What Was Your Most Educational Toy
There is a lot of debate these days regarding the possible negative effects of computer games on child development. I feel lucky to have grown up at a time when computer games didn’t exist and we had other ways to amuse ourselves. Without doubt one of the most inspiring and engaging toys that I ever had was a radio controlled model aircraft.
Some people I know will argue that radio controlled models aren’t toys, and I would agree. But when I was aged 10 and given a model aircraft it was, for me, another toy. But what a toy.
Reflecting on the toys and games that I grew up with this particular gift stands out as probably the most educational thing that I played with as a child. My model aircraft used a tiny little spirit fuelled combustion enging that helped me grasp the basic principles of internal combustion and it was radio controlled, which fascinated me.
Luckily I had an older family member who was happy to spend time explaining how things worked and helping me to keep my plane aloft. He also helped me to build my first radio control system and this led to my studying electronics at University and my career in electronic engineering.
Without doubt, that little radio controlled biplane was formative in inspiring my interest in engineering. It helped me to grasp many basic engineering and physical principles and provided me with an engaging and fun lifelong hobby.
So waht was the most educational toy that you had as a child?
