Question:

What cool gadgets can I get my kids aside from just school supplies?

Cool Gadgets to Get Your Kids as Back to School Gifts

Buying school supplies often implies that the only thing important to your child is learning and studying. Let them know that you are aware that they have a fun creative side and include a few goodies in the school supply shopping bag.

These four items made the Forbes Top 10 Coolest Gadgets for Kids List:

1. The Digital Blue QX5 Computer Microscope plugs into the USB port of any PC and captures images at 640-by-480 resolution at three levels of magnification (10X, 60X and 200X). It also shoots microscopic video at up to 15 frames per second, as well as time-lapse movies that'll let kids watch paramecia shake their cilia in real time. The included software also lets users digitally edit the microscopic images and video, even adding special effects.
2. The hip-e system is a surprisingly well-thought-out digital environment for teen-age computer users. It is available in a number of configurations, but the complete system includes a desktop computer "node" with a 1.6-gigahertz Pentium M processor and a 120-gigabyte hard drive. It also includes a set of wireless speakers, a 17-inch widescreen LCD flat-panel monitor, a Sprint PCS slider-keypad cell phone, a 512-megabyte MP3 player and a remote control to manage the entire thing. The specs on the hip-e are impressive, and the integration of the system perfectly fits teen-age lifestyle. So the hip-e system can slide right into dorm-room double-duty as both a computer and an entertainment center.
3. The Pixter, a PDA-style portable activity-center for kids, has a color touchscreen and stylus. It caters to the creative impulses of children, letting them draw, color and play with an interface that bears a surprising resemblance to a primitive Adobe Illustrator. Plus, Pixter can be accessorized with extra software to teach math, geography, astronomy and language skills. A snap-on digital camera ($29.94) allows aspiring photographers to take, manipulate and edit photos with ease.
4. The Sidekick II launched late last year and has already been embraced by celebrities such as socialite Paris Hilton and rapper Snoop Dogg. It is slimmer and more capable than its predecessor and features a longer battery life. It has a full QWERTY keypad and an ingenious flip-out screen for answering e-mail, instant messaging and Web surfing. It also has an integrated camera (with flash) that comes with an online photo gallery.