Category archive: Games

GREAT CONTEST: find a name for this character and win a unique t-shirt!

How would you like receiving a unique gift from Timbuktu? Something only you will wear, with the unique design of the great Philip Giordano? And yes, there are vampires on them.

Something like this.

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Can kids improve STEM skills by designing video games?

Apparently they can. This is the story of Rhy, a 10 years old boy from a small city near Austin, Texas.

Rhy uses a platform called Gamestar Mechanic to design his own videogames. Named one of the 2012 Best Educational Websites by the American Association of School Librarians, Gamestar Mechanic is one of the most popular solutions for the teachers who believe that game design can have a dramatic impact on their students engagement at school, and at home.
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Around the world in 7 amazing playgrounds!

If building a kindergarten is inspiring for an architect (here are 10 beautiful examples of that), can you imagine the excitement for a designer who had to built a playground? We can hardly think of anything, short of an art installation, that allows you to that much freedom. And, in fact, sometimes it’s difficult to tell the difference between an amazing playground and pure art.

Here are a few of them: let’s dream of a trip around the world in 7 playgrounds!

1 – Japan: Woods of Net

Designed by Toshiko Horiuchi Macadam, this wonder is in Hakone, Japan. It’s a knitted playground which we first discovered here.

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5 ideas to have fun with your family at Christmas

The holidays are near and so is your family reunion? Are you looking for ways for both children and grown-ups to have fun? Here are five fun ideas, crafts and activities to have fun with kids and family on Christmas, share yours too!

1 – Decorate the house together

There are endless options when it comes to Christmas decorations for your house, and shops are full of them. However, few ornaments will give you the joy of the ones you make yourself. We already shared the recipe to make fantastic cinnamon and appleasauce ornaments (not for eating, mind you!), but something else you can do if you don’t have much time are these colorful paper ornaments – use a stapler instead of the hole punch and thinner paper, so they are easier and the whole family will enjoy making these decorations. [read more]


What are you doing to promote gender equality in your family?

In Sweden there’s a school named “Egalia” that became an emblem of Gender Neutral Schooling. At Egalia, every detail – from the type of toys to the proposed activities – is studied to make sure children don’t fall into gender stereotypes. The most surprising thing is that the words “girl”, “boy”, “he”, “she” are never used, since each of the 33 kids attending the school is addressed with gender-neutral words.

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#interviewSanta Christmas Contest: announcing the shortlisted questions!

Have you been posting your questions for Santa Claus to participate to our #interviewSanta Christmas Contest?

(This fancy Santa Claus has been created with the fantastic Dress Up Santa game you find on Timbuktu.) [read more]


DIY Christmas tree ornaments to make with your kids

Decorating the Christmas tree is one of the best parts of Christmas. You can pick a theme, or use all the decorations your family has collected during the years and, once it’s done, add a final touch by making a few new scented decorations in your kitchen.

These cinnamon applesauce ornaments, for instance (NOT to be eaten, ha!), are simple to make and will leave in your house a cozy smell of cinnamon. Plus, you can easily make them with your kids, they will love helping you out with this. Here’s the recipe:

1 –  Take three cups of applesauce and three cups of ground cinnamon.

2 – Mix them together till you get a thick dough: if it’s too sticky, add a bit more cinnamon, if it’s too dry, more applesauce.

3 – Flatten the dough and cut it with Christmas cookie cutters, or let your kids cut them in the shape they prefer, just remember to make a little hole with a toothpick for the ribbon.

4 – Let the “cookies” dry for two or three days, then decorate them as you like : glitter is great, and so are buttons, ribbons, paint. And remember: they do smell good, but they are NOT eatable (make this clear to the kids too!).

5 –  Hang them on the tree, and enjoy the delicious smell and cute sight.

You can make these ornaments again every year as they are a fun activity to do with your kids, but they do keep pretty well, so you can also store them for next year if you prefer. Happy decorating!


Top 10 redesigned classic toys to gift for Christmas

The Christmas Spirit is not about presents, but how can we not think about toys when it’s almost Christmas? Gifting toys is just as fun as receiving toys, and we spend quite some time looking around for the best ones. Today, we want to share with you 10 classic toys that have been reinvented by modern designers with great results: they make for excellent presents for kids, and please the parents as well.

1 – The Toy Car

We think the toy car will never go out of fashion: even in the future, when we’ll be flying around like the Jetsons, our children will surely still play with little cars. Hopefully, they will be like this wonderful vintage car by PlaySam.

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Top 5 toys from the 1980s

The 1980s- those were the good ol’ days with MC Hammer pants, slap bracelets, and toys that were, like, totally gnarly! 80s’ kids’ entertainment didn’t come from iPads or Wiis, but these toys still offered hours of endless fun. If you spent your childhood during the 80s, you’ll probably feel a little reminiscent of your childhood when looking at these trinkets.

1 – Cabbage Patch Kids

Recognize these dolls? You should- Cabbage Patch dolls sold out as soon as they were put on shelves and were probably the 80s’ equivalent to the 90s’ Tickle Me Elmo. Back order lists went on for days for these dolls that grew from magical cabbages pollinated by bunnies! [read more]


SPECIAL CHRISTMAS CONTEST: What would you ask Santa Claus?

Despite his extremely busy schedule, Santa Claus has agreed to do a radio interview with Timbuktu!

Guess who is going to choose what questions we will ask? YOU, with Timbuktu’s fantastic Christmas contest!

Participating is very simple.

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