Physical Algorithm Toys

Question

Which physical toys will help a young person understand algorithms or programming concepts in general?An example is the 'Tower of Hanoi' game: https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Tower_of_HanoiAnother example is this sorting game: https://imgur.com/a/NrjSHdGI am interested in teaching some very young people these concepts, in a fun way, without the requirement of a computer or any electronics at all.

Jtsummers · Accepted Answer

Define young for us. My first thought is not a toy, but a game, Robo Rally [0]. However, that might be less applicable to young children. They'd have a harder time with it.
There are many algorithms which can be demonstrated with playing cards, but they are not games or toys in themselves, but demonstrations.
Based on the imgur link (which finally loaded), my suggestions are probably not age appropriate.
Wood Gears [1] has some neat contraptions and ideas that may be enjoyable for kids (some more than others). Even things like the solitaire puzzles are algorithim toys [2]. There are many variations of it which scale down to be more appropriate to younger children.
[0] https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/18/roborally
[1] https://woodgears.ca/machines.html
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peg_solitaire

codingdave · Answer

Take a look at the activities labeled 'Algorithms' from the 'unplugged' page on code.org: https://code.org/curriculum/unpluggedThey have a few specific toys they work with, but it also will likely give you more ideas.

jones1618 · Answer

Traffic Jam is a physical sliding puzzle that teaches sequential and recursive thinking: https://tinyurl.com/yxav6zx4There's also a 1-dimensional version you can play in a classroom with people or on a table w/ coins or chess pieces: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KizRWfuT5uQ

Theophraustous · Answer

A Rubix Cube seems like the obvious choice. In learning to solve the cube you will learn several algorithms, and see how useful they can be yourself.

pubby · Answer

Mazes can teach graph traversal.

Physical Algorithm Toys

Take a look at the activities labeled 'Algorithms' from the 'unplugged' page on code.org: https://code.org/curriculum/unplugged
They have a few specific toys they work with, but it also will likely give you more ideas.

Traffic Jam is a physical sliding puzzle that teaches sequential and recursive thinking: https://tinyurl.com/yxav6zx4
There's also a 1-dimensional version you can play in a classroom with people or on a table w/ coins or chess pieces: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KizRWfuT5uQ

A Rubix Cube seems like the obvious choice. In learning to solve the cube you will learn several algorithms, and see how useful they can be yourself.

Mazes can teach graph traversal.