Amusement Park Engineer Review – a wonderful STEM preschool toy!
Children learn best through play, so I was excited when Timberdoodle offered me the chance to review this Amusement Park Engineer STEM toy for preschoolers. Timberdoodle is one of my favorite places to shop for educational toys and books for my kids, and they liked this toy well enough to include it in one of their upcoming 2016-17 curriculum kits.
Amusement Park Engineer Review
This kit comes in a sturdy clear carrying case that latches shut and has a carrying handle. I LOVE when toys come with their own high-quality storage solutions! There is an instruction book featuring elevent different amusement park rides (twenty if you count variations). Three-year-old Anna is a HUGE fan of slides, so she and I first built the slide included in the instruction manual. It was easy and fun to put together, and we have built it several times now. We have built a few of the other amusement park rides as well, but Anna keeps coming back to the slide – and she likes the specific slide that is in the manual, not variations.
The set does not come with figurines, but Anna has improvised, using the small connector green pieces as people. She has them jump their way up the ladder, and they are able to slide down without catching in the small round holes.
Six-year-old Lily and eight-year-old Johnny also enjoy this set – it’s not only for preschoolers! They haven’t shown any interest in the instructions, preferring to come up with their own designs. Johnny and Lily worked together to create the roller coaster that is featured at the top of this post.
I had the Amusement Park Engineer set on my wishlist before I was offered it to review, and it has actually surpassed my expectations! The pieces are well-made, and I love that the set comes with instructions for children to build so many different things. We have found the dowels a little difficult to maneuver at times, but this may be necessary in order for them to stay in place. There are spacer pieces that are shaped like gears; I would love to see them actually used as gears in a future version of this toy. My kids would like for the set to come with figurines, but they are also happy to improvise and you actually build figurines for some of the rides. The instruction manual doubles as a story, teaching engineering and physics along the way, and there are enough pieces for kids to build their own creations. The Amusement Park Engineer kit is a preschool STEM toy that I highly recommend.
I was sent this product to review as a member of Timberdoodle’s Blog Team. I joined this program because Timberdoodle is one of my favorite places to shop for high quality educational products for my children. All opinions are my own.
Share comments and feedback below, on my Facebook page, or by tagging me on Instagram. Sign up for my newsletter to receive book recommendations, crafts, activities, and parenting tips in your inbox every week.
MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
Looks like a fun STEM building kit!
Fun!
Nice set. Looks sturdy enough for preschool crowd.
I always love toys that come in carrying cases.
It makes it so much easier to store them.