OT cad based games for kids

[idacal]

Im trying to find some kind of a program that my kids can start learning basic cad principles, they are younger, 5 and 7 ,so it kind of needs to be game based I was looking at the lego one but I think there would be heavy selling pressure on that one. tinker cad is a little above them. do you guys have any recommendations? I would prefer to pay rather than get heavy advertising.

 

[EmGo]

Im trying to find some kind of a program that my kids can start learning basic cad principles, they are younger, 5 and 7 ... do you guys have any recommendations?

My recommendation would be to not do that. Let them learn drawing first. I remember when my dad introduced me to perspective ... I would not have got the basics if I started out from a place where it was all done for you. Manual skills first is better, imo.

 

[Bill D]

I agree with hands on. maybe a mini drafting square and a piece of nice plywood with some painters tape. Do they still make spirograph?
Bill D.

Amazon.com: Spirograph Original Deluxe Spirograph Art Set: Toys & Games

 

[boosted]

My son is seven and likes 3D Slash. The novelty wears off fast, but he's logged at least 5 or 6 hours. I think an older kid could get a bit more out of it. The "gameplay" style is well catered to kids that like minecraft.

Speaking of minecraft - it bores me to tears, but there is a ton of building, creativity, and problem solving going on. As far as video games go, it's a pretty good one. The kid loves that game, but we are always trying to get him away from all the damn screens...

 

[jbhigley]

When my kids were little, I let them play around with Inventor and Solidworks without worrying much about dimensions and constraints. They found it fun. My daughter then sat in on a college level CAD class at 13 and was the best student in the class. My son was not as interested, but he has no trouble drawing what he wants in Fusion at age 19. I have also worked with a few 12-14 year olds with Fusion and they pick it up quickly. So, I would try and get them used to a real CAD system and you might be surprised at how well they do.

 

[goooose]

I will disagree with those recommending any true CAD to younger gens. Let them create what they want without the boundaries of dimensions, It should be all about creativity. TinkerCad for the younger ones, Blender if they progress beyond that. If they start to get interested in 'real' parts, then introduce Fusion or SolidWorks.
Your best investment might be a 3d printer. Once they create something and then print it, light bulbs everywhere!!

 

[idacal]

thank you guys I have been given some good advice. right now that are outside with an impact driver screw gun building some kind of fort with leftover chunks of lumber. maybe i don't want them on the computer yet, I need to think about it. I would like it if they have the skills to put their imagination onto a screen also.

 

[BluishInventor]

I will disagree with those recommending any true CAD to younger gens. Let them create what they want without the boundaries of dimensions, It should be all about creativity. TinkerCad for the younger ones, Blender if they progress beyond that. If they start to get interested in 'real' parts, then introduce Fusion or SolidWorks.
Your best investment might be a 3d printer. Once they create something and then print it, light bulbs everywhere!!

Another +1 for Tinkercad | From mind to design in minutes

However, I wouldn't recommend blender as it's not an easy software to learn. Even though the UI was updated recently, it's still a big learning curve to handle. So, be weary of that. It is free, so that's nice.

After they get comfortable with tinkercad, I would recommend Fusion360. It's a great piece of software for getting into a more traditional CAD type system.

 

[Mr.M]

My kids have really been enjoying creating things in SolidWorks for Kids. It is NOT Solidworks, but it does push/pull modeling and you can create mechanisms in there as well to show motion. It simulates issues with your mechanism well and will let them fiddle with the design to get it working right.

 

[gustafson]

I think a game is a great idea.

Google Sketchup is pretty basic for drawing stuff

 

[Shawnrs]

Im trying to find some kind of a program that my kids can start learning basic cad principles, they are younger, 5 and 7 ,so it kind of needs to be game based I was looking at the lego one but I think there would be heavy selling pressure on that one. tinker cad is a little above them. do you guys have any recommendations? I would prefer to pay rather than get heavy advertising.

Get them Mindcraft.