Best gift for (HN-type) 10 year old
Obviously there are no right or wrong answers.
And 10 could mean 7 or 13 and girl could mean boy.
But let’s get off FTX and Twitter for a bit and answer questions that really matter.
(Old threads welcome)
(Ps do they know it’s X-MOS)
For Christmas I'm getting my nephews around the same age a lock-picking training kit and their father is never going to forgive me...
A RPi to code and learn a bit of Mathematica later on, in junior high school. Or a PineBook Pro.
An Arduino to tinker and make some funny and simple automated bots.
Some rubber bands or tiny weights to exercise a bit. Or perhaps a ball or some neat sneakers like Vibram FF.
A dental irrigator to keep fresh gums.
Buy them an expensive professional adult tool of some sort. Like a $1000 microscope, a Moog synthesizer, a FLIR camera, a Stratocaster guitar and Fender amp, a high power computer, an automated milling machine, a good 3D printer, a Black Magic Design Pocket video camera and Macbook, a pottery wheel and kiln, a bulldozer, etc. Something they can grow into and which will be rewarding and improve their life for a very long time. Safety is a concern (especially with bulldozers and kilns!) however providing oversight will make it a shared activity.
It is unlikely that there is a way to avoid obsession and addiction Supply an ipad with a reliable high bandwidth "works anywhere" network connection, lots of memory, lots of processor performance, and Minecraft. Sign her/him up for home schooling. Stockpile food and drink that can be consumed while working on Minecraft. Setup sleeping bag and mattress near the Minecraft site.
Cut a deal with the child that they will check-in once a week and set them free.
Spend time with them doing things you like, which don't bore them too much :)
I wish I would follow my own advice more often.
Ok, this is very geeky, but 2 weeks ago I sat with my oldest and did the first couple of problems from Advent of Code in Python, which he's learning in school. We both really enjoyed it, or at least he said he did.
If your 10 year old likes music and sequencing, the Teenage Engineering set of Pocket Operators are very cool. A set of unique samples combined with a surprisingly powerful sequencer. One of them even has the ability to sample from aux in and then use that sample with the built in sequencer.
circuit kit. like really basic circuit projects attached to a cardboard box, not like a rpi (though rpi would be cool too)
Some ideas depending on interests:
- Robot kits (lego Mindstorms and lego Education come to mind)
- A microscope kit
- A telescope
The book "Hackers and Painters"
>Best gift for (HN-type)
money
A small 3d printer could be nice?