OK, they are not really motherboards, they are just small printed circuit boards with simple projects for kids as part of our STEM week projects.
These projects are typically under $10 and vary in scope and complexity.
We tried a clock and a musical board.
The first word I have to describe these is SMALL!
Tiny parts, hard to read and difficult to understand, but isn't that the point? To challenge young minds with projects that make them think. Projects that build on deductive reasoning and get them off their phones for a few minutes a day.
These simple projects and a less than $10 soldering iron will keep kids busy for hours.
It is a good entry project into electrical engineering, helping kids understand basic components and how the boards are assembled.
At one time back in the 70's you could walk into any Radio Shack store in any mall and get these projects, but they are now out of sight and out of mind.
We wanted to make parent aware that these kits are available online and serve as important catalysts in steering careers toward engineering.
The more your kids know, the stringer they are.
We have shown a few items in STEM week and this was Mr Dog Poop's favorite because he was personal friends with Thomas Edison back when he invented electricity.
As the comedy podcast goes... there are no fibs to big to tell.
It is important to entertain in order to educate and while educating people is not the focus of the man show, we figured what not for a few days, what can it hurt?
Building Solar Powered Robots This episode of the man show features the guys trying to build solar robots out of a kit made for 8 years and up. Seems like a simple task for 2 guys way up from 8 years old. But the task proves to be overwhelming for both of the hosts and in fact even with a degree in electrical engineering, Mr Dog Poop struggles to understand the basic component parts. Of course that degree was back when TV's were made with vacuum tubes and houses were built with fuses and not circuit breakers. So he is a bit dated to understand modern technology. And we can't forget about Jeff Macolino, his focus was all out on trying to assemble something that at least looked like a robot after Mr Dog Poop embarrassed him on the P51 broadcast when Jeff failed to complete the project. But ...read more
$17 Personal Frying Pan - Is it big enough for a man size meal? Personal Frying Pan - Is it big enough for a REAL MAN? Our first impression was that it was small. But that may be the best part, portable, does not take up much space and in the end, it did cook a man size portion. One man at least. The cons were, too shallow, no temperature control and that the handle needed to be assembled from 3 parts which is something some men wont be able to do. Mr Dog Poop cooks sausage chili made with Italian sausage, onions, peppers, garlic, tomatoes and kidney beans. It is a struggle to get all the ingredients into the shallow pan but in the end, keeping in a heaping pile did work. Once that finished, he attempted a Philly cheese steak with mushrooms and Swiss cheese. Jeff cooks ...read more
STEM Electric Piano - Assembly and Review Friday's episode of The Man Show Live featured a PLAYZ Piano made for kids. Our overall opinion of the PLAYZ Piano was that it was a bit simple for kids over 5 years old and maybe not dynamic enough for kids to learn about electronics. It was one of the more expensive toys during STEM week at around $35 which could have bought a little more education in other items. The white keys did play, but the black keys were only part of the case and decoration only, so as far as a piano, it missed the mark and is not a good learning tool for music. It can be a fun toy for a 3 year old, but at that age, the chance of them wiring it up is slim. We could not really find any good points about the PLAYZ ...read more
Mountain House Adventure Meals - A LIVE prep & taste test of 4 freeze dried survival mealsIn this episode of the man show, we try some of the Mountain House Adventure meals for texture, quality and taste. What that, the guys had mixed opinions about the meals and Mr Dog Poop did not think the bacon and eggs was edible while Jeff sucked down the entire feed bad. These feed bags are very convenient for travel since the are dry, very light and last for decades in any storage condition. Of course, you still need access to clean water which might be problematic in a survival situation. But for camping, hiking or travel they are a great option at around $10-$15 per meal. The amount of food in each was surprising and likely enough to feed 2 people. The beef stew had almost no beef and was relatively tasteless. ...read more
