GoldieBlox - Montana Parent Recommended Toy
December 12, 2014
Posted By: Shaunescy
What is this? It is a very tactile, tangible and fun toy!
Saw this toy in an ad when my 5 year old daughter and I were messing around online. She was immediately intrigued and wanted to watch the associated TedX video of the inventor and CEO, Debbie Sterling explain her inspiration. My little pirate was rapt.
As we all know, STEM (science-technology-engineering-math) education is important. But what I think even more important, is that STEM is fun! Regardless of a person's gender, building things and understanding how they work is really entertaining. This toy is decidedly designed and marketed to girls. For one reason.
The founder and CEO of GoldieBlox never knew what engineering was until her high school math teacher suggested she pursue it as a college major. Debbie couldn't figure out why her math teacher thought she should be a train conductor! Nevertheless, she gave engineering a try during her freshman year at Stanford. Four years later, she graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering / Product Design. Bothered by how few women there were in her program, Debbie became obsessed with the notion of "disrupting the pink aisle" with a toy that would introduce girls to the joy of engineering at a young age.
I don't know that my daughter will become an engineer because of the influence of these toys. But I do know that she loves playing with them. The components are really pleasingly designed. Good colors, appealing touch and are interesting to build with. They come with instructions that kids can understand from the pictures. The day we opened the box, she honestly spent hours playing with the toys.
We tried out two sets.
GoldieBlox and the Spinning Machine $29.99
This set comes with a Storybook, 5 animal figurines, 1 pegboard, 5 wheels, 10 axles, 5 blocks, 5 washers, 1 crank, 1 ribbon. There are so many contraptions to make from the parts and pieces. What my daughter enjoyed the most was problem solving as she built what was suggested.
GoldieBlox Zipline Action Figure $24.99
This set includes: 1 action figure with articulated shoulders, elbows, hips and knees, 1 action figure tool belt, 1 action figure wrench, 4 wheel ends, 4 elbow joints, 4 T joints, 6 mini axles, 2 short axles, 2 spacers, 4 washers, 1 4-meter long zipline.
She put this one together in about 20 minutes and strung it across the living room. One suction cup attached to the window and the other end ties to various bits of furniture to adjust the angle of the zipline. Her adjustments kept her occupied for hours. I had to take it down and put it away so she'd go to bed.
There are many more sets available and even an app (which she also loves to play with.) You can find out more about GoldieBlox at www.goldieblox.com and I checked with local toy stores and yep! They have GoldieBlox on the shelves. Go check it out!
