Mens_HealthUSA_December_2016

Stowaway

Snow Tube Set

BEST FOR

Snow day fun

Face-planting in the

snow at 20 mph isn’t

the best way for your

5-year-old to learn

about the joys of winter.

There’s a better way

to sled: tubing in this

lightweight air dough-

nut. With a one-minute

inflate time, even the

most impatient little

nipper (or parent) won’t

have time to grumble.

$179, llbean.com

The One

Smart Piano

BEST FOR

Low-key learning

Mrs. Crabapple, you’ve

been replaced by a

digital teacher that lets

users of all skill lev-

els check out games,

video lessons, and

sheet music with an

iOS or Android device.

Light-up keys and built-

in MP3 speakers that

work with Pandora,

Spotify, and other apps

make it party-ready.

$300, smartpiano.com

Lego Technic Porsche 911 GT3 RS

BEST FOR

A mid-teen crisis

Tackling this 2,704-piece Lego hot rod could help

you gain traction with your teen. The 1:8 scale

model includes a working gearbox, adjustable

spoiler, and flat 6 engine with moving pistons. Not

included: the growl of a Porsche and the patience

for an eight-hour build. $300, shop.lego.com

Lego Technic Porsche 911 GT3 RS

BEST FOR

A mid-teen crisis

Cozmo, the Smart Bot

BEST FOR

Families with pet allergies

Rec robots, it seems, didn’t

evolve much after Sony’s Aibo

dogs—until now. Meet Cozmo,

the brainchild of animators, video

game designers, roboticists,

and artificial intelligence experts.

Cozmo plays games, shows

emotion, interacts with the envi-

ronment, and becomes more of

a “person” the more you play with

him. (Facial recognition software

helps him build bot/human rela-

tionships.) This Wall-E wannabe

has no parts to assemble and

needs only a compatible iOS or

Android device, so you—uh, your

kid—can have a new pal straight

out of the box. $180, anki.com

TREATS FOR

LITTLE GEEKS

Teach the basics
of coding under the
guise of gaming.

BLOXELS
Imagine assembling
a Super Mario–style
obstacle course using
Lego-type blocks, and
then uploading and
actually playing the
13-bit level yourself on
your phone or tablet.
That’s the idea behind
Bloxels, one of the cool-
est and most hands-on
ways to let your kids
play god inside their
own video game. $50,
bloxelsbuilder.com

OSMO
The Osmo system has
a range of games for
children. In Coding,
kids snap together a
series of blocks, each
representing simple
commands like “run,”
“jump,” and “touch.”
Then Awbie, a video
game character on
an iPad screen (yes,
you need an iPad),
responds to these real-
world commands as
they help him hunt for
strawberries and other
objects. $145 for the
set, playosmo.com

SPHERO SPRK+
This little ball comes
armed with infinite pos-
sibilities. Download
the companion Light-
ning Lab app and your
kids can easily program
the scratch-resistant,
waterproof orb to per-
form hundreds of cus-
tom tasks—everything
from swimming across
a pool to navigating a
simple maze. $130,
store.sphero.com

illo tk

GoPro Karma

BEST FOR

Making badass memories

Karma is the first full-featured drone that’s

truly packable. The rotor arms collapse neatly

(blades still attached), and because the GoPro

camera sits in line with the body instead of

beneath it, the legs are shorter and can retract

for transport. The entire rig fits into a slim

backpack. Karma’s neatest trick? You can

detach the three-axis gimbal that stabilizes the

camera and mount it on a hand grip (included)

for ultrasmooth terrestrial videos.

From $800, gopro.com