What is a Turing Tumble?
We’ve got nothing against a good, old-fashioned marble run, but the Turing Tumble is much more! It’s a mechanical, marble-powered computer! Named after renown British mathematician Alan Turing, this amazing product helps kids explore how a series of simple switches and gears, when arranged in a clever way, can do surprising and complex tasks.
Looks cool, but how does it actually work?
The Turing Tumble consists of the board, red and blue marbles, and many different components that can be arranged to guide the marbles down the board in different ways. Most importantly, it comes with a book! This isn’t exactly an instruction book. It’s a story book and a guide. In this cool graphic novel, you’ll meet Alia, a space engineer who discovers a mysterious abandoned planet and an ancient, mechanical super-computer! But Alia needs your help to repair the computer and uncover the secret of its mysterious creators. As the story progresses, it introduces all of the different components and gives you puzzles to solve. These puzzles begin very simply but increase in complexity as you learn to use components and combine them in different ways.
Here is one example…
Each puzzle, or challenge, has a page like this. First of all, you’ll see the objective, which describes the goal that you must achieve. The blue marbles start at the top left side of the board and the red marbles start at the top right. The goal here is to have all of the marbles end at the bottom of the board in a pattern of blue, blue, red, red, and so on. You release the first blue marble by pressing the start button (on the blue lever at the bottom of the board). When a marble reaches the bottom of the board, it will press either the blue lever or the red lever, releasing the next marble. You must arrange the components to guide the marbles to the levers, creating the desired pattern.
For this challenge, you’re given a few clues. Some components are already shown in the starting set-up. Here the starting set-up shows two blue pieces, called “bits,” and an orange piece, called a “crossover.” On the right side of the page, there is a column labeled “Available parts.” This shows the parts that you may add to the board to complete the task.
Here is one solution to this challenge, designed by my seven-year-old.
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What will a Turing Tumble teach my child?
- Coding basics — Turing Tumble teaches basic concepts of coding such as program design, cause and effect relationships, and if/else relationships.
- Logic — The logic puzzles that accompany the Turing Tumble will lead your child through increasingly complex situations. Your child will practice using a methodical, step-by-step approach to complete these tasks. The Turing Tumble also reinforces that there can be multiple solutions to a problem and that highly complex systems function in consistent, orderly, predictable ways.
- Binary numbers — At their most basic level, all computers function as a series of switches. These switches can either be turned on or off. This is a binary system, i.e. a system of 1s and 0s. Through using the Turing Tumble, your child will learn how to interpret binary numbers and translate numbers from a binary system to our standard base ten system.
- Problem solving strategies — While watching my own children work with the Turing Tumble, I’ve been most impressed with how it has developed their problem-solving strategies. When a solution doesn’t work as they had planned, they are highly motivated to revise and test it again. Time and again, I have seen them return to the beginning of a task and methodically work through it to find the error. They persist at working through problems systematically until they unlock the solution!
There are many coding toys and games on the market. What sets Turing Tumble apart?
Unlike many coding toys, which rely on some electronic element, the Turing Tumble is strictly mechanical. It teaches a coding mindset in a screen-free setting. Your child can use a finger to trace the physical path the marble will travel. This takes coding out of the realm of theory and makes it tangible. This is a basic tenant of education: Always introduce a new concept in a concrete way before teaching the theory behind it. The Montessori Method refers to this as giving an idea “to the hand” before giving it “to the mind.” Because of this hands-on element, fairly young children can enjoy and learn from the Turing Tumble.
Is Turing Tumble right for my child?
The Turing Tumble is an ingenious toy and educational tool. It is engaging and accessible for a wide age range, from children as young as first grade up to adults. Our LEGO-loving kindergartener is hooked on it, too, and has been able to complete the first several puzzles independently.
If your child is interested in…
- LEGO, K’Nex, marble runs, or other building toys
- Minecraft or other “building” apps
- Coding toys, including Thames & Kosmos or similar brands
- Coding apps, such as Scratch, Tynker, or Kodable
- Puzzles of any kind
- Logic or puzzle games, like Kanoodle
… you need to get that child a Turing Tumble!
If your child wants to understand how and why things work, this item should be at the top of their Christmas list this year!
Ready for your own Turing Tumble? Get FREE SHIPPING today with code: HS1
