K’NEX Education Building Sets {Review} #KNEX

Disclosure: I was sent this product to review in exchange for my honest opinion.

I had never thought of using our K’NEX pieces in an educational way, but really why couldn’t you?  Now I am not one that could come up with lessons of my own, but I could definitely follow some lesson plans or guidelines.  Well K’NEX has made it easier for parents to teach their kids lessons or kids to expieremnt on their own with their K’NEX Education Sets.  I got the chance to check out two of the sets and they are definitely great little sets.

K’NEX Education: INVESTIGATING SOLAR  ENERGY #77075

Go green and bring STEM concepts to life with the K’NEX® Investigating Solar Energy Set!  Designed to address critical science, technology and engineering concepts in the middle school classroom and provide instructional models that will enhance students’ understanding of these important concepts. Using K’NEX® and the lessons provided in the teacher guide enables you to offer students a program of study that uses hands-on exploration in conjunction with an engaging inquiry-based approach to learning. As students work cooperatively they are encouraged to work together as they build, investigate, discuss and evaluate concepts, ideas and designs. Set includes 128 K’NEX® parts – enough to build 6 renewable energy models, two at a time.  Supports 1-2 students.  Grades 5 – 9.  Building instructions & comprehensive teacher’s guide aligned to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Standards included.  Packaged in a strong storage tub with snap-on lid.  Suggested retail $64.99.

I tried this set out with my boys (5 and 6 years old) and while they didn’t get it yet, they had a blast building it.  The sets instructions are easy to follow and you get 128 total pieces to build with.  You can build up to two sets at a time.  The set is great to show kids about solar energy and start getting their minds thinking about science.  Since you are building specific models, I’d say this would be better for one child at a time.  I do love though how everything fits nicely inside the durable plastic container, which makes for easy storage.

K’NEX Education: SIMPLE AND COMPOUND MACHINES #77053

Hands-On Learning!   The K’NEX® Education Simple and Compound Machines Building Set is designed to expand upon middle school student’s knowledge of simple machines concepts. Students investigate, explore and experiment with the K’NEX® simple machine models as they analyze, synthesize, and evaluate information. The Teacher’s guide includes Student Inquiry Sheets and Worksheets for the models highlighted. Student Worksheets ask questions about the machine being investigated and present challenges that can be used to help students think more deeply about the concepts involved. Set includes 352 K’NEX® parts – enough to build 16 fully-functioning replicas of real-world machines, one at a time!    Supports 1-2 students.  Grades 5 – 9.  Building instructions and comprehensive teacher’s guide aligned to Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Standards included.  Packaged in a strong storage tub with snap-on lid. Suggested retail $59.99.

This set is awesome because it comes with 352 pieces to build 16 fully-functioning replicas of kids favorite machines and tools.  Since there are so many pieces two kids could work together but there may be some overlapping pieces and you would have to separate the instructions to each follow them.  The pieces just snap in and yes once they are built they can be played with!  I think this set is a great way for kids to build replicas to see how they work and understand the machines better.  Great for home lessons or just playtime!

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BUY IT:  Look for K’NEX on Amazon or find it at knex.com, HomeDepot.com and other national toy retailers nationwide.

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(set will be selected at random)

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This Giveaway Ends January 10, 2014.