Learning Resources Gears! Gears! Gears! Mega Builds, STEM Gears Building Set, 235 Pieces, Ages 4+

I am really impressed with this set. Not all toys have to be educational, but if they are it's best if they are also fun, or they won't get used. As a former mechanical engineer and teacher, I can say this is a fabulous toy that is great fun, and has educational value that will capture the imagination of any young engineer. I remember making huge, complicated, gear-driven windmill machines out of LEGO gears as a kid, and as soon as I saw this set I had to give it a try. The gears here are bigger and chunkier than the LEGO ones, so they are aimed at a younger audience. Our three-year-old (nearly four) niece needs a bit of help right now, but children from four to about fifty-two will love this. The bright colours and packaging make this look like a toddler's toy, but it's really better suited to older children. I'm sure the company's marketing people know more than I do, but I can't help thinking that some of the toy's target audience might be put off. There are loads of gears in the box, a couple of chains which also double as caterpillar tracks, wheels, and blocks to hold it all together. You can buy extra bits too, although if you manage to empty this box, whatever you have built will be enormous! I want to try the set with the dozer blade and wrecking ball though... The original price when I received this set for review was nearly £90, which I thought was a bit high. It's now dropped to £62.99 on Amazon, which is more reasonable, with an RRP of £66. That still seems a lot, but in terms of 'hours per pound', it really isn't. There is a LOT of play potential in this box. The quality of the parts is high, they fit together well and are robust enough to survive an ex-RAF fitter. That says everything! There is a guide manual in the box, which give information on the correct way to match and mesh the gears, and how to assemble the wheels & tyres. It's not a build manual - whatever you make is entirely dependent on your imagination. The Learning Resources website does have downloadable ideas for most of the sets if you need inspiration. Excellent starter set, totally recommended.

This toy is a lot of fun and it gets so many different skills at play. It really is a toy to help children develop skills as well as their dexterity. Gears are so versatile and so much can be built using them. This toy takes advantage of that and allows children to create crazy contraptions with moving parts all thanks to simple, colourful gears. They come in different sizes and all complement one another to create large, fun toys you can then play with. There are no ‘pre-made’ builds for children to try to replicate but the instructions do explain a bit on how to use each of the elements included to their maximum potential. The sky is the limit, really. Children (and adults, because it really is fun) will be able to create their very own contraptions and test them as you go along (or at the end) and see if they work. The best thing about this toy is the replayability. There really is no limit to how much you can do. There is always something new to try, something new to build. Despite being a bit of an expensive toy, I personally feel it is worth it. It is, in essence, an educational toy. As you use it and build things, you’re constantly thinking: will this work? How do I make that over there move smoothly? So right away, you’re using your logical skills to try engineer a working structure. The thing, it’s so much fun, you forget you’re learning. Definitely targeted for children but this is something parents and kids could easily do together too and have a lot of fun together. Definitely recommended.

Truly a MEGA build set which has 235 large and chunky pieces for little hands. Our little one wasnt totally enamoured by this when she first saw it. As a six year old, she thought perhaps the colours and the chunky pieces - when she is now use to Lego - would be a bit simplistic. However, when we opened it and started to lay out the fully working gears, levers, wheels, et al she realised how different this construction set is to anything she has so far. It is a fully functional, free-play, kinetic set that can endlessly be remodelled into a working piece of art that can alter from a robot, a car or a machine. You can follow the guide included to engineer a construction, or our little one can reengineer her own creation allowing her to problem solve and think outside the box in order for the gears and levers to fully function. An excellent set. Ine I would recommend snapping up is its priced around £40. 5 stars

this is a gears construction toy set for kids from age 4, it’s a super big and heavy set, there are 235 pieces in total, it’s designed for kids, by constructing the gears and learn how they work together, also develop their creativity to build anything with these colourful gears although this toy set is designed for kids, as an adult i still found it’s interesting to play, honestly it’s a bit difficult for my 5 years old kid to understand why the gears will move together, but she’s able to add gear one by one and make they move in a row, this is a good play set which encourage parent to play with kids and teach them how mechanical things work with gears overall all the pieces are made of good quality material, smooth edges, no sharp corners, safe to play; and they stayed very well after assembled, work together smoothly i’m very satisfied with this product, would recommend

This is an amazing set. It's top quality and my niece and nephew absolutely love it. It's fast become one of their favourite things to play with. My nephew especially loves cars, so he was delighted to find this set has wheels in it. The pieces are brightly coloured and so much fun! It is not a cheap set but it's something new and original. Lego isn't cheap either, but like this set is worth that bit extra. Great set that provides hours of fun and never appears to get boring!

With the one set that we have, we have created some fun stuff. We have had a great deal of fun with these. I love watching my brother son build cars and trucks with wheels and other moving parts. He has a lot of fun with them and I think they are great busy toys especially for boys with those building minds. Brother son is always building things, and this was perfect for him, especially with an adult to help him. I think it's just beyond his abilities to play alone, but he will easily grow into it. If don't lose the pieces. It is a toy that needs to be played with control it is lots of pieces. The quality of the plastic is good. Nice and sturdy. And of course, it's a fun educational toy. All the best!

I bought this set recently for my grandson. After opening we found there are only 4 of these attachment pieces instead of 6. So it’s a bit of a disappointment!

This is a hefty box full of plastic pieces, heavy enough that some kids at the bottom end of the target age range might struggle to even lift it! There’s more variety in the colours than there is in gear size, but despite this it’s still possible to assemble the gears and support pieces in a massive variety of different ways. The instructions provide a range of options, with a reasonable learning curve that doesn’t feel especially education-driven- it definitely comes across more as a toy than a learning resource in the presentation. Beyond the instructions it’s quite easy for kids to assemble their own experimental little set-ups without much thought, or bigger builds with just a little bit of either patiences or planning or both. Assembly is straightforward even for small fingers. Everything clicks together nice and firmly, and the gear motion is smooth (except when blocked), as is the chain movement. There’s a certain satisfaction in just sticking some pieces together and then turning some gears with other gears, even if you skip the science lessons about gears of different radii and how they’ll turn in opposite directions etc. etc. The wheels bring an extra dimension, though they aren’t the sturdiest- fine for a smooth floor, not great over obstacles! Some of the pieces have no duplicates in the box, so while it does feel like more pieces than one child will probably need, it’s not that easy to share the pieces between more than one child, as they’ll end up coveting things like the chain or wheels for which there aren’t enough to go round. For the number of pieces you get, the current asking price of just under ninety quid does seem a little bit steep. The pieces are well made and durable, made of a thick plastic that will take a lot of bashing, but even so, it doesn’t end up seeming all that generous. Fifty or sixty quid would have been more appropriate I think.

This set has kept my kids entertained for hours. The gears snap together well and allow for a lot of creativity — from simple builds to more complex moving designs. It’s a fun way for them to explore STEM concepts while practicing fine motor skills. Some of the smaller gears can be a little tricky for younger kids to snap in, but overall it’s durable, colorful, and makes a fantastic gift.

My niece and nephew have fun with this for hours! They love how customizable this is and how they can make anything!

Men Enkelsohn ( viereinhalb Jahre) ist total begeistert, er erfindet wirklich gigantische Bauwerke, seiner Kreativität sind keine Grenzen gesetzt. Und das absolut Beste an dem Bausatz ist, dass er jeden Konstruktionsschritt sofort austesten kann und bei einer Fehlfunktion auf die Fehlersuche geht und so lang tüftelt, bis alles einwandfrei funktioniert.

Auch viele Möglichkeiten hier was zu basteln.

bought it for my classroom to examine gears of different sizes. not many varying sizes, and it took some figuring to figure out how to connect bigger gears to smaller gears -- not entirely intuitive for students. Kids still had lots of fun, product is durable, but lots of small pieces to loose.