Simple Machine Building Kits We Love

I'm always on the lookout for building kits & STEM kits that will enhance what we are learning about.

One of our big topics at the moment is engineering and when we were learning about all of the simple machines such as inclined planes, gears, pulleys, wedges, wheel and axles I came across these three kits that we ended up getting which were such a great addition to our learning. Both of my kids loved them and worked on them together.

What I loved about all three kits was that there were several different things you could make out of each individual kit so it took us several days to get through them all.

The first kit, Robots In Motion by Learning Resources was geared towards younger learners and was perfect for understanding how gears can work. My son who just turned 6 especially loved it but my daughter who's 9.5 did too.

The second kit we looked at was called Machine Set by My Gears and I thought this one was also really good because it had such a wide variety of machines to make including vehicles. This one was aimed towards slightly older kids than the Learning Resources one. Again both kids loved it.

The last kit we did was Simple Machines by Thames & Kosmos and if I were to only choose one I would say this is the best one although it is geared for older learners although my 6 year old still loved it. What is great about this one is that it covers all the six classic simple machines and the there's a section for each machine so that the experiments begin as very simple ones and then you can build upon them to make them more complex. It even comes with a spring scale.