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We love hearing about the boost in confidence from the kids and teens who have made our kits! Wooden, eco-friendly, hands-on and no screens needed. Get ready to make!
Showing all 9 results
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DIY Bluetooth Speaker Kit
$149.00The DIY Bluetooth Speaker Kit is that gift you need for the hard to buy for teen or adult. For the eco-friendly; it’s wooden and we made it ourselves in NZ – plus we have used as little plastic as possible and of course, you use it (rather than a kit you make that just sits there). For the person who prefers to make things and doesn’t want “junk”; we have done the hard yards and found all the right pieces and designed the correct box/sound ratio to make a quality wooden bluetooth speaker. Please allow 2-3 hours for this project. We provide full instructions in our YouTube videos so you will need access to the Internet/Wi-Fi for this kit.
“We’re very impressed with this little unit. It is lightweight and easy to assemble. The box is nicely precision cut with a great clean and functional industrial look. It puts out great sound quality for a small piece of equipment and pairs to a smartphone in a jiffy.Sophia and Stefan provided excellent customer service. We recommend Sharperthinker and this product 100%.”(Lesley & Tony May 2020)“We love ours!”(Tasha G, August 2020) -
Felt Bird Bag Kit – NZ Tauhou (Silvereye)
$39.00Dec 2: We have a small amount of stock for Christmas!
Finally – some felt kits designed for older kids and teens! We have designed and lasercut this cute felt bird bag kit. You can enjoy following the guiding stitch holes to embroider koru designs on the wing and then stitch the bag together. We’ve included everything you need. A cotton tag and carabiner hook means you can hook the finished bag anywhere.
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Go Motor Pack (Tinker Tiles)
$29.00Everything you need to make multiple creations zoom – a motor, fan, switch and battery box! This “lite” version of Tinker Tiles is a great starter set. Get it for the extra battery box and tiles or use it as a trial to see how you might like this product.
Tinker Tiles can be screwed, glued, hotglued, blu-tacked, sewn, taped and rubberbanded to most places. This set doesn’t have instructions but you can download our free eBook here for some ideas. We suggest searching for projects that use a motor and battery. Some ideas are: art spinner, scribble bot, recycled bottle car, fruit tray boat and handheld fan.
Tinker Tiles are PCB (Printed Circuit Boards) with one electronic component soldered onto it. We use modern “real” electronics – for example LEDs and resistors, rather than old-fashioned lightbulbs. Our Tiles are fairly durable but not made for very little kids – this is something for the big kids – all the way up to teens.
Update 12 Nov 2020: Sorry we have no more available for 2020. We make batches of kits ourselves and have limited stocks. Stocks on other kits are low so make sure you order asap to avoid disappointment. Thanks for your support!
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The Doodle Noodle Drawbot (Tinker Tiles Kit)
$39.00It doodles. It noodles. It draws! Your child makes the circuit and assembles a Drawbot in this fun STEM kit. Once made, it’s time to experiment with angles and the included teardrop weight to get their Drawbot to go in straight lines, circles or wobble. A fun introduction to some maths and physics ideas for ages 9+ (or younger if you’re willing to help with rubber bands and screws!)
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Wooden Christmas Sparkle Tree Kit for Kids, Teens and Adults
$49.00Make a long-lasting beautiful little wooden tree that can sit on your table looking gorgeous. Paint it a different colour every year to match the decorations. A STEM project that teens and adults enjoy making and brings cheer all year. Recommended for ages 11+
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Wooden HeadTorch Kit for the adventurous
$49.00This is a challenging and absorbing kit to build, recommended for ages 13+. You will make a sturdy but light headtorch, perfect for jogging, tramping or reading in the tent. (For younger makers, we suggest our Wooden Torch Kit). We provide full photo instructions, in colour. The perfect gift for summer camping and winter tramping!
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Wooden Marshmallow Launcher Kit for Kids and Teens
$49.00Why not learn physics the fun way by launching marshmallows? Build the kit, wire up the battery, switch and motors and then, it’s time to experiment! Try different angles to change your trajectory, distance and speed. See how far and how high you can get your marshmallows to fly!
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BULK BUY: Buy 2 Wooden Torch Kits
$69.00Get a box with 2 Wooden Torch Kits. Keep one and gift the other or make them for a weekend togetherness project. Learn STEM in a fun hands-on way.
- “I bought the torches for my (12yo) twins and they LOVED them!!” (Marge)
- “Having watched SharperThinker things turn up in my FB feed, thinking yay a NZ based making things kits, my son received the torch kit for his birthday! The exciting part was the magic of the light bulb lighting up!” (Cecelia)
With our unique torch design, kids can see how a spring, wire, LED and batteries all need to connect for the light to go on. By inserting their own torch lens, they see the difference between non-focused and focused light. Because we get kids to make all their own battery boxes in every kit, they start to see what needs to be put where for batteries to work.
This is a great starting place for someone because they are crafting something that they can use. We estimate this will take an hour to make for an 11-year-old – but it depends on their confidence with making. It’s not just a “plug and play” type build so the recipient will need fine motor skills, the ability to concentrate and follow instructions. We recommend going to the https://www.sharperthinker.co.nz/youtube-electronics-project/ section of our website and watching the YouTube tutorials. Stefan guides us step-by-step through this project.
The torches are individually wrapped in bright tissue paper so it’s easy to give one as a gift. We’ve thought about the environment so you can compost or recycle our packaging. All the wood in our kits are sustainably farmed – we don’t use rainforest or native timber. We use silicone rather than plastic wires and encourage the use of re-chargeable batteries (this also comes in handy if a child leaves a torch on all night!)
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Wooden Torch Kit for Kids Age 9+
$39.00We give you an ecoply lasercut wooden kit and the electronics you need to build a fully functional, durable wooden torch. This is the most common birthday present choice in our kit range and is recommended for ages 9+. It will take between 1-2 hours to build this kit depending on the child’s confidence level and ability.
“I think it was the torch kit that really started him on his inventing streak! Thanks to you guys he’s really getting into electronics now.” Odele