I thought we knew a lot about LEGO. In the past several weeks, however, I've discovered we've just scratched the surface with all of the goodness LEGO Education has to offer. When the Simple and Motorized Mechanisms set was delivered to our house, I had Grant open the box, organize the pieces and look through the instruction books. Since it was at a middle school level, I told him to wait for a bit until I could help him - or until I could get one of our middle school boy LEGO lovers to come over and assist. Finally, I caved in and just let Grant HAVE AT IT. He has been building something different every day - and learning SO MUCH in the process. While the set is designed for classrooms at the middle grades level, it has been SO applicable to our homeschool. You can click over and see the specifics of the set for yourself. When you consider how much regular LEGO sets cost, the price of this is actually quite good. It will provide many many hours of learning and enjoyment for both of my kids.
Since it arrived, it has gotten several hours of play time each day. (Right now we have just explored the base set, but we have some of the add-on packs, too.) In my opinion (for what it's worth), I would rather have one of these large education sets than several of the themed LEGO sets. The creativity and learning is exponential. I love that Grant is experimenting with size of wheels and how they affect speed (we talked about surface area). He is learning about motors and gears. He is learning how to work with more detailed instructions. He is talking about bushings, and showing me exactly what makes the wheels turn in a motorized creation. This is a great tool for my math and engineering minded little guy. We created several Vine videos to show you his creations. He loves to make something and then do a Vine to go with it. {If you're not on Vine, it's really fun - short vidoes that are shared in an Instagram style. There are a lot of die hard LEGO maniacs on Vine, too - so many great and creative videos to watch!}
*You may need to mouse over the videos for them to begin playing. If you don't have sound, in the upper left corner of the video is a speaker you can click. Don't you love on this last video how he says, "Non Instruction Motor Controlled Car", so that we all know he made this model on his own? This tells me he has taken what he has learned and is APPLYING THAT KNOWLEDGE. I'm proud to be a LEGO Education blogger. I want you to be aware of the many products they have that can benefit your homeschool. I might even be having a GREAT giveaway soon -- keep your eyes on the blog! *I received the Simple and Motorized Mechanisms set in exchange for my honest review. No other compensation was received.You’ll find it in every K’NEX set. STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts & Math and when it’s connected with imagination, building dreams become fun-powered 3-D reality. Your journey to WOW begins with a single click. K'NEX has been committed to American design and manufacturing for the past 25 years.
Since 1992, over 40 billion K’NEX rods and connectors have been responsibly made in a green manufacturing facility in Hatfield, Pennsylvania Each and every K’NEX® building set comes with easy-to-follow, color-coded, step-by-step building instructions! Are you looking for instructions from a specific set? Visit the instructions page to find them.Since I posted our fun little particle accelerator video a few weeks ago (you can see it here), I have received many requests to submit it to LEGO Ideas and create building instructions for it. You can find info on both below. I have also put together another video to answer some questions and show you how it works. For those unfamiliar with Ideas, it gives fans of LEGO an opportunity to suggest potential set ideas to the company. If a project receives enough fan support it is reviewed by LEGO and an official set is potentially made based on the idea. I think it would be great to have another science based set come out of Ideas.
Adding your support is easy. /projects/86253) and click the Support button. You will have to create a LEGO account if you don’t already have one. I have put together instructions for the basic ring and accelerator module. It can be set up on any flat surface and be decorated and styled to suit your tastes. Some notes on the construction can be found below. PDF FileDigital Model FilesLDraw File The ring itself is constructed using these old train rail pieces,which unfortunately haven’t been produced by LEGO in many years. There are actually two versions of this rail piece, one for the inside curve of a track and one for the outside curve. In the instructions I’m referencing the outside rail, but you can also use the inner rail piece instead. It will just slightly decrease the diameter of the ring. The simplest way to power the accelerator is to use a Power Functions M-Motor and one of the Power Functions battery boxes (AAA or AA). Note that with either of these battery boxes alone the accelerator will only run at full speed.
If you want to control the speed of the accelerator there are a few options:You can find them under the Power Functions Category. Links to each of them can also be found below.Don't assume themed sets mean the end of creativity for kids. Most of the LEGO and similar building toys sold today are packaged in sets with themes such as Minecraft, Star Wars and Batman. These sets are designed with very clear directions for construction, so play becomes goal-oriented, with the intention to build the models as they appear on the box. While this type of play encourages planning, sustained focus, persistence and flexibility, it doesn’t allow complete freedom for kids to play as they choose. Some experts might rue the loss of creativity and imaginative play that simpler LEGO bricks and other construction toys provide, but it’s possible for kids to use the more directive brick sets as they engage in unstructured creative play. Here are some tips for boosting opportunities for creativity and imagination with themed sets:
1. Encourage storytelling and other forms of creativity after kids have completed the construction of a set. Ask questions about what characters might be doing and the stories that they could tell. Engage in a back-and-forth storytelling game where you add a new part of the plot and your child responds. 2. After the set has been constructed for a while, encourage kids to take it apart and add it to other sets so they can vary their themes and stories. You might choose to buy themed sets that your kid would be more inclined to disassemble. 3. Get kids some large base plates or even a LEGO table on which they can combine a number of sets. This would allow kids to make up stories beyond those that have been encouraged by Hollywood or the characters themselves. 4. Try to prompt kids to think differently and creatively about the LEGO sets and pieces that they own. Many kids have boxes of unassembled pieces from previous kits. Rather than being stuck with the directions that came with the older kits, kids can create something different and new, try the pieces in a different fashion, and view success as making something new rather than completing an “assigned” task.
‘The LEGO Movie’ speaks to the need to go beyond the simple capacity to follow instructions. 5. Watch “The LEGO Movie” together. This movie has a fascinating theme in which only “master builders” can create things without instructions. The evil character in the movie, Lord Business (played by Will Ferrell), does not want any of his themed kits altered in any fashion and restricts the imagination and individuality of construction workers. In many ways, the movie speaks to the need to go beyond the simple capacity to follow instructions and to create on one’s own. 6. Combine and create. One of the primary strategies that the LEGO Learning Institute promotes for improving creativity is combining by coming up with new, surprising and valuable ideas to incorporate existing objects. This might include not only combining sets, but also adding other action figures, toys and objects to the construction design. LEGO and Blocks: Building Opportunities for Open-Ended Play