Toys

I've just returned from an amazing weekend at the second annual Maker Faire held in San Mateo, CA. The event is packed with booths featuring hundreds of inventors and crafters showing off their latest and greatest projects. We're still collecting our notes and getting our photos together, but here are a few projects we really enjoyed.

Jeremy Boyle constructed an amazing MIDI-controlled music kit called the Trio1 that used dozens of pneumatic pistons to play a drum kit and electric guitar.

Roboticist Crabfu had his steam-powered R2S2 robot on display. I've seen his robots on video before, … Read more

Want to feel old? Next year will mark the 20th anniversary of Big, the movie that everyone remembers for the scene where pre-Forrest Gump Tom Hanks plays an unlikely duet with Robert Loggia on a giant piano. (We all know, of course, that anyone in real life would have been eight-sixed by security at FAO Schwarz before their feet hit the second note.)

Now you too can play Josh (he apparently had no last name in the movie) with the "World's Biggest Piano Mat," which measures almost 6.5 feet long and nearly 3 feet wide. Forget … Read more

I'm hardly a Barbie girl, but there really is a Barbie world now--at least virtually.

Mattel, the company behind the iconic pencil-thin doll, says BarbieGirls.com is the first global virtual world designed specifically for girls, who can create their own flawless avatars by picking "from 2.64 quadrillion character combinations of fashions and accessories, as well as stylish faces, expressions and hairstyles."

In conjunction with the virtual world, the toy maker plans in July to start selling $60 plastic MP3 players called "Barbie Girls"--you've probably already guessed what song is in my … Read more

For today's lesson, boys and girls, we'll learn how to make energy consumption fun! Unlike boring grown-up devices like the "Intelliworks," which are about as interesting as a thermostat, Matsushita Electric's National brand has created an anime-driven home regulator that the whole family can enjoy, according to Akihabara News, at least in Japan.

And how can anyone resist a system that uses penguins to help improve household efficiency? (Certainly fellow Craver Caroline McCarthy couldn't.) Let the little guys loose on this animated interface and let the savings begin.

Pool toys this summer are getting strikingly high-tech. Or maybe they've been high-tech, but I hadn't noticed because last summer there was no such thing as Crave yet (shocking!) Either way, they're a whole lot more sophisticated than the Super Soakers we had back when I was a kid.

We've already seen that many of the season's hottest (coolest?) water toys are pirate-themed. I like being a pirate. But I realize you might not. If you're more enamored by the idea of trench warfare than high-seas combat, this water balloon cannon, called the Water … Read more

Move over, Nabaztag--make room for "Wassup." B2 calls its latest creation "a fusion of technology and personality" that will hit the market in July for $25, but we say it's basically a bunny bot that dances to your tunes. Transfer songs from your iPod or MP3 player to this irritatingly named speaker-toy, and it promises to look like a futuristic version of the Energizer Bunny after a dozen triple espressos. Our take: Keep it away from the kids.

Just when we thought the Tamagotchi was on the way out--it's in its teens, after all--they pull it back in. It's kind of the Michael Corleone of Japan's kawaii culture. And what better way to infuse the aging 'Chi with new life than with the Wii? (We suspect a "Chiimote" can't be far off.)

Atari is bringing its Tamagotchi Party On game to the Wii this summer, according to GeekSugar, a move that threatens to expose an entirely new generation to the once-addictive digital icon. We're surprised that someone didn't throw in … Read more

Throw away those beanie babies; they are old news. There is a new sheriff in munchkin town.

Webkinz.com is a Web site children can join and interact in an online society while adopting a physical representation of the pet. The catch is that a Webkinz stuffed animal must be purchased first, followed by entering the "secret code" found on an attached tag. The cute plush toys have been quite popular, grossing over $45 million last year for Canadian gift company Ganz, the creators of Webkinz. Like its TY Beanie-Baby predecessor, Webkinz also has a high collection value, … Read more

As anyone who has managed to get their hands on a Nintendo Wii will shamefully admit, one of its most fun features is the Mii Channel, its easy-to-use avatar creation tool.

While that's not news, the phenomenon of celebrity avatars making their way across cyberspace is. People are sharing formulas for making celebrities and Wii console numbers to become friends so they can share avatars. There are several sites dedicated to the celebrity-inspired Miis and even contests to see who's making the best one.

Celebrities include everyone from Ali G to Zach Braf. Many of them can be … Read more