When it comes to learning anything, we’re better off if we start at the earliest possible point in time. We are taught the numbers and how to read a clock before arithmetic, but why not combine the two?
Axel Schindlbeck and Fred Mauclere figured out that telling the time shouldn’t be an easy task. With that thought in mind, they proceeded to designing a clock that poses arithmetic problems whenever you want to know what time it is. The hours and the minutes are each displayed as simple math problems, and luckily for us, the designers decided to do away with the seconds. Those would have required extremely quick reactions, and in the case of the younger crowd, that might have led to frustration.
“Had Albert Einstein owned such a clock, he probably would also have become a brilliant mathematician,” points out Axel Schindlbeck, the product designer. “We think of life as a way to learn, and we love to experience the world that surrounds us in a playful way. We believe in kids – small ones and big ones as well – and we believe in the importance and the benefits of Science. We want to develop intelligent products that can have a positive influence on our everyday life, by changing our ways to see the world!”
Named after the aforementioned famous physicist, the Albert math clock assumes you (or your kid) know which arithmetic operations go first. To make things a bit more difficult, the equations change every minute, which means that the hour doesn’t stay the same. On top of that, to accommodate kids with harder operations, the difficulty increases progressively, thus forcing the lil’ Padawan to focus even more on solving them.
The Albert digital clock for kids is currently listed on Kickstarter, where its developers are looking to raise €23,000 (approximately $25,500). Right now, the project is half way there, but there are 23 more days to go, so the campaign has great chances of being successful. Kicktraq statistics indicate that the pledge level trends towards €34K, which is great news for the people behind Albert. Unless you’re willing to wait till February 2016 to get the Albert clock you’ve paid $136+ for, you can donate $1.14 and get the mobile app version of it, which surely isn’t as fun.
Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories about the SensorWake alarm clock that fills the room with scents, or the Ramos smart alarm clock that prevents oversleeping.
