The 3 best holiday gifts for tech-loving kids, according to Melinda Gates
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Recently, Microsoft founder Bill Gates gave us six solid book recommendations.
Now Gates' wife Melinda has joined in to share her favorite gifts for the kid who loves science, tech, engineering, and math (STEM).
Each gift recalls a piece of her own childhood, Gates wrote in a recent Medium post.
"As I’ve raised my own three kids, I've tried to do for them what my dad did for me," she noted. "When they were little, Saturday mornings meant family science experiments — making things explode or stinking up the kitchen."
Here are Gates's picks:
StemBox
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As the StemBox Kickstarter explains, girls should have an equal shot at STEM-focused careers.
A home-delivery subscription service, StemBox sends monthly science experiment kits. One kit allows them to extract DNA from strawberries; another provides the opportunity to dissect owl pellets. Soon, StemBox's creator Kina McAllister will add boxes for aerodynamic experiments, computer programming, and more.
Parents can pre-order the StemBox subscription now, with an estimated delivery in February 2016.
Wonder Workshop's Dash Robot
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Kids can build introductory coding skills by teaching the Dash robot to dance, navigate a specific path around the house, and respond to singing.
The robot pairs with several apps, including the programming apps Wonder and Blockly, to give kids near-limitless options for customizing their robot.
You can buy it now for $149.99.
LittleBits' Gizmos & Gadgets
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With this littleBits set, kids can explore their bottomless sense of wonder.
They can create bubble makers, robots that draw, a pinball game, and just about anything else their minds come up with, all with rudimentary electronics supplies that they assemble themselves.
The company calls the product "the toolbox that's as big as your imagination."