Thames & Kosmos Physics Workshop
by Thames & Kosmos
|
List Price: Our Price: $47.25 You Save: $7.70 (14%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $41.99 (click here) Category: Toy See more product details |
|---|
Toys and Games Reviews of Thames & Kosmos Physics Workshop
Customer Review: Great, but not for a teacher
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm someone who loves science, and I teach 4th grade in a public school. I was really hoping that this could be something I could use in the classroom to help teach simple machines. Unfortunately, I am going to be returning the product. It is just much too difficult for an average 10 year old to put these machines together. The first one I tried to put together was a 2-stage lever, the instructions are mediocre at best. They provide 2 pictures to show you how to put everything together and then a tiny caption next to it explaining what to do. I grew up with Lego's, Lincoln Logs, and Construx. I had a very tough time building it and at the end of it, it didn't work. They had rigged the pulleys incorrectly, making it impossible to use the lever.
There is no way that I can expect my students to use this to build something.
On the positive side, the instruction manual does provide a ton of information about each of the machines you build. I think that this would work very well for a home school child, but definitely not for a public school setting. It's too bad because it had enormous potential.
I would also raise the age range to 12-16.
Customer Review: Excellent teaching kit
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this kit to support a home-based learning program for a fifth-grade boy (11 years old). It is EXACTLY what I was looking for - there's the fun of building the labs, then the fun of trying the experiments. The included documentation is very good, as it describes not only how to build the equipment, but also how to conduct the experiments, and it also discusses the related scientific concepts. I'd suggest that parents/educators read through everything ahead of time if they plan to use this kit as a teaching tool, to become familiar with the flow of the material. You can easily jump around between topics within the book, as the labs generally do not depend on each other (with the exception of force scale).
The suggested age range for this kit is 8 - 12, but I'd be inclined to increase the upper limit, as some of the concepts are clearly in middle school territory.
Customer Review: Great Idea Execution OK
Summary: 3 Stars
This tool kit has the making of a very good educational experience. Unfortunately it could be executed much better. Explanations for how to do the experiments are basically just a couple of pictures of the finished product in various stages of being put together.
The problem is that is rarely sufficient to determine how critical pieces should fit together. But when they work they can be really fun. For example, the all-terrain vehicle works really well and my 9 yr old grandson got a kick out of that.
In general, the explanation for the "physics" behind the experiment are not well explained certainly not for young kids. I was a physics major in college (long ago)...but even still the explanations often left me wondering.
Customer Review: Physik Workshop
Summary: 5 Stars
I bought this for my 11-year old grandson. Being the non-traditional child and not an electronics game type; I was unsure of what to buy him for Christmas. This turned out to be perfect. He had already completed several projects by mid-afternoon when I talked to him on Christmas day. I wish I could have been there with him; but he is 100's of miles away. He was extremely pleased with the gift. On top of all of that, I was pleased to be able to purchase him a stimulating and educational gift instead of just another toy.Customer Review: Getting tired of Legos? Try this.
Summary: 5 Stars
My son is always tinkering, building contraptions, etc. We could tell that the Legos were getting "old" for him, so we bought this. He really likes it, and is always building stuff like cranes, windmills, etc. Everything in the set is sturdy, with quality similar to Lego, but with more gears and pulleys.