camps students ages 7-19 can learn to code, design video games, produce videos, design Fortnite-inspired levels, mod Minecraft, create with Roblox, engineer robots, model and print 3D characters, work with AI and machine learning, build laptops, learn about cybersecurity, and more! They have been holding STEM Camps for over 20 years in top universities with over 150 locations conveniently held in Massachusetts and across the US.

The iD Tech mission: Our mission is to create life-changing tech experiences that embolden students to shape the future. There are 50 summer courses and year-round Online Private Lessons to set up children for college, internships, and dream careers.

My son loves Minecraft and would love learning more. With small class sizes of only 5-10 students per instructor everyone gets a high level of attention.

As a kid that got involved in VEX Robotics in middle school Evan would love being in a camp to improve their robot and the programming. Evan’s team has been so successful that we are heading to VEX Robotics Worlds next week in Kentucky to compete!

Register Now!!!
https://www.idtech.com/
USE CODE: GILDA19 to save $75!!!

Sessions sell out quickly so do it today!

Plus they make learning fun! Kids learn real-world skill and have a blast doing it! There are raffles, dress-up days, gaming tournaments, pie-you-instructor Friday and outdoor activities. The key is FUN! I have exposed my kids to fun STEM activities since they were young, and it makes them more excited about science and engineering!

THE SKY’S THE LIMIT WITH iD TECH!

Here is a video with more information.

Disclosure: I was provided monetary compensation for promotion of iD Tech Camps. As always, all opinions are my own.

Circuit Cubes STEM Fun

My son loves building. He likes building robots in his VEX Robotics Club at school, and building with LEGOs. I love seeing toys that involve his passions and get him off their electronics. Recently we received Circuit Cubes from Tenka Labs and Evan had fun trying it out.

We received the Bright Lights Kit which comes with a ultra-bright LED cube, Motor Cube and Battery Cube. The Battery is the power supply that drives the Motor to rotate the gears, and lights the LED.

Before starting you will need to charge the blue battery cube so plan ahead to do this in advance of giving this to your child to play with. Here you can see Evan connecting the components to make it light up.

 With this kit you can make a cool flashlight with the telescope tube and mylar disks it comes with.

Here is his finished flashlight. You can also put pretty star stickers on the side of the tube or make designs on the mylar disks to project on to surfaces.

Evan said the connections were easy to work with and also loved that he can connect his LEGOs with these components. It also works with Mega Bloks.

Here you can see the components close up. Here Evan is connecting the components up so that the tire will spin from the motor.

Even Shellie are dog was interested in this toy. Especially when it was lit up she liked that.

There are so many options for this kit, there are no limits to what your imagination can build. Here is the kit in the package. You can purchase it on Tenka Labs website or on Amazon.

Disclosure: I received Circuit Cubes Bright Lights for review purposes. I was also compensated for this review. As always all opinions are my own.

11/23/16: STEM Toys from Uncle Milton

I love toys that allow kids to learn at the same time and Uncle Milton does an awesome job with this!  We got to check out the new Virtual Explorer Space Expedition and the Star Wars Science Force Spinners Magnetic Lab with BB-8 and Evan had a blast playing with them.

I was especially impressed with the Virtual Explorer Space Expedition.  Being a space enthusiast and someone with an Aerospace Engineering degree I couldn't wait to see what this had to offer.  The coolest thing is that it allows you to explore the solar system via virtual reality technology!  The star planetarium projects hundreds of stars on the wall.

There is a dial that you can use to set it to a specific date.  There is an explorer activity guide that helps you learn about constellations, space expeditions and the solar system.

The Virtual Reality goggles open up for you to put your smart phone in to.  You then download a free app to start exploring.  The cool thing is that when I looked through I saw that the technology was Powered by Vuforia.  My company PTC which I have worked at for 18 years acquired Vuforia so this is our technology powering this toy.

There are Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality cards that unlock adventures.

Here it is as packaged.  It retails for $49.99.  They also have a Prehistoric Safari and Antopia Adventure.  You can see those here.

We also received the Star Wars Science Force Spinners Magnetic Lab with BB-8.  Evan loved the Star Wars The Force Awakens movie and thought BB-8 was cool so I knew he would like this.  You put the rip cord in to allow it to spin.

Us the force to push BB-8 with the magnetic force controller.  Use the speed rail for tricks.  Kids get to learn about magnets, friction and physics.

Even Shellie had fun playing with it.

Here it is as packaged.  It retails for $19.99.

Check out Uncle Milton Online:

https://unclemilton.com/

Disclosure:  I was provided with these products for review purposes.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

5/19/16: TouchTomorrow at WPI FREE STEM Event

Family fun is pretty expensive these days so when I see a free event I jump at the chance.  TouchTomorrow at Worcester Polytechnic Institute is totally free and a great STEM event for kids!  It is happening on June 11th from 10-4 on the WPI Campus.  I went last year and the whole family loved it plus it was nice for my husband and I to go back to our Alma mater.

Here is some more information about this years event:
This is TouchTomorrow's fifth year at WPI.  The family can explore Space and Robots with NASA educators.  There will be NASA exhibits including the famous MARCBot IV Rover and the Mark III Suit.  Try on a wearable NASA Space suit! 

Check out two new Virtual Reality chairs with monitors and Oculus glasses that will take you on a planetary tour!  Watch what happens to Peeps inside a real vacuum chamber.  Get run over by the Roll-Over-Rover like Lauren did last year.  This lightweight rover has 8 wheels and rolls right over kids and makes them giggle the whole time.

Little kids will also have a blast with “Quack” from Peep and the Big Wide World and Curious George. 

Plus there are faculty and students sharing their work with you and your family.  Last year we got to see the lab I spent a lot of time in with a Wind Tunnel.

There will also be lots of speakers including NASA Astronauts.  When we went last year we saw Astronaut Cady Coleman.  She spoke about her experiences and showed some really cool pictures from her missions.  She will be back again this year to speak.  You can see the schedule here. 

There is even an event app this year that you can download from the app store by searching for “WPI TouchTomorrow”.  The event will also feature the NASA Sample Return Robot Centennial Challenge.  The NASA Sample Return Robot Challenge program has three objectives: 1 - Discover innovative new technologies to advance robot navigation and sample collection without human control. 




2 - Demonstrate robotic transportation over varied terrain without the aid of GPS or other Earth-based systems. 


3 - Empower educators and people of all ages, by introducing robotics and how they work, where they work, and real-world applications of how robots will be used the future. 







This event drew more than 10,000 people!  

The whole family had so much fun and it got the kids exited about science and engineering.  Here they are with Gompei the Goat who is our school's mascot!

There was so much to do and see.  I recommend looking at the schedule online and decide what you really want to go to.  There were many food options, ample parking and by using the campus map you were able to figure out where you wanted to go. 

For more information on TouchTomorrow visit them online:
www.touchtomorrow.wpi.edu
@touchtomorrowpi #touchtomorrow
https://www.facebook.com/TouchTomorrowWPI
https://instagram.com/wpi_touchtomorrow/

So much fun for the whole family!

Disclosure:  I was provided compensation for this post.  As always all opinions are my own.