Thames & Kosmos SpringBots STEM Kit | Build 3 Spring-Powered| Race car, Walking Robot, Countdown Timer Powered by a Mainspring | Learn About Potential & Kinetic Energy, Gears & Springs, Black

My grandson love putting the springbots together and the best thing is they don't take any batteries to run

I bought this to assemble with my 8 and 9 year old Grand Daughters. My goal was to introduce them to mechanical and energy producing devises. I also wanted them to see the thought: creativity and engineering that goes into creating movement and energy. They were very interested and thanked me for explaining the various ways energy is produced with today’s technology and the ways energy was produced years ago. We live far apart from each other and we only get to see them about 5 times a year and this was quality time spent together

The Thames & Kosmos SpringBots STEM Kit is one of the best STEM kits available. There are easy to follow instructions to build 3 different spring activated toys. Not only does the builder learn from putting the models together, but also will learn about springs and how they work in making things run. This is a fun set that anyone 10+ can do with or without adult supervision. The only negative that I have for this set is that only one model can be completed, and then the parts have to be taken apart and used for the other models. There are a bunch of extra pieces laying around when each model is completed, so you have to find someplace to keep them secure and not lost between model constructions. Also, my 11 year old built one, and then stopped. He didn't want to take the first one apart to build any others. Once his favorite was built, he had no interest in destroying it and building the next. Maybe your kids will be different.

My 9 year old loved putting this together it of not over complicated good quality

My son was super excited about these. One, because he loves to build stuff, and two, because I had bought an incomplete set from a garage sale that we could never build. Had high hopes. Instructions were fairly easy. Parts are easy enough to get out, though a little pokey for little fingers since you have to twist everything off an injection molded sheet. Anyways, we just cannot even get the simple motor to work. It either is too loose and won’t lock the spring or too tight and won’t unlock the spring. It has to do with a sliding gear. I have rebuilt it 3 times, and this thing will just not work. Since we can’t build the motor, we can’t build the rest of it. So pros: it’s well-labeled and instructions are pretty clear. Parts seem pretty well built on the whole. It’s pretty cool and seemed like a worth-while endeavor. Cons: obviously my kit not working. I can only guess I just have a dud

My 13 year old enjoyed putting these together and said they are very well-made. He was comparing to another "robot" set someone gave him that quickly ended up in the trash! But this one was fun and fit together well and worked well in the end!

Very happy six year old birthday gift!!

Bought as a Christmas present for my 9-year-old. She was excited to start working on it, but about 15 minutes into the first project, realized it was missing parts. Very disappointing.

This is so cool and bought it for my grandson in the end my grand daughter is playing with this

This is a fantastic toy, insofar as assembly is concerned. The instructions are clear, and I love that you have to assemble the spring part of the toy yourself, so you really get to see how it works to store energy before it's released. It's a fantastic learning experience about gears and springs. My son chose to assemble the car. Unfortunately, you can only choose one. Doing another requires you remove all parts and start another model. [Edited update below:] A note about the spring. My son assembled the spring perfectly (I supervised), but upon testing the spring, we noticed that it wouldn't wind up as much as it should (only half a revolution rather than a full 360-degree revolution), before releasing on its own (which apparently, according to the instruction booklet, it shouldn't do -- it's supposed to only release when you slide the button back down). Therefore, we were worried that the spring toy made from this set wouldn't work quite as it should. However, I was wrong! Once the last two gears attached to the wheels of the car were placed on, the spring worked perfectly! Apparently this has something to do with gears and torque, which I wish the booklet explained to us. The actual scientific explanations were pretty basic -- stuff I already know, and I know practically nothing about mechanical engineering! Ultimately, though, I was blown away by how perfectly the toy worked. It's better than any spring toy you'd buy at a store. I wouldn't hesitate to buy it again for my younger son one day, or to make another model. I just wish there was a little bit more information about the role of the gears, the spring and the button that stops the gears from turning as you wind up the spring.