Technology

It's a bag of learning and fun. Literally. Potato Chip Science kit (it's comes in a potato chip style bag) turns empty chip bags, tubes, and lids—plus spuds and chips—into a whole brain grab bag of experimental fun. Break open Potato Chip Science and munch your way through the areas of acoustics and aeronautics, forensics, and physiology. Feast on physics. Binge on biology and more. Discover the science behind world’s most miraculous munchie. It's great "for kids who like snacking on science." Sold!

According to newly released research of violent video games published in a special issue of the Review of General Psychology, Dr Patrick Markey of Villanova University concludes that most kids are unaffected by playing them. Those that are affected often have pre-existing personality traits that make them susceptible to violent media in general. Sort of like a small subset of the population that's allergic to peanut butter.

It's a sign of the times: Facebook and the PTA have joined forces to help educate kids (and quite frankly, their parents) about responsible web behavior. The PTA and Facebook are joining forces to promote Internet safety through a set of tools and resources for kids, schools and parents.

Legos, stop animation and the funny...these are things my 10 year old son is so into right now it's sick. Oh how he loves him some YouTube Lego stop animation videos!

Coming off weeks of hype leading up to Apple's newly unveiled iPad, some tech-minded parents and pundits believe the new "magical" touchscreen tablet could have appeal for kids in an educational context. Textbooks on-demand, homeschooling apps, word processing, art and learning tools; the form and function is near perfect, and portable. And at $499, it's a real alternative to a notebook or desktop.

We officially canceled cable last year, the final step in moving to a completely on-demand cinematic lifestyle. OK, "cinematic lifestyle" is a stretch, but since we certainly enjoy movies on the tube, and given the availability of (legal) movie download sources on the web, we thought we'd take the plunge, maybe even save a few bucks in the long run. Last year, as my husband hooked up our Mac Mini to the TV and viola! Who needs live TV? Even our demanding Friday night movie crowd (e.g, our kids) adjusted nicely. Call it an experiment, but it's been a successful experiment.

In March, we'll be packing our bags for South by Southwest 2010 in Austin, TX. While we'd love to be with the hipsters who cover the awesome indie music and film scene, we're better suited for (and quite frankly, much more interested in) the Interactive portion of the festival. Specifically, those that deal with emerging trends that affect parents, children, education and culture/society.

When we said we'd be relocating from LA to San Francisco everyone we knew--who has either lived or visited the city--told us it was imperative we visit the Exploratorium. Nestled inside the beautiful Palace of Fine Arts in the Marina district, it truly is an extraordinary place. Noted American physicist and educator Dr.

Star Wars has been a bonding experience for my son and myself for many years (like geeky father, like geeky son I guess). While the movies certainly compete for attention with the myriad of others out there (not like when I was a kid -- there was ONLY Star Wars), few can provide such a wonderful opportunity to discuss how the imagination of one man has truly helped shaped the world--and the future--like Star Wars.

According to a recent Wired article, "Disney conducted a recent survey of 11,500 parents about their kids' technology habits, which provided some interesting results: because children are being exposed to technology at younger ages, it seems some parents are struggling to keep up. The parents are unsure what gadgets are age appropriate and confused about how to keep their kids safe online."