ThinkFun's Maker Studio: Gears Set Review

I love toys which are fun and educational at the same time. I've been lucky to be given the chance to try and review several toys from ThinkFun and this time, they sent me the Maker Studio: Gears Set. Here is a short description of the set I received:

Designed by Engineers for Budding Engineers

Maker Studio™ inspires imagination and a love for engineering. In this set featuring gears, you’ll be able to build a racecar, a cable car, a 3-wheeler and a motorcycle. For each build you’re given Engineering Challenges – experiment with friction, torque and propulsion as you engineer your solutions. Once you’ve mastered all four builds, get creative and design something that’s all your own!

 The ThinkFun's Maker Studio: Gears Set is a single player game designed for those who are 7 and up. I have 2 daughters, who are 4 and 7, and they were super excited when I showed this to them.

 The ThinkFun's Maker Studio Set: Gears Set includes the following inside the box:

• 1 Spool
• 2 Long Connectors, 3 Medium Connectors
• 1 Large Gear, 1 Medium Gear
• 2 Large Wheels, 2 Medium Wheels, 2 Small Wheels
• 3 5.5" Rods, 3 1.5" Rods
• 13 Hub Caps
• 1 Hole Punch
• 3 Rubber Bands
• 10 Engineering Challenges

 Since this was designed for 7 and up, I let my 7 year old daughter try it out first. The instructions, for me, was designed for older children and adults because it was in diagram form. My 7 year old daughter couldn't do this on her own since she didn't understand the instructions. The good thing was, I was able to guide her and explained to her about how the gears work in a simple manner. She was able to see firsthand what I'm telling her which made it easier for her to grasp the concept of friction, torque and propulsion.

The diagram or instructions on how, where and how long to cut were a bit confusing as well so after cutting out the holes, I had to make adjustments by cutting longer so that the bigger gear would smoothly rotate.

 After putting the race car together, my daughters were very happy that the race car we built works.

I love how they, specially my 7 year old daughter, grasped the concept of propulsion in a simple way. She was able to see it so she understood it easily. I also love how we were able to recycle a macaroni box for the body of the race car.

Some tips would be to align the wheels properly so that the race car would glide smoother and go farther as well as cut a bit more length on the holes.

Visit ThinkFun's website HERE to learn more about their products or you can purchase the Maker Studio: Gears Set HERE.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a sample for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I tried personally and believe will be good for my readers. No other form of compensation was received. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.