Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this product, free of charge,from Thinkfun, via Tomoson,for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it
Last week I shared with your about the great Maker Studio Propeller Building Set.
Today I have another of their great kits to share with you:
The maker Studio Gears Building Set also allows you to make 4 projects:
Just like the Propeller Set, you get everything you need, except for scissors, string/yarn and your recycled product to sue as your base:
As you can see the connectors, dowels, spindle, bands and connectors, are the same as the propeller Kit. What is different are the 2 sizes of gear wheels and the 6 wheels.
As you can see, the gearwheels really have TEETH to grab and move your project along!
Miss Grace decided to use a leftover water bottle to make the 3 wheeler as her sample project:
Once again, I started the recycled base for Miss Grace,as cutting plastic bottles is not her forte. This one was a little easier, as far as trying to figure out WHERE to put the holes to me, but it was confusing to Miss Grace's 8 yr old self. The directions really need a template for each project to give you a better layout of the holes needed, and the distance between them that is needed. In these projects, as you are working with gears, it is really important.
Phase 1- getting the large gear and connector INSIDE the bottle is a bit of a pain, due to the lock connectors being so snug and hard to push. Miss Grace needed my help with that.
Phase 2: Back wheels going on, as per instructions.
And then we realized the instructions were backward, and you should skip ahead in order to be able to physically get the connectors in place, from the back wheels to the front gear. SIGH. We should have learned to read ahead from the previous kit...but I was letting her do it herself, and Miss Grace forgot..
Phase 3: So one quick uninstall, add and re-install later and she had something starting to resemble a car! I liked using the clear bottle, as you could see how the gears would work!
Here you can see how they line up on the back wheel, and how the finished product looks.
Note- I had to cut out more of the bottom hole, as we discovered after getting all the wheels and gears in, that there needed to be more space for the connector to move, and the original hole was not large enough (hence the need for templates!)
And here you can see the final product and how the gears actually WORK!
Miss Grace was pleased as punch, to have a 3 wheeler she MADE actually work with gears!
The challenge for it, was cool as well, about how to move the 3 wheeler without pushing it, but I forgot to video! SIGH.
All in all the project was very simple, once the instructions were clarified and correct size holes made.this is where some parental assistance may be needed for younger kids. Miss Grace loves building things, and she is already figuring out how to combine the two project kits to make a flying car/plane combo!
These kits would be great for girls AND boys for birthday presents, Christmas presents, or for any special occasion. While the kids can pretty much make them themselves, they can also be perfect for some great family educational time! There are 3 kits available right now, Propellers, Gears (this kit), or Winches. ThinkFun will also be selling all parts and new expansion pieces, as well as offering free downloadable 3D printing files for more building ideas. You can purchase the Maker Kits on Amazon. they are well worth the $20 cost, for the hours of innovation and fun they provide your child!
Thinkfun has been making toys and kits kids LOVE and adore for 30 years! This year has brought new innovations! “We’re on a mission to give kids an early advantage by cleverly disguising brain-building work as fun, exciting, and varied,” said Bill Ritchie, ThinkFun President and Co-Founder. “We continue to partner with the world’s greatest thinkers, track with educational trends like STEM, and innovate consistently to ensure we wow parents, their kids, and teachers.”
Comments
Post a Comment