Looking for good building/constructing toy(s)

[albionmoonlight]

My soon-to-be-five-year-old seems to have a knack for and enjoyment of building things.

Growing up, I had neither that knack nor that enjoyment. I remember getting my uncle's old erector set and not really seeing the point. I'd pull it out every few months, try to fiddle with it. Get bored and frustrated. And put it back under the bed.

So I don't have a lot of personal experience to draw from here. And I am sure that, in 2013, there are amazing building/constructing type toys for kids to play with.

Ideally, I'd like something that can sort of grow with the kid. Projects that a five-year-old can handle, but then evolving into more complex things as he gets older.

Any suggestions? I'll do the typical google/amazon searches, but I have a sense that FOFC might have a smattering of parents with kids with similar tinkering type interests. And leads to start with would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

[cuervo72]

K'Nex might be good. Or older-school, tinkertoys.

[Desnudo]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

My soon-to-be-five-year-old seems to have a knack for and enjoyment of building things.

Growing up, I had neither that knack nor that enjoyment. I remember getting my uncle's old erector set and not really seeing the point. I'd pull it out every few months, try to fiddle with it. Get bored and frustrated. And put it back under the bed.

So I don't have a lot of personal experience to draw from here. And I am sure that, in 2013, there are amazing building/constructing type toys for kids to play with.

Ideally, I'd like something that can sort of grow with the kid. Projects that a five-year-old can handle, but then evolving into more complex things as he gets older.

Any suggestions? I'll do the typical google/amazon searches, but I have a sense that FOFC might have a smattering of parents with kids with similar tinkering type interests. And leads to start with would be much appreciated.

Thanks.

Welcome to 2013!

Prepare to have your mind blown by wonderous Lincoln logs, LEGOS, and tinker toys!

Or you could buy him [you] a 3D printer

[Autumn]

My six year old has had a lot of fun with Snap Circuits. If your kid is a builder, and likes following the instructions, he can easily make some neat projects. Not exactly straight up building but seems to follow in that mindset.

I haven't found any building stuff that I've been really wowed with. Erector sets are still a bit tough for that age, I pretty much have to do half the work. Legos are still the most popular thing in this house.

[PilotMan]

Man, the answer is Legos. I know they are expensive, but even as individual pieces they hold their value very well. You can recoup a lot of those costs even years later if you want. They allow for creativity, and sets range from pretty quick and easy to really tough.

My soon-to-be 11 year old has been hooked since about age 6. He was a train track kid who would build sprawling sets, and that evolved to being able to assemble large lego sets in a couple hours, to building his own massive sets. He has a thirst for minecraft, architecture and engineering now and I fully believe that his love of legos had a lot to do with that.

[chadritt]

Because today is October 19th.

[Ben E Lou]

Not to hijack albion's thread, but I thought this might be good info for those reading this who have small girls. It's a building/engineering-related line of toys designed for girls by a female engineer from Stanford:



Goldie Blox™

We've ordered one and are very curious to see how our little one reacts to it.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

We've ordered one and are very curious to see how our little one reacts to it.

Um. Wow. Opened it this morning and she has been absolutely captivated with it. No toy has ever captured my daughter's immediate attention like this one. Very impressed so far.

[Castlerock]

Hmmm.... How old is your daughter? I might have to try this.

[Ben E Lou]

4 years and 11 days. I suspect that the sweet spot for it would be ages 6ish to 8ish, as it's really designed for the child to read the stories herself and build along with them. I read through the story for her the first time and helped her just a little with building "by the book." Once we finished that she quickly told me that she wanted to do it by herself and that she was going to build something "not in the words." She probably spent a total of 2ish hours yesterday with it, and it was the first thing she went to this morning. The basic set is pretty simplistic (one story, 10 axles, 5 wheels, 5 washers, five ribbons, and five animal action figures, I think,) but it sounds like there will be add-ons and whatnot. I'm of course curious how long the basic set will hold her attention, but the initial reaction has been like to no toy, game, or doll she has had to date.

[scooter]

I had read an article about the Goldie Blox. It's great that your daughter enjoys them. There really aren't enough women engineers around. My wife is a structural engineer and when she goes to seminars, it's usually her, maybe one other women and a room full of men. Giving young girls the toys to explore "non-traditional" careers is an important step forward.

As for Albion's original question: Legos and just a plain old sandbox in the backyard. I'm an architect and those are the toys I grew up playing with. And I'm talking just simple Lego sets, not the elaborate ones (although those are really cool too). Giving your child toys to build with, but also to exercise their imaginations with are very important.

[Kodos]

Had a lot of fun with Riviton as a kid.