GEOMAG Mechanics are a wonderful STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) based toy set that’s fun for people five-years-old and older. I’m considerably older than five and I enjoyed it a lot. The construction set includes magnetic ball bearings, struts, interlocking gears and stands, and it allows for a variety of permutations and construction options.
The instructions show three completely different builds that focus on demonstrating how polarity can be used to move objects with magnets. It’s enjoyable to construct the machines and once you understand how everything fits together, you can build your own ideas.
There are several play sets available that can be combined into just about anything you can imagine. I built the projects in the instructions and found them fairly clear. There are no words in the instructions, just pictures, but they are easy to understand.
Younger children might need assistance as some of the parts require dexterity to get together and attention has to be paid to which way up the pieces are placed since at first glance some pieces seem the same on both sides, but they aren’t. On the other hand, attention to detail is an important teachable moment and a critical skill in STEM subjects, so that’s a good thing. Getting everything lined correctly is part of the fun.
I’m not a scientist, but I went to college, so I had a basic understanding of how magnets work when I started building the different projects. I was surprised by how robust the parts felt and also how the machines worked when I was done. My distant memories of playing around with magnets in school never produced anything nearly this cool. It’s amazing when you see magnets in action doing significantly more than just picking up dropped nails or moving around iron filings on the drawing of a face.
[amazon text=Get drawn in by this cool magnet toy with a copy of the boxed set from Amazon!&asin=B07PM7SZHV]
The eighty-six-piece set is stamped Swiss Made and the parts would seem to bear that out. The plastic is heavy duty and the parts lock and unlock without feeling like they will break when taken apart. The metal pieces are heavy. Fair warning though, the magnets are strong, not crazy strong like Bucky Balls, but still strong, and need to be kept well away from toddlers or pets that might swallow them. This is a fun set that anyone who enjoys building toys would be happy to have.
Check it out and let us know what you think.