Customer Reviews

STRAWS & CONNECTORS

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

We buy lots of learning/educational toys for kids and 705 pieces version reached couple days ago. Below are my thoughts:

Pros:
- Lots of pieces; enough for three Kids to create their own independent structures or work jointly on one big one
- Good for all ages; elder ones can ask younger ones to work on smaller pieces to incorporate into bigger scheme later
- Lots of possibilities; with some limitations on creative side (see cons below)

Cons:
- Straws have no "grooves" or "snap-ons". One shallow cylinder goes over a solid cylinder (male-female joint in technical terms). This means shallow cylinder will wear-out soon (when it widens with use or when *** it is left connected overnight ***). So the life of this toy is going to be very short. How manufacturer could have extended it? See recommendations for manufacturer below
- There are "beams" (straws) and connectors in this toy. Since joints have four corners when you put these together one joint can connect/hold 4 straws meaning there should be more straws than beams. What you get is 390 straws and 315 joints. This ratio is not enough. No matter what you build/construct, 100 or more joints are always left unused. So the ratio should have been 500 straws and 200 connectors
- Straws are not "flexible" enough to come back to real shape bent at 90 degrees once (not as bad as straws you buy at Walmart but these should have been better since this is a toy and regular straws are not)

Recommendations for the parents and manufacturer:

- Parents: Make sure straws are not left "connected" over an extended period of time or joints will lose strength (less elasticity - as diameter will increase where straws go over connectors)
- Manufacturer: Be practical. Add some "curved" straws so that kids don't keep twisting and turning straight straws to form curves and please please extend life of this toy by extending joints from 1/4" to 1/2 inches

Over-all it seems expensive since it is not going to last long you can tell it OO the Box; 3 stars for the fun while it lasts!

My kids enjoy this building set. It really is unique and allows them to be creative. The only down side is that the straws can break if you bend then too far. I'd also like to see the price come down a little. when it said 705 pieces they are couting the little tiny connectors as well as the straws. I didn't realize that when I bought it. But overall we were pleased.

We use these straws and connectors with kids and adults alike. The set is large enough that you can divide it easily into 4 or 5 sets. We divide up our groups into equal sized teams and give each team a set of straws and connectors. We challenge each team to get as creative as possible and build something, anything. I'm amazed at how much fun both kids and adults have with this challenge. And what a good team builing activity it is!

The kids love it. Easy to put the pieces together and had lots of fun. The reason I gave 4 stars instead of 5 because the structure is so light that is unable to hold up itself well enough with out every piece being connected,therefore there is no space for the kids to sit inside, as it shown in the picture, not even mention a very light weight polyester cover. However, I would recommend this toy to others and would buy it as an educational toy again.

I bought this toy for my classroom (4 year olds) last year and they loved it.
My sons had a version Straws and Connectors when they were children and played with it all the time so this year I bought a set for my soon to be 4 year old grandsons.

Great toy! It makes the child think a bit and learn to build.
It is so many toys in one.
In addition to constructing the fun suggested structures, such as buildings,
they can also make forts, soccer goals,
targets,obstacle courses,and other such interactive items.

This was a gift to our twin grandchildren as per a recommendation by the parents. They love it and play with it alot. We received a picture of the fort they built and it looked very cool. It is a gift that I would purchase again and it was a very good experience buying it from Amazon. They are very helpful and I received my order very quickly.

This is a good teaching tool for the kids.

Love the straws! My kids like them too. You can build some really cool and really large items. Multiple kids/adults can build together. You will need a decent sized space to construct.

My kids received this toy last year for Christmas and are still playing with it. The pieces are durable and the possibilities are endless as to what they can build. The directions that come with it are just OK. Some go together very well, but others seem like they could have used some intermediate steps included. However, there are tons more ideas (and more thorough instructions) online so you will never run out of things to build with this set.

One point however, buy the largest set you can afford to buy. Some pieces need to be cut into halves, quarters, and eighths - which means fewer whole pieces to go around. The 705 pc set is wonderful, but we certainly have considered getting another one at times when the kids are itching to build something really big.

Both my 7 and 10 year olds had asked for this in a catalogue for Christmas this year. Considering that the toy is rated ages 4 and up I had some concerns that they would find it too elementary, and would not get much enjoyment from the set. I was very pleasantly surprised to see that I was wrong! Both kids were thrilled with the set and played with these more over the days immediately following Christmas than any other toy they recieved. Even an older cousin joined in the fun. They created items spurred by independent imagination, and built off each other's idea. The set was large enough to allow each kid to work on their own project. Only problem: there doesn't seem to be enough pieces in the set to build some of the larger structures included in the instruction manual. I am considering buying a second set, but the price is a little high for that. If the staying power is there, I may cave.