Customer Reviews

Thames & Kosmos Physics Workshop

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

 

 

I bought this kit to support a home-based learning program for a fifth-grade boy (11 years old). It is EXACTLY what I was looking for - there's the fun of building the labs, then the fun of trying the experiments. The included documentation is very good, as it describes not only how to build the equipment, but also how to conduct the experiments, and it also discusses the related scientific concepts. I'd suggest that parents/educators read through everything ahead of time if they plan to use this kit as a teaching tool, to become familiar with the flow of the material. You can easily jump around between topics within the book, as the labs generally do not depend on each other (with the exception of force scale).
The suggested age range for this kit is 8 - 12, but I'd be inclined to increase the upper limit, as some of the concepts are clearly in middle school territory.

My son is always tinkering, building contraptions, etc. We could tell that the Legos were getting "old" for him, so we bought this. He really likes it, and is always building stuff like cranes, windmills, etc. Everything in the set is sturdy, with quality similar to Lego, but with more gears and pulleys.

To start, I'm an assistant teacher who has been given the task of implementing a small "club" where kids can use their hands and learn about basic physics concepts, mechanics, and other knowledge they might acquire through the experience. Right, I'm not a certified teacher, but do have a minor background in mechanics as an amateur bicycle mechanic. I've also taken college level physics classes.

This set is nice. The pieces are durable and easily identifiable. But this kit is lacking in so many other areas.

First, the instructions are poor. There are pictures, but no explanation how to get from one step to another. Sometimes, the manual just shows you the completed mechanism, and you're expected to fabricate it on your own. I bought a few of these kits in order to have about 3 kids per kit in a group of about 15 kids. I ended up running around the room having to explain the same thing or show how to build the structure over and over again.

Second, for a kit, I was expecting all materials to be provided. Not the tools like scissors or a tape measure, but the other "common house hold items". In the first few experiments, you need string. I understand having to provide your own potato and paperclips, but how hard is it to provide a spool of twine?

Third, the "experiments" and "workshops" seem to be haphazardly thrown around amongst the reading. Granted, the reading has a good amount of information, but there's no way to transition when you're running a class. What would be helpful would be some form of lesson plan. Maybe, one or two experiments per concept, and each concept clearly separated from the others, maybe by page. There's also no questions or worksheets to stop and ask the kids what they've learned. There's no way to measure how much they've learned.

This kit is not at all a bad kit. It's very educational and actually fun for the kids. They start to look at the world in a different light and start to understand why things happen. It's a fantastic kid for a 1-on-1 environment, like a parent and child set up. If you're planning on buying it for a larger group, maybe you want to sit down with it well in advanced and go through the book and the experiments so you have a firm grasp on how to set up and implement lessons.

The instructions included with this set are very poorly written. You are left with a couple of photos to figure out how to assemble any given project. You can figure out how to put together most of the projects but for the more advanced projects it's almost imposable to figure out.

Parts are high quality. Manual could be written a little better - sort of jumps all over the place. Required extra stuff not included in the kit.

I bought this for my 11-year old grandson. Being the non-traditional child and not an electronics game type; I was unsure of what to buy him for Christmas. This turned out to be perfect. He had already completed several projects by mid-afternoon when I talked to him on Christmas day. I wish I could have been there with him; but he is 100's of miles away. He was extremely pleased with the gift. On top of all of that, I was pleased to be able to purchase him a stimulating and educational gift instead of just another toy.

This tool kit has the making of a very good educational experience. Unfortunately it could be executed much better. Explanations for how to do the experiments are basically just a couple of pictures of the finished product in various stages of being put together.

The problem is that is rarely sufficient to determine how critical pieces should fit together. But when they work they can be really fun. For example, the all-terrain vehicle works really well and my 9 yr old grandson got a kick out of that.

In general, the explanation for the "physics" behind the experiment are not well explained certainly not for young kids. I was a physics major in college (long ago)...but even still the explanations often left me wondering.

My son has been enjoying this kit so far, he just opened it a couple of days ago. It's built very well, but I'll agree with the other reviews, it needs better instructions. You have to figure each project out by the picture, but he has built what he's wanted to so far. I would recommend this product!

I'm someone who loves science, and I teach 4th grade in a public school. I was really hoping that this could be something I could use in the classroom to help teach simple machines. Unfortunately, I am going to be returning the product. It is just much too difficult for an average 10 year old to put these machines together. The first one I tried to put together was a 2-stage lever, the instructions are mediocre at best. They provide 2 pictures to show you how to put everything together and then a tiny caption next to it explaining what to do. I grew up with Lego's, Lincoln Logs, and Construx. I had a very tough time building it and at the end of it, it didn't work. They had rigged the pulleys incorrectly, making it impossible to use the lever.

There is no way that I can expect my students to use this to build something.

On the positive side, the instruction manual does provide a ton of information about each of the machines you build. I think that this would work very well for a home school child, but definitely not for a public school setting. It's too bad because it had enormous potential.

I would also raise the age range to 12-16.

Very clear and understandable instructions, a wide variety of projects and the kids (10 and 12) love it.