GEOMAG Mechanics are wonderful STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) based toys. The Gravity Loops & Turns set brings GEOMAG Mechanics to a new level both literally and figuratively. Gravity Loops & Turns are for ages 8+ whereas previous sets have been 5+ or 7+. With the older age group comes more challenging builds, but there’s nothing wrong with that. The construction set includes a magnetic rod, ball bearings, curved and straight track pieces, and stands, which allow for a variety of permutations and construction options.
The instructions are more complicated in keeping with the more challenging build, so younger children are going to need guidance and possibly some assistance with the tricker lock ins if their fingers aren’t quite strong enough. Luckily, GEOMAG is Swiss made and has the strength and quality expected of Swiss construction, so they won’t easily break. Something to keep in mind about the instructions is that they start by showing close up construction of parts of the build.
There is no need to actually build the close ups on their own. In fact, you shouldn’t because you’ll just have to take them apart again when you construct the playset in the instructions. Of course, like all GEOMAG play sets, there are extra pieces, so once you understand how everything goes together and works, you can start planning your own constructions. There are several GEOMAG Mechanics play sets available that can be combined into just about anything you can imagine.
I built the project described in the instructions and found them a little confusing in terms of the loops. There are different curves with different side heights and that isn’t instantly obvious. GEOMAG doesn’t have written instructions, only pictures, but in this case, I wish they had made the pictures a little clearer, focusing perhaps on how many different loops there were and how to tell them apart.
Other than that, the instructions are easy to understand. Once I got the whole set together, it was very satisfying to drop a ball bearing on the track and watch it hit the magnets and cause another ball bearing to go through the loop-the-loop.
Like all building toys, small pieces need to be kept well away from toddlers and pets, but something I didn’t realize when reviewing other GEOMAG sets is that the ball bearings are not magnets so they are much safer than ball magnets like Bucky Balls. The magnets in this set are encased in a heavy plastic rod or two plastic gates that are too big to swallow, so clearly safety is taken seriously at GEOMAG. This is another fun set from GEOMAG that anyone who enjoys building toys would be happy to have. Check it out and let us know what you think.