Fascinations First Time Clock Puzzle Clock

by Fascinations

Product Features

• Fascinations designs product to illustrate many magical aspects of our world
• A fascinating educational kit that explains the scientific nature of clocks
• This clock is a unique and interactive project
• Promotes cognitive development
• Associated website content supports further learning about the hands of time

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 9 x 8 x 2 inches ; 13.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B002CMNMUY
• Item model number: FIRSTTC1
• Our recommended age: 3 years and up
• Manufacturer recommended age: 3 years and up
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,838 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
  • #3 in Automotive > Replacement Parts > Lighting & Electrical > Electrical > Clocks
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

True mechanical timepieces, these GearUp clocks represent the progress of time while enhancing any décor. Fascination's GearUp line of unique timepieces pays homage to the intricate beauty of gears in motion. Designed to illustrate many magical aspects of our world, Fascinations products will cause you to react with amazement and ask "What makes that work?" or "How is that possible?" By working with engineers, scientists, magicians and most importantly, kids young and old, Fascinations is proud to bring you the best in truly unique toys and gifts.

Product Description

KIDS LEARN HOW GEARS FUNCTION TOGETHER TO MEASURE THE PROGRESSION OF TIME. A fascinating, educational kit that explains the scientifc nature of clocks, making this a unique and interactive project. The projects promotes cognitive development. Easy to foll

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfectly imperfect, April 17, 2010

By 

Biology Prof. (Washington State) - See all my reviews

= Durability:2.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Fascinations First Time Clock Puzzle Clock (Toy)

Wow is this a great object. 'Toy' is the wrong description, however. I bought this for my six year old son and we assembled it together. The instructions are not great. They are also not terrible. We tried to use the instructions as little as possible in any case, and the picture of the completed clock on the box is enough to deduce it all if you are mechanically minded and have the time to think through the elements you can't see very well (though part-color is not perfectly reliable from the picture). Both of us learned a lot in making this. That surprised me a bit. I'm college science professor. I've opened many clocks over the years. I did not, however, realize that a clock could be this simple, or this tolerant of imprecision (these parts are cheaply molded plastic). Half way through making this "clock" I became convinced that it was not as the box suggested. I thought it was not a clock, but instead a clock-like toy that would show how the hands could move at different rates, all in a highly sped-up form. I thought it wouldn't keep proper time. And I concluded that was ok. It was still fun to build and was well worth the price, even if the box was misleading. But then the last few steps (the hardest ones to deduce) rendered the entire thing functional. I was wrong! It keeps time. You have to adjust the pendulum to get it to do so precisely, just as someone must in any real pendulum clock. My only complaint is that this clock removes all the black-box elements from a clock except one. The spring that stores the energy that drives the clock is not possible to see. So there is still a black box, and for no good reason. The spring gear apparatus could be transparent so you could see every moving element. But at the price, I can't complain. It's tremendously educational, enough that I'm thinking of buying a stack and putting my students through he exercise of discovering how comprehensible things can remain un-comprehended in a consumer culture where a clock is typically something you buy, use, then throw away.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Easy to assemble but just doesn't work, May 22, 2010

By 

H Z (San Jose, CA) - See all my reviews

= Durability:1.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Fascinations First Time Clock Puzzle Clock (Toy)

This was a gift for my six year old who is very good at following instructions and working with his hands. We sat together and navigated the terrible assembly drawing. The basic drawing problem is that the step by step drawings are too small and the persepective chosen for their rendering has two pins that overlap. If you could figure out the drawing, assembly was pretty easy. The color coded parts helped a lot.

The operational problem with this item is the regulator (pendulum) mechanism. The fork and escape wheel are not made with sufficiently high precision for this item to work. When you first start the pendulum and it has high amplitude, these items engage and disengage properly. In 10-20 seconds, the fork and escape wheel actually start missing each other and the escape wheel goes several ticks per swing and then many as they miss each other and then the pendulum and the escape wheel stop moving together and the clock stops. There really isn't anything you can do about this problem. These parts have to fit perfectly and they don't.

Given the problems with the toy, I could not possibly recommend it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Neat idea, a little frustrating to build but persistance will pay off!, April 19, 2010

By 

G. Wade "Krista" (Brush Prairie, Wa United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:3.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Fascinations First Time Clock Puzzle Clock (Toy)

My 6 year old son bought this. He worked for weeks to make enough money to get it, he loves clocks & the inner workings of them. To save us from him tearing apart clocks & watches, we agreed to order this for him. When I saw this out of the box, I really thought it looked quite junky so I was prepared for a failure from the start. My 9 year old daughter & I helped my son build it the first time but we could not get it to work. Then his sister took it apart & built it again, still it wasn't right & I was ready to send it back. Then, my son tried one more time & he got it working perfectly. The gear pieces have to be 'engaged' & there is some room for error but if you check & double check that everything turns before you seal it up, then you have won half the battle. Once you get it set & working, don't mess with it or it may cause you problems. Ours ran for the whole day yesterday, I was tiring of the constant tic tocking BUT my son has already learned so much about something that doesn't use batteries & shows the beautiful workings of mechanics. The process of building it & rebuilding it probably taught him more than if he would have built it right the first time.

I would not recommend this for a child who isn't careful with their toys, I could see the parts disappearing or being broken quite easily. Aside from that, it is an excellent learning tool!!