Hobbies And Interests
Online Microphone Games
The Web Paws website features an interactive search game called The Great Microphone Hunt. Players are guided on a musical tour with animated characters to find hidden microphones. The object is to get through three levels of dancing characters, picture galleries and bouncing bubbles to get the microphones back to the performers of a show. Fupa game site has Hannah Montana Microphone Mayhem, a game where you use your mouse and cursor to control an on-screen bow to shoot microphones at floating music notes while listening to soothing music and gazing at an image of the Disney star.
Microphone-Activated Games
Many online gaming websites host voice-activated games where kids speak into a microphone to control certain aspects of the game. One simple game has a hot air balloon floating over mountains and valleys and the player speaks into the microphone to elevate it. A more advanced sound-activated game is PAH! The PAH! game uses the same basic concept, but the player pre-records a voice sample that elevates the ship according to the volume of the commands. Players can shoot at flying meteors by exclaiming, "PAH!" Children who enjoy singing and mimicking popular vocal stars can test their skills by playing karaoke games online. All you need is a computer and microphone to sing hundreds of songs and be digitally scored for your performance. You must register to play, and kids over 13 can participate in singing battles against other members.
Kid's Karaoke Machines
For offline microphone fun, kids have virtually dozens of karaoke machines and games available to play. For younger kids, many toy and electronics manufacturers produce karaoke machines with microphones that are modeled after popular children's characters, like Phineas and Ferb, Alvin and the Chipmunks and Barbie. Such novelty karaoke machines typically come loaded with child-appropriate songs and familiar nursery rhymes. Older kids enjoy standard karaoke machines that supply CD/DVDs of more mature and mainstream music. Some units come equipped with disco lights and cameras that display your image on-screen as you sing. The interactive game Rock Band allows kids to form bands, play instruments, and assume the positions of animated characters or sing into a microphone to portray the lead vocalist.
Walkie Talkie Games
Walkie talkie games might be fun for kids who have considerably large indoor or outdoor areas to play in. Walkie talkies are hand-held, cordless communication devices with built-in microphones for exchanging messages remotely. Kids can use them to enhance a game of hide and seek by alerting players of captures and position changes. Walkie talkies are ideal tools for encouraging child creativity as many kids love making up their own cops and robbers, private eye, world explorer, astronaut and military strategy games. These devices are also an ideal way to monitor your children. Parents can keep one unit nearby to check in on their playing children.