Because the Magna Doodle uses no ink or graphite, it is used by scuba divers as an underwater whiteboard when instructing students, and by divers who wish to pass short notes. [3] [4] The Magna Doodle is not specifically designed to work underwater and many of its components can rust or otherwise deteriorate over time. With so many neat drawing boards to consider, the first thing to think about is how you intend for your child to use it. If it's simply to let their imagination run wild, a straightforward, colorful model with a stylus and sliding eraser will keep them entertained. Besides extras (like magnets or stencils), the biggest difference you'll find between those is the size of the drawing pad itself. An 8 by 10-inch (the size of printer paper) display offers plenty of doodle space, but consider an even more compact one if you want extra portability.

There are two sheets of plastic, laid one on top of the other. The top one is translucent and forms the surface that the pen touches when drawing.

4. This Interactive Device That Teaches Kids To Draw 70+ Letters & Objects

It’s actually a very simple device; a plastic screen that you write on with the accompanying stylus. In the TV comedy Friends, a Magna Doodle is visible in Joey and Chandler's apartment, with various messages written on it throughout the series, referencing plot points, current events, inside crew jokes, or just random drawings. [6] Bought this drawing board for my child and it turned out to be a fantastic gift. They use it multiple times a day and their artistic skills, as well as their ability to hold crayons and pens, have improved. Although the board feels a bit cheap, the love my child has for it makes up for that. The board's size is larger than expected, providing ample drawing space, and the stamps work well for creating shapes. The clearing swipe usually cleans the board in one go, making it convenient and efficient for continuous play. Why Should You Buy a Magnetic Drawing Board?

So now we know just how much the Magna Doodle is adored, we obviously want to know how it works. Don’t we?The Magna Doodle’s popularity has been huge – over 40 million of them have been sold since it was first produced – and it’s easy to understand why. Unlike drawing with pen and paper there’s no mess, no risk of the tops being left off your pens so that they dry up and if you make a mistake, rather than wasting paper, you just slide the magnetic bar across the screen and hey presto! Your picture disappears and you’re left with a brand new, clean surface to start again on. The middle layer is latticed so that there is always an even distribution of the magnetic particles across the entire surface of the display. Magna Doodle is a magnetic drawing toy, consisting of a drawing board, a magnetic stylus, and a few magnet shapes. Invented in 1974 by Pilot Corporation, [1] over forty million units have been sold to date worldwide, under several brands, product names and variations, including Tyco and Mattel/Fisher Price. The screen is made up of three parts: two semi-transparent plastic sheets which sandwich a hexagonal, latticed plastic sheet in the middle. When you drag the magnetic tip of the stylus across the outer section of the plastic screen the magnetic particles are pulled to the top of the liquid and can be seen through the outer plastic. The edges of each cell ensure that there is an even distribution of them across the entire screen. The particles remain happily on the top of the liquid in the pattern the stylus drew until the eraser is drawn across the screen.

These boards can also be taken on car, train, boat, and plane journeys, and they won’t create a mess on grandma’s carpet the way paints might. In " The One With Mac And C.H.E.E.S.E." a plot point is made of how Chandler attempts and fails to leave an important message for Joey in this Magna Doodle. Beyond sketching, these magnetic toys are also great for learning to write letters and numbers, however, if you have a pre-K or early elementary-school-aged child and you really want to hone in on developing fine motor skills, look for models with more interactive features like animated guides or tactile metal beads.The toy was originally invented at Pilot Corporation, which registered "Magna Doodle" as a trademark in the U.S. in 1986, and has owned the underlying rights to the brand ever since. [1]

The eraser handle is at the bottom of the Magna Doodle – slide it from one side to the other and a long bar magnet, which fits snugly out of sight behind the screen, pulls the particles away from the top screen, giving you a nice clean surface to draw on again. Ah, the Etch-a-Sketch. Now, while I admit it can (I say ‘it can’ – I personally am only ever able to draw wonky-looking houses on it) produce some extremely clever pictures, for those who aren’t able to get on with its knob-twiddling technique there arrived its slightly simpler cousin Magna Doodle.Coming complete with a stylus (which is handily attached so it can never get lost) and a variety of magnetic shapes that can be used on the drawing board it is far easier for little people (and underwhelming illustrators like me) to attempt - and succeed at – creating something vaguely artistic. The Magna Doodle was produced by Tyco until 1998 when most of Tyco's toys were sold to Fisher-Price. The Magna Doodle is currently produced by The Ohio Art Company and used to be distributed in the United Kingdom by Fisher-Price. Fisher-Price has discontinued the Magna Doodle and have produced their own alternative, the Doodle Pro. It is still available in the UK, from the distribution company Megatel LTD. Now I’ll admit right now that the nuts and bolts of how something is technically put together isn’t really something my brain seems to be able to grasp, so the actual science part of it goes right over my head. However, if you just want to be able to vaguely understand why you can draw a line on the surface of the Magna Doodle when the stylus isn’t really a pen, then I’ll give it a go…