Seedling
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Insomniac's first Magic Leap game made me an alien plant gardener
Insomniac Games, a studio that's built up a reputation for action-packed games and bold VR experiences, wants you to take care of a plant. It's not just any plant, though. In Seedling, the company's first Magic Leap experience, you're tasked with taking care of alien vegetation. By doing so for a few minutes every day, you help to repopulate the galaxy after a mysterious event wiped out every trace of life outside of Earth. There aren't any blasters or space battles in Seedling -- just the joy of nurturing what's effectively an alien bonsai tree in augmented reality.
Augmented reality teddy bear teaches kids about being a doctor
Kids frequently don't need much more than their imagination to bring a teddy bear to life, but what if they had a little boost? That's what Seedling hopes to do with Parker. The teddy by itself is the same sort of fluffy companion you likely had as a child, but an augmented reality app for iOS turns the bear into something much more. If you want to play doctor, you can look at Parker's insides to cure a stomach bug or ease a sore throat. You can create magic forests and sea gardens using the AR camera. And importantly you're rewarded for being kind: the more you take care of Parker, the more the bear uses AR to 'transform' the world around you.
Learning and STEM toys we love
By Courtney Schley This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer's guide to the best technology. When readers choose to buy The Wirecutter's independently chosen editorial picks, it may earn affiliate commissions that supports its work. Read the full article here. We don't think there's a right or wrong way for kids to play. For this kid-oriented gift guide, we focused on open-ended games, kits, toys, and crafts that promote lifelong skills like critical thinking, problem solving, logic, and even coding. To choose from the hundreds of toys available, we spent more than 30 hours trying 35 recommendations from experts, educators, and parents, including a reporting trip to the Katherine Delmar Burke School's tinkering and technology lab in San Francisco. And, of course, we spent some time playing with our picks at home with our own kids.
