Is there a child out there that can see a pile of blocks sitting there and not be interested in stacking one on top of the next to construct a tower, castle, house, car and more? I don't think that desire is something that we outgrow either — if there was a set of blocks in front of you, could you resist not at least building with a few of them?
But what if this toy that has been around for decades and decades was... turned into more?
Enhanced and accessorized in such a way that the blocks were not only fun and entertaining, but fostered things like spatial thinking, perseverance and fine motor skills? Imparted knowledge about basic physics, dynamics and gravity even?
If this all sounds a little far-fetched (or not something that kids would be interested in), then you clearly haven't been playing with Discover the Building Blocks Technics Optics Pack from HABA lately.
Combining high quality beech wood blocks with connectors, wheels, gears and more, the Discover the Building Blocks Technics Optics Pack comes with all of the necessities to take curious young minds to a whole new level. Create towers with rotating disks, vehicles that really move, custom animated shorts, and much more — the sky is the limit!
When a box filled with this entertaining and educational set arrived, the kids and I were ready to dig right in.
Pulling the pieces out, we found a film drum, paper strips (featuring different motifs as well as two blank paper strips to create your own), effect disks, eyelets, silicon rings of two sizes, six construction block clamps, four wheel clamps and five construction blocks.
While this was plenty for us to play, invent and imagine with, it's great that this Discover the Building Blocks Technics Optics Pack can be combined with any other HABA construction sets for building and creating on an even larger scale!
Once we had looked over the various parts and I had explained the uses for a few of them, it didn't take long before we were reaching to turn individual pieces into simple or complex creations.
Beginning small, we drove our cars, trucks and construction vehicles around...
...before taking them apart and turning them into a tower fit for a princess (which then turned into a tower on wheels).
However, it didn't take long before the kids' curiosity led us to include the effects disks into our constructions, bringing on the oohs and aahs as they watched the colors spin.
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| The spinning disk on the "car" was our favorite, as you simply had to roll it back and forth to see the spin! |
By using dry erase markers and the blank disks, we were even able to create our own patterns and designs and see how they looked when spun!
As if seeing the cause-and-effect of connecting the wheels, rings and disks to see them spin wasn't enough, I loved seeing my girls' eyes widen when we added in the film drum. By attaching this piece right on top and turning the knob, we suddenly had our own animated clips happening right in front of us!
With a retail price of $84.99 (available directly from HABA or on Amazon), the Discover the Building Blocks Technics Optics Pack is more expensive than other wooden block building systems available. However, considering the extremely high quality, craftsmanship, unique appeal and endless possibilities, I do believe that HABA has created yet another winning product that will be passed on from generation to generation.
While HABA states that this set is appropriate for ages 3+, I do think that in order for kids to fully be able to understand, design and build with the more challenging concepts that they would need to be more in the range of 8 and up. If you're looking for an innovative, creative way to engage older children in imaginative play while learning about a variety of scientific concepts, this is one set that you have to check out!
Find out more about this and all of HABA's award-winning products by visiting their website at HABAusa.com and connecting with them on Facebook and Twitter.
Other than the Discover the Building Blocks Technics Optics Pack that I was provided by HABA in order to facilitate my review, I was not compensated or enticed to do this post in any way. This review is solely my honest opinion about this product.
11 comments:
I love to buy innovative toys for my grandkids. These blocks are not only innovative they inspire creativity and thinking. Thank you for the review - this will go on my Christmas list.
Wow these are really neat. A little more educational than standard building blocks.
This looks like so much fun! I love toys that encourage learning, and this one looks like it would lead to some really creative designs.
How fun. They can be little inventors! I'm from Akron, where the National Inventor's hall of Fame is, so I love trying new things. Maybe one day I can get in (hahaha)
innovative toy--I love that they can be added to other sets!
This is such a good toy to give a child because it teaches them how to build and teaches learning in such a fun way. I like this toy and would love to get it for my nephew!
This is a great learning tool for kids while they can also express their creativity.
I like how hands-on this set is. Definitely a great choice for kids old enough to enjoy tinkering and experimenting with the various pieces and figuring out how each part affects another. It's nice that both animation wheel and the disks were included with make-your-own parts so the kids can see their own creations come to life.
Wow! Lots of things to do with this set. Your girls looked like they were really having fun with it.
slehan at juno dot com
This is a great set. I love Haba quality. My oldest (6) is always making machines of one kind or another - she would really love to play with this set. Very stylish prints, too.
that's so cool. my nephew would ove that.
knickgirl_3 at yahoo dot com
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