The Learning Journey Techno Gears Marble Mania Genius Construction Set

by The Learning Journey

Product Features

• 500+ Piece Construction Set
• Dual Power Lifter Automatic Ball Returns
• Interlocking Plates Gears Electronic Sound Chamber 3-D Connectors Shafts Channels Funnel And Pendulum
• Five Independent Tracks
• Inspires Creativity

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 24 x 12.2 x 24 inches ; 3 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 10.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B001E66FQ2
• Item model number: 590164
• Manufacturer recommended age: 8 - 12 years
• Batteries: 4 AA batteries required.
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #71,898 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (19 customer reviews)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

The Genius edition of Marble Mania is truly a work of art! This high-tech set includes over 500 pieces of Marble Mania gear to keep your young architect busy for hours on end. Once built, watch the Genius come to life with exciting twists and turns, electronic sounds, loops and rotating gears. The Genius edition features five independent tracks for marbles to run, and all lead back to one of the dual power lifters on the system. This is a must-have product for all those little geniuses in your home! Requires three “AA” batteries. Ages 8+ years.

Product Description

The new Genius edition of Marble Mania is truly a work of art! This high tech set includes over 500 pieces of Marble Mania gear to keep your young architect busy for hours on end. Once built, watch the Genius come to life with exciting twists and turns, electronic sounds, loops and rotating gears. The Genius edition features 4 independent tracks for marbles to run, and all lead back to one of the dual power lifters on the system. This is a must have product for all those little Geniuses in your home! Requires four "AA" batteries, not included. Measures 15.75"L x 33.07"W x 15.75"H.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for an inventive child, October 6, 2009

By 

James Johnston "Mr. J (or one of my students)" (West TX) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Learning Journey Techno Gears Marble Mania Genius Construction Set (Toy)

I have to admit I was hesitant to buy this item after reading the negative reviews. However, my family found that the negative issues others experienced were simply not the case with us. There are claims that this toy is a "one trick pony," or in other words that it is only good for one thing. However, the products own webpage has plans for several ways to reconstruct the parts in different configurations.

The bottom line is that if your child is inventive and likes building, they will like this toy. Ours even found uses for the parts with other toys like Legos, Bionicles, etc.

However, it can be annoyingly noisy at times. And pets like dogs can activate it its on/off mechanism pretty easily. Those are the only two warnings I would advise potential purchasers of this product.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun for us, September 16, 2009

By 

dbonzai "Doug" (Vancouver, WA United States) - See all my reviews

= Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: The Learning Journey Techno Gears Marble Mania Genius Construction Set (Toy)

I brought this home from [...]this afternoon for my almost 5yo son. While the directions to build the thing were rather intense overall, we were able to put it together in about 3.5 hours or so total. Once it was assembled and the marbles started going, my 4yo went crazy and I had a very tough time getting him to bed.

The build was a little much for him from time to time, but he wouldn't leave the table and go watch cartoons or color his books. I was able to have him help me assemble it by handing me the pieces as I called them out by number (good learning exercise for him for sure).

The marbles do fall off from time to time, you have to watch it. But it's interactive and part of the fun for him is getting the marbles and putting them back into the contraption at different points on the various paths.

The mechanism is a little finicky and I had to re-assemble a screw-ladder portion because it kept jamming. But once I did and set it really good, it started working perfectly.

I had trouble with the sound piece and thought it came DOA. Then I discovered the small on-off switch on the bottom which is very hard to see as it blends right in to the piece itself. After I switched it on it works perfectly as well.

The set came with some extra pieces and a very cool "stopper" piece which wasn't even in the directions (optional placement). My son really enjoyed this aspect as I put it under the sound tunnel so when the sound went off, he knew he had a marble at the stopper to release.

The manual is very well illustrated and easy to follow. They include some good tips on making the build go smoother which I followed. They seemed to help a lot.

Overall, I gave it 4 stars as some of the design could have been a little better/easier (why have a front and back to the six-way connectors?) but it was a steel at 40 dollars from [...] and me and my son are looking forward to putting together some alternate designs (one alternate design is on the website now).

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't buy this toy, March 28, 2009

By 

David Lipscomb - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:1.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:1.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: The Learning Journey Techno Gears Marble Mania Genius Construction Set (Toy)

Don't buy this toy. Our kids got this toy for Christmas and it's been nothing but a headache. It took 4 hours to assemble the first time. So it did take a genius to assemble!

But the real intelligence comes in repairing it frequently. It is flimsy and cheaply made. It does not stay together and we have to reassemble portions every time our children try to play.

And the marbles will not stay in the tracks. They end up rolling off the toy and all over the floor.

Save yourself the money. It's a shame that so many toys are cheaply and poorly made these days.