Saving the world. One game at a time.
We feel like we never repeat this enough: games can be so much more than just games. Remember GameDesk, for instance, or Cargo-Bot? The educational potential in game playing is immense – it’s a...
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All the colors of learning!
We have spoken before about the good influence colors can have on children. It seems pretty intuitive: life is way better when you are surrounded by colors, and that is particularly true when you are a...
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It’s never too late for LEGO.
Do you think LEGO is child’s play? Change your mind right away. As Hillel Cooperman says in this TED talk, “the Dark Ages are the time between when you put away the Legos for the last time as a kid,...
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Newsletter guest editor: Munaria!
After our friends from They Draw & Cook, we’re excited to introduce our next newsletter’s guest editor, Munaria. The work of Bruno Munari®, famous Italian artist and researched in didactic and...
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Teddy bears falling from the sky!
On July 4th, it was raining Teddy bears in Belarus. No, really: Images via Studio Total. Why? It was a campaign ideated by Swedish agency Studio Total for the organization Charter’97 to raise awareness...
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Every single page of Moby Dick. Illustrated.
Today is Herman Melville’s birthday. He was born on August 1st, 1819 – happy happy! This is an excellent excuse to pick up Moby Dick, one of our all-time favorite books. It’s always so nice to read...
View ArticleHow does it rain?
Speaking of rain and cuteness, in this animation artists Samuel Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III of FriendsWithYou show how they imagine rain happening: This looks perfectly scientific to us, that do...
View ArticleHow to build a cardboard bicycle. Yes, we said cardboard.
“How to take this cardboard and turn it into an ordinary bicycle?” Izhar asked himself. This amazing video tells the story of how he ended up building a perfectly functioning bicycle out of cardboard....
View ArticleThe LEGO story. In a cartoon!
It’s hard (and sad) to imagine a world without LEGO, but that was the case until “only” 80 years ago! Have you ever wondered how LEGO happened? The idea, the bricks, the name? Well, ladies and...
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Girl engineer needed to build a dollhouse.
What is that children want to do when they grow up is for sure one of the top ten questions asked by those who’ve already grown up to ask. Unfortunately, not very often a girl’s answer is that they...
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Top ten back-to-school picks for your kids!
Summer’s gone and school is back. Which, to be honest, we think is pretty exciting. And it’s sure exciting to prepare all the things your kids need for a successful school year – here is our selection...
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Newsletter guest editors: Ruggero Poi & Annalisa Perino.
Nothing like two new guest editors for our newsletter to start September with excitement! Starting next week, Ruggero Poi and Annalisa Perino will share with you three activities about the senses to do...
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Our readers are artists!
It must be the most quoted thing Picasso never said, that “every child is an artist.” If only we could have just a tiny bit of the creativity and imagination children have, we’d all be able to create...
View ArticleThe MoMA Unadulterated. An audio tour created by kids.
Be ready, your day is about to be made. This is the trailer for MoMA Unadulterated, an audio tour of the MoMA created by kids between 3 and 10. We already knew children are artists, now here’s proof...
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Newsletter guest editor: Wired’s GeekDad, Daniel Donahoo.
Did you enjoy Annalisa Perino and Ruggero Poi‘s activities in our newsletter? To keep you spoiled with great activities to do with your kids, this week’s newsletter has another awesome guest editor,...
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An exhibition at the MoMA celebrates the century of the child.
If you happen to be in New York, here is something you don’t want to miss: Century of the Child, an ambitious exhibition at the MoMA about design for children (its theories and developments) in the XX...
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Meet the world’s best father.
One of the hardest things about parenthood are all the doubts that come with the job description: should I do this or should I not? Is this the right way to approach the problem? Am I making the right...
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Toys straight out of your child’s imagination!
We’ve already seen how all children are artists, and some of them are even art critics; now we discover that they can be toy designers too! Child’s Own Studio is a one-woman toy making company that...
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These toys have secrets.
Did you know that Yoda is studying English grammar? Or that the penguins are concerned about something they read in TIME magazine? And that the recession is hitting Star Wars too? All pictures courtesy...
View ArticleA foldable, paper you.
Have you sent your children drawings to be turned into soft toys? Great. Now here is the next toy you want to get, and it’s not necessarily just for your kids: we have a feeling you may enjoy this even...
View ArticleApple, Starbucks, Google and more brands, seen by a child.
If you work on brand design and have a five year old daughter a cool thing to do with your family is ask your daughter to describe famous brand marks. This is what the author of this video did. A...
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Objects from the modern British childhood at the V&A.
It looks like historic exhibitions on childhood are a bit of a trend lately – and certainly a trend we like! If you happen to be in New York, remember to go check out the amazing Century of the Child...
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Celebrities at your fingertips.
“Dito” means “finger” in Italian. And Dito von Tease (nice nickname, right?) is the pseudonym of an Italian artist who authored a very peculiar body of work: a collection of portraits of famous...
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Children’s Eyes on Earth, a contest for kids’ photographs on the environment.
Children are artists, they are art critics and they can be toy designers too. That’s not all of course, and here is an initiative that shows how kids can be great photographers too. SOS, Anastasya...
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Pudsey Bear goes fashionable.
It’s for a wardrobe revamp for Pudsey Bear! 30 of the most famous names in fashion, from Alexander McQueen to Burberry to Paul Smith have designed their version of Britain’s iconic and much loved...
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What’s inside the NEW Timbuktu?
Three days ago we launched the new version of Timbuktu. If you haven’t downloaded it yet, please, do it now, it’s FREE! There are many improvements in this version of the app: 1. NAVIGATION Extremely...
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An entire city made of paper
Homemade toys are awesome: fun when you play with them, instructive as you build them, not expensive, and a great activity to spend quality time with your kids. Have you ever thought that you could...
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Top 5 Black Friday purchases for your kids
It’s Black Friday, let the holiday shopping begin! Whether you are a pro and have been standing in line since early morning to get your hands onto all that goodness on sale or you’re happy to wait for...
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Top 15 parenting blogs
Parenting blogs are a great resource for those who, like us, are passionate about kids, families, education and keeping up with the latest issues, tips and cool finds. We have a rather long blog roll...
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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...
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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...
View ArticleIn Chicago children build their own Christmas gifts
Do you remember Mister Imagine’s Toy Store? We told you about it a while ago. It’s a very special toy store built by the Chicago Children’s Museum. A toy store with no toys, where kids have real fun....
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A giraffe inside the school!
Do you remember this fantastic colorful school in Paris? Well, France did it again, and here is another school that will make both you and your kids pretty jealous: A yellow giraffe as a pillar! Who...
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Top 15 posts on Timbuktu in 2012
It’s nearly the end of the year, and not any year: 2012 has been the first year of our blog, and an incredible year for Timbuktu! As part of the celebrations, we made a little roundup of our most...
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The 10 most beautiful kindergartens in the world
We can hardly imagine a more inspiring assignment for a architect than to design a kindergarden. Colors, imagination, fun: it all should come into play in such a building. And as a matter of fact, many...
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5 dollhouses that will make you go “wow!”
There is something utterly special about dollhouses. They are authentic wonders, and seem to hold perfect little lives in them – they are great toys, sure, ready for all sort of adventure to happen...
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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...
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Children’s furniture that will make grown-ups very jealous.
Even when they don’t have anything special about them, children’s furniture are adorable – because, you know, they are tiny, and for children! So when you add great, imaginative design you get...
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10 artists, writers and musicians who made great art for kids
Maybe not all artists are children, but many artists have been inspired by childhood to make beautiful art. We had a look at architects, but many writers, visual artists and musicians were inspired to...
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10 bizarre buildings your kids (and you) would love to visit.
Sometimes, there is really no limit to where imagination, and a certain tendency to dare, will take you. Have a look at what these architects dreamed up; it’s a series of buildings that look like...
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Happy MLK day!
Let’s get ready to celebrate MLK day on monday! Take a look at this infographic and remember why we should all be thankful to this extraordinary men.
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Magazines for kids: history of two great successes
When we started Timbuktu, our goal was creating a digital editorial product that could replicate and enhance the quality of some great magazines for kids we loved as children. We’ve always thought of...
View ArticleIn-App Purchases: are developers evil?
There’s been a lot of demonization of developers using in-app purchases inside apps aimed at children. A few days ago Apple had to refund customers in the U.K. when their five-year-old boy accidentally...
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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. Or...
View Article5 great examples of Sand Drawing and Animation
As many of you already know, we just released a brand new summer app called “Sand Drawing“. This is why we wanted to inspire you with some of the most beautiful pieces of art that have been produced...
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How to create an app for children, with children. In one week
What you are about to read is the diary of the summer camp that Timbuktu organized during the week from 8 to 12 July at the Digital Accademia in Roncade Treviso. The app that we created during the camp...
View ArticleTimbuktu is looking for a graphic designer
Hi there! 2014 has just begun, and chances are you are planning for some kind of change in your life. You want to feel proud of your work, to feel challenged and respected. You’re not afraid of working...
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10 KEYWORDS FROM GAMES FOR CHANGE 2014
I’m on a plane, on my way back to SF from one incredibly inspiring week in NYC at the Games for Change 11th conference. Directed by Asi Burak and sponsored by Zynga.org, Games for Change is a great...
View ArticleThat time my mom told me I was ugly
Common sense suggests to always avoid sarcastic comments with children. Above all, you should never make sarcastic comments about their physical aspect. Especially with girls. The social pressure is...
View ArticleTimbuktu launches Colors to involve children in urban planning
Here’s the video that sums up our Bay Area pilot of Timbuktu Colors, a toolkit that allows any community to co-design and build new playable spaces for children everywhere. Enjoy! Click Here to Bring...
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