Sewing is an action most popularly associated with the dry cleaners most go to when tragedy strikes their favorite pair of pants. As such, most people don’t thinking of sewing as a fun activity, a huge reason why more and more children are growing up without it.
The team behind the Cirkits sewable electronic kit thinks sewing can be a valuable part of a children’s play, and are harkening back to a time when sewing kits for children were an inspiration for everyone from Charles Eames to Frank Lloyd Wright. Their product brings sewing into the 21st century by combining it with the ability for children to make simple, series, and parallel circuits to animate the circus-themed cards packaged within the kit.
Beginner Cirkits cards come with a plastic sewing needle, conductive thread, a battery, and sewable LEDs, while advanced cards also enclose a motor, a sound buzzer, and a microcontroller for movement and sound, all to encourage storytelling, imaginative play, and curiosity in the sciences. A basic set of cards is priced at $30, while a set of all six cards of various levels is priced at $80. The $15,000 campaign is looking to ship Cirkits by December 2015.
This product certainly has a place alongside the many other toys no doubt occupying the attention of little ones all over, especially as more and more toys are released that aim to teach more STEM skills. Products like Bildy, XYZ, and Assembly are all in good company with Cirkits, and make for more engaged children—as long as they can be pried from their tablets and game consoles.