Back in January, Fisher Price announced it was planning to release a toy that would teach your three-year-old the basics of coding. Called the Think & Learn Code-a-pillar, the plastic toy was tapping into the current push to teach children from a young age about basic computer languages.
It sounds complicated, but it’s not. The Think & Learn Code-a-pillar is a motorised caterpillar head to which you can attach different colour-coded pieces.
The pieces of the Code-a-pillar all have a different function, marked on their back. It could be going straight taking a left turn, spinning around or playing some music. The order in which you place them will determine how the toy acts. You can put as many or as few pieces as you like on it, although it has to have a minimum of one for obvious reasons. Connect up the pieces, hit the button and watch it go – it’s a simple premise.
Think & Learn Code-a-pillar is not going to turn your child into a coding genius before they hit four. It won’t teach them Swift or Python. There’s no actual programming going on here, just in case you were planning your early retirement off the back of your future Silicon Valley whizzkid.
But what it will do is provide a fun way for children to learn sequences, and see how the decisions they make impact the toy. It teaches the basics behind coding, the logical sequences, problem solving; the idea that if we do X, the toy will do Y, or how different moves will end up getting your toy to its goal.
It’s aimed at three-year-olds and older, but children younger than that will be able to use it – they may just have a little trouble connecting the pieces of the Code-a-pillar together, because its connection are USB ports, and we all know how adults cope with those, never mind less dextrous children.
It’s not something that will get discarded. As your child gets older, they play with the toy differently. For example, while my two-year-old just wanted to slot the pieces together, push the button and laugh maniacally as the Code-a-pillar went on its way, a six-year-old was more interested in making the Code-a-pillar reach a certain marker in the room, or building obstacle courses as challenges.
There are also expansion packs you can buy to add to what the Code-a-pillar can do. There’s a Silly Noises one, which is self-explanatory, and a Master Moves pack that adds in the ability to do 180-degree and 45-degree turns.
Although the toy can work fine by itself – the first couple of weeks of playing around with it were spent solely with the toy, so there’s no need for a tablet or smartphone at all – there is a companion app.
The app, which is available for Android and iOS, can also be used by itself, tasking children with putting the right commands in the right order to get the animated Code-a-pillar through the maze. You can also use it as inspiration for working with the Code-a-pillar, building different sequences to get the toy to the plastic end pint markers they include in the box.
The good
The Code-a-pillar is more than it first appears. Yes you can push buttons and watch its antics, but it’s sneakily educating your children at the same time. And don’t all good toys include some form of stealth education?
As you’d expect, it’s durable. It’s been bounced off the floor on several occasions – hard – and so far at least, everything is still working. It’s bright and it’s noisy, so guaranteed to keep your child’s attention for at least a few minutes.
The not so good
It’s bright and it’s noisy, so guaranteed to give you a headache once you get past hour one of use. Our advice? Shut the door and leave them to it. It’s also a little on the pricey side for what appears to be a child’s toy – or at least that’s what I would have thought at one stage. It’s safe to say that, in this house at least, those illusions have been firmly dispelled.
The rest
Among the expansion packs currently available to buy are Master Moves and Silly Noises, which add something a little extra to its appeal. It’s not that tough on batteries either, though if you want to be a little more environmentally sound, maybe invest in rechargables.
The verdict
Don’t expect miracles, but the Code-a-pillar is a fun way to teach your child a few important skills.
