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Toys fitted with solar panels that will run off house lighting, if necessary.
Kids get toys for Xmas.
Toys require batteries.
Stores selling batteries are closed Xmas day.
Solar-powered toys alleviate this problem.
Stores selling batteries go broke... HarHar!
Google search for BEAM Robotics
http://www.google.c...search?q=BEAM+robot
About 1/2 of this field is devoted to tiny always-on robots that are solar powered and designed to emulat primitive life. [bear, Dec 27 2001, last modified Oct 17 2004]
Wind up charger for lights
http://www.batterys...ndup_Flashlight.htm
Why not use this wind up mechanism used on these lights to power up toys? [Pellepeloton, Oct 13 2006]
Solar-powered hydrogen-powered car
http://inhabitat.co...r-hydrogen-toy-car/
It's a fuel cell toy car that comes with its own solar-powered (H-) gas station [moomintroll, Oct 13 2006]
Solar-powered toy helicopter
http://inhabitat.co...2/solar-helicopter/
As with all the best ideas, just a bit ahead of the curve. More kudos to [UB] [moomintroll, Oct 13 2006]
Solar Botics
www.solarbotics.com
Out of cold and sunny Canada... lots of inexpensive DIY kits as well. [ionsfromzion, Oct 13 2006]
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Sounds like a winner, but are you sure there'll be enough light inside? I'd use it as an excuse to get the kids to play outside. |
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...if you thought kids toys weren't expensive enough, sure. Why not? |
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It'd be fine in Australia, but I don't believe you get much light in t'other hemisphere at Christmas time. Would this be a secondary power source (so that the toy would use solar energy if possible, or otherwise fall back on batteries (like you get in some calculators)), or completely supplanting the use of batteries? |
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As I said, they run off internal home lighting when necessary. |
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They have the added benefit of being useless, or at least quiet, once the lights are out and the kids are in bed. |
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[sdm], kids toys are expensive, but they're just an excuse to sell batteries, from what I've seen. |
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You could try rechargeable batteries. |
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I live in the UK and most Petrol (Gas) stations sell Batteries. There are at least a few Petrol stations open today. Problem solved. |
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Plus solar panel provide a fraction of the power batteries do. |
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Sure they do, PeterSealy. They're people, too. |
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Indeed. My 3 month old daughter's favorite is a little bear whos collar lights up as it plays various tunes. Mind you, she's still not old enough to pick things up... |
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Peter, whether they require them or not, the toys all come with batteries, at least from Fisher-Price, the king of childrens' toy manufacturers. |
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A door-to-door battery delivery service would do well on Christmas. Not sure about the rest of the year, though. |
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Teach them the art and science of making paper airplanes. I did that a few years ago with assorted cousins, nieces and nephews and they completely ignored the rest of their presents. |
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Did you show them how to make paper helicopters? |
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I have a battery hen, it lays them to order |
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what toy are you playing with bliss? |
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This is all well & good but for one thing. Batteries, particularly rechargable ones, actually have a lower enviromental impact than solar-powered devices for the most part. Solar cells created today have NASTY toxic waste issues associated with them. Once we can figure out some way to imbed chlorophyll (or something similar) into a polymer (to keep microbes from eating it) and still draw electrical power from it, then will be a good time to make everything & it's dog solar... |
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This isn't to say I'm not goofy over solar-powered toys. Check out BEAM Robotics. |
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I would like to hear where the idea came from that solar cells are any more toxic than batteries... Especially considering that they are not tossed in the bin after each use and instead replace many batteries... There seems to be a lot of misconceptions about solar panels. |
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Back to the idea: Anything that cuts down on batteries and uses the sun gets a bun. |
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What about wind up toys, not the old type but as on my link similar to wind up lights. |
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As an aside: The people at SolarBotics are awsome.. you can pretty much build any toy that you need by modifying one of their inexpensive kits.. or buying a DIY book. I'm currently working on incorporating a basic walker into one of my (normally not kinetic) sculptures. So fun and so cheap!! |
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