If there’s one constant through the ages, it’s that kids will always find new and exciting things to become obsessed with collecting. From baseball cards to Beanie Babies to fidget spinners, each generation latches onto its own unique craze that baffles parents and becomes a phenomenon. As we settle into 2024, a new year has brought a fresh batch of must-have collectibles driving kids wild.
So what are the hottest collections amongtweens and teens right now? Here’s a look at some of the biggest fads capturing young peoples’ interests and allowance money this year.
Embedded Virtual Reality (VR) Cards
While physical trading cards have been popular for over a century, 2024 has seen a bold new twist on the classic collectible. The emergence of affordable yet powerful VR headsets has opened the door to “embedded VR cards” that project detailed 3D animations and gaming experiences when viewed through a VR lens.
The basic cards themselves are relatively simple, containing unique codes that unlock the immersive VR content. But it’s the mindblowing visuals and interactive properties that have kids scrambling to acquire both rare/limited cards and complete sets.
Major brands like Marvel, Pokemon, sports leagues and even fast food chains have driven into this space, releasing embedded VR card series at a torrid pace. Kids can now gaze upon their favorite heroes and creatures in engrossing 3D, engage in mini-games and quests, and experience the cards quite literally jumping off the page. It’s trading cards like you’ve never seen before.
Limited edition, autographed, and chase cards can sell for thousands, with the most coveted being an Embedded VR Holocard depicting all six Avengers in action. Rumors have circulated of one being sold privately for over $25,000! With new releases happening all the time and the speculative market running wild, embedded VR cards are unquestionably the hottest collectable among today’s youth.
Programmable Matryoshka Bots
The time-honored Russian nesting dolls have received a massive 21st century upgrade that’s turning the nostalgic toy into a red-hot kidcollection. So-called “Matryoshka bots” retain the classic painted outer shell design, but the modern version contains multiple miniaturized bots inside.
Through a smartphone app, owners can program their botsets with unique personalities, behaviors, lights, audio tracks and more. Kids can code the bots to react to their environment and each other in creative ways, choreographing their own mini robotic performances and experiences.
With thousands of design, coding, and combination options, it’s like having your very own robotic buddy contained in a portable playset. The tech has really caught on with kids enthralled by STEM toys and the DIY maker culture.
The collectability comes from both the intricately hand-carved designs and array of bots contained within the different sized dolls. New bots with advanced capabilities are constantly being released, spurring existing owners to expand their sets while newcomers jump on the latest models.
Beyond the fun of programming your own bots, a huge secondary market has materialized to trade completed “performances” via digital certificates. Top bot show recordings have reportedly commanded four and even five-figure prices from avid collectors!
Holoportal Cards
While embedded VR cards are all the craze for bringing 2D images to life, another hot collectible is doing the inverse by converting real-world objects to digital collectibles. Holoportal cards harness the power of volumetric video to record and project detailed 3D holograms of basically any object imaginable.
To create one, your item is simply placed in a special scanning rig which maps and stores the data into holocoded cards. The cards can then be inserted into a holoportal display that projects an incredibly realistic hologram with all dimensions fully intact and viewable from any angle.
As you can imagine, this tech has been a huge hit for collectibles where owning and showcasing a true 3D digital copy is arguably even cooler than the original. Everything from sports memorabilia to action figures, artwork, trading cards, fossils, jewelry and more has been captured as holoportal cards.
While the physical objects are still highly valuable, kids have gone wild over digitally collecting and trading these cards. Tons of limited edition series have been released, with rare assets sometimes selling for more than the physical version. There’s an excitement over sharing your collection in detail via holoportal that pictures just can’t capture.
Digital Grafframes
On the subject of pictures, one of the buzziest new collectibles taking over involves morphing any basic photograph into a subtly animated digital illustration. Dubbed “grafframes,” these hypnotic animated frames evolve and transform basic images into slick graphical designs.
Thanks to new AI tools, the process of “grafframing” a photo is shockingly simple. Just upload a snapshot of any object, scene or person, and AI algorithms automatically detect and isolate each element. From there, a myriad of animations and stylized effects are applied to convert it into a living work of digital art.
Kids are grafframing everything from pics of their friends and pets to capturing their latest outfits, accessories, kicks and more gear that expresses their personal style. Each grafframe looks like a living illustration, with trippy morphing animations that add flair and personality.
Beyond just creating them for fun, grafframes have become a full-blown collecting craze in their own right. Platforms have popped up for minting limited edition frames, with esoteric and creative designs being bought and traded like digital baseball cards.
The hottest grafframe creators have amassed cult-like followings among their young fans. Elite “graf artists” even stage exclusive periodic “drops,” where limited runs of commissioned designs become available for purchase and speculative collecting. It’s become downright lucrative for some teens!
DIY Nanodrone Racers
Look, not everything has to be virtual to be mind-blowingly awesome to today’s kids. Case in point are nanodrone racers – nimble miniature drones custom designed, built and raced in dizzying high-speed competitions by youngsters themselves.
Using intuitive 3D modeling apps and affordable 3D printing, kids can create and personalize their own nano-sized quad and hex-propeller drones from scratch. With 3D printed and programmable components, these drones can be designed for durability, aerodynamics and raw power for blitzing through tight backyard and neighborhood race courses.
The drones themselves are just the start, as kids can tweak and augment their designs to pull off physics-defying aerial stunts and maneuvers through custom programming and components. Onboard cameras provide a drone’s-eye view, immersing operators in the action while allowing friends to spectate live on phones/tablets.
While the manufacturing side is a blast, the real thrill comes from joining drone racing leagues and showcasing your skills. Major regional and national competitions have emerged, with sponsored teams, corporate-designed limited edition drones, and staggering cash prizes for the winners.
More democratized than traditional remote control racing, nanodrone racing has become a whole youth subculture. Local clubs, zines, gear brands, and meet-ups centered around the scene continue popping up everywhere. For teens into merging coding with high-adrenaline hobbies, it’s been a match made in heaven!
So there you have it – the biggest collectibles and crazes sweeping through the youth universe in this very futuristic 2024. Some of it sounds fantastical, but the technologies and fads highlighted above are undeniably capturing the imaginations (and cash) of kids across the world right now.
What these wildly diverse collections have in common are compelling intersections of gaming, customization, creativity, community, and good old-fashioned spectating/trading. Basically everything kids go nuts for in new packages powered by emerging tech.
For the first time in history, the youngest generation is gaining the tools and access to creativity traditionally reserved for major brands and companies. From 3D modeling/printing to programmable robotics and AI artwork, the power is shifting into youthful, entrepreneurial hands.
As such, we’re not just seeing kids mindlessly consume content and collectibles in a one-way fashion. Sure, there are still major product lines like VR cards leading the charge. But now kids have platforms for dreaming up, creating, trading/selling, customizing and showcasing their own unique creations too.
The collectibles space has become a two-way street, where young obsessive fans shape emerging markets and culture just as much as major corporations and IP owners. Kids are the innovators, curators and gatekeepers in a way we’ve never witnessed before.
While the specific hot collectible trends will always ebb and flow each year, this underlying dynamic of young people taking ownership over crafting, mashing up and propelling new creative economies is here to stay. 2024 is more of an inflection point than an aberration. With technology’s breakneck pace, who knows what mind-blowing new collections an even younger generation coming up behind today’s kids will dream up and rally behind in the years ahead.
Kidzoot Team
Parenting tips and tricks from experts with years of experience in child rearing. Get practical advice and fun activities to enjoy with your kids from our team of parents and educators.
