Customer Reviews

Gears! Gears! Gears!® Beginner's Building Set

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I have to admit it -- this toy makes me want to shout "Wow! Neat! Awesome!" And if I were younger, I would definitely add "Cool!" I mean, this toy has everything. Oh, and my son loves it, too! He's not quite three years old, but he enjoys putting the base together, then placing each colorful gear on the pegs, and then -- Fun! -- turning and churning them with the handle. Together we've made some elaborate structures, and he looks so serious and industrious as he carefully snaps on a gear for each peg. Also, this toy is so open-ended and lets creativity soar! After going to the county fair, my son talked endlessly about the "scary rides," and this toy helps to fuel his imagination when we create all manner of exotic spinning rides. He surprised me by putting a gear on a connector and presenting the "flower" to me. He's made a terrific magic wand by stacking the pillars and connectors together, then piling gears atop that and some on the sides. Sometimes he turns the handle very slowly and studies how each gear turns the next one and the next one, and I feel good knowing he's having fun and learning at the same time. This toy has lasting play value, countless creative possibilities, is durable, educational, bright and attractive, and of course loads of Fun! Wow, what more could one want from a toy?!

I look for toys that are fairly quiet, easy to play with and fun. I want a toy that will inspire creativity and exploration of the world. I look for toys that are sturdy and will last a long time. I look for toys that will grow with my child.

This toy fits into all of these expectations and more.

My almost three year old son has really enjoyed these gears. He plays with them a lot. We have conversations about how they turn and how they work together. He is able to build a flower on his own and a bridge. I would point out though that he plays with these gears much better when an adult is playing with him. However, these are so fun, it's not a hardship to sit down and play.

We bought one of the activity books and that has helped expand our building activities and our imaginations, as we use the ideas from one activity and apply it to our own personal building.

I particularly like that you can buy more pieces in different sizes and uses. What a great way to expand your gear building activities.

Children learn math ideas and cause and effect and more from this toy. Well worth the money. This would be on my short list of toys if I had to pick only five or ten toys for my children to have.

Enjoy.

My 4-years old boy/girl twins were enthralled when this box was opened. We bought one of the activity booklets to give us ideas and it was a perfect way to start. We discussed the "name" of each different piece in the set and pondered what role each had. Each child chose an activity from the booklet and were quite successful (with help, of course). They were able to discuss why all the gears turned, and discerned why an "alone" gear did not turn (I was trying to fake them out). This is an excellent educational toy and my children did not want to put it away! We can't wait to buy a larger set and another activity book! You cannot go wrong with this toy! As my son said, "This is the coolest toy in the world!"

I sometimes disagree with the long lists of five star ratings for toys, but not this time. This toy is excellent, and an excellent value for your money. You won't be able to give any lectures on gear ratios and torques with this toy: all the gears are the same size. But that is good, the gears don't grind little fingers with any more force than they put on the handle.

My twins received these for their fourth birthday--I have since added a third set so we have enough that my two year old can play (make sure the small pieces are put together--the new sets have a much improved crank design). My girls LOVE to make twirling rainbows and all sorts of creative cars. I reccomend it without reservation.

My son received a set of Gears when he was 3. He is almost 7 and still loves to create with them. They really stimulate the imagination and foster logical and creative thinking skills. If you don't add a motorized set, the Gears are a quite toy. BUT, as your child gets older, adding a motorized component will definitely add to the fun. This toy ranks right up there with Little People for value & longevity!

This toy was a Christmas present from Grandpa who is an engineer and wants his grandchildren to experience the wonders of physics as soon as possible! The tiny handles are a little hard to keep track of and the gears are hard for younger kids to pull apart, but it is a terrific activity for younger kids and parents to work on together. Complex enough to not bore parents, easy and colorful enough to keep kids fascinated. I imagine that a child 5 and over would probably be able to play with this alone.

Gears, gears, gears is the kind of toy that parents like as much as children. I've had kids visiting from ages four to seven that are fascinated at their ability to make moving "machines" with this toy. It is easy for young children to get results from without frusteration, but interesting enough for older kids also. Parents will be glad to see their kids learning simple mechanics fundamentals while keeping themselves happy and busy at the same time!

My 4 year old son is really into building and seeing how things work so I thought this starter set would be a great toy, but it fell a bit short for us. My son found it a bit difficult to secure some of the additional pieces to the gears. Every 2 seconds I'd hear "mommy I can't do this please help me!" Perhaps getting a bigger set with more options would've been a better idea.

Gears! Beginning building set was a huge disappointment. This is actually the first product I have felt strongly enough about to review. I bought it for my three-year-old who loves to build and construct. The pieces that connect the gears are so poorly designed that it is virtually impossible to build anything. They don't fit together well and they certainly don't balance. The constructions shown on the box must have been made by a team of adults holding the pieces in place while someone else super-glued them. Extremely shoddy design and misleading photos. With some of our more complex building sets we model to our son the concept of "try and try again" but with this toy we had to introduce the concept of somebody making a very bad toy. My toddler kept telling me to try and the things kept falling apart. My son lost interest in under ten minutes and has never asked for it again. We had unfortunately ripped the box open so I couldn't return it. I actually threw it away which I have never done with a toy. I just would not feel right donating this and there are many small parts which pose a choking hazard (it does say this on the box). We put it in the recycling bin in the hope that someone can get some use out of it!