Swap N Spin Gear Grid

Kids really like it. Adults get caught up playing with it all the time.

This toy develops imagination. It's hand powered. There's no right or wrong. It's visually fascinating, and immensely reconfigurable. I've been able to test it with a 2-year old (youngest age it's advertised for) and a 4-year old. All else stops and full focus goes onto playing with this toy. The toddlers explored on their own, it kept their interest, and you could not only see the gears of the toy turning, you could also see the "gears turning in their heads" as they explored cause and effect, and how small and large gears moved in different directions and at different rates.Here's what I did when this toy got repetitive and interest started to flag. The gears are round and you can lose track of movement as you watch. I put a star, moon, or animal sticker on each gear. Of course, I did that with the help of my two young users. That started interest all over again, as if they had never used this toy before, because the moon was moving, animals approached and parted, and the sun made visits. When the novelty of that wore off, I perched some of their small toy figures, some seashells, and some rocks on the wheels, which went along for the ride as the gears spun. Interest started all over again. The number and variety of gears placed, how they're placed, and what you can put on them will keep this an interesting toy for a long time to come.One last note: you are reading a Vine review, which means this product was sent to me without my having to pay for it. I never believed Vine reviews, I felt people would say anything to get free stuff. The Vine program, at least for me, is a little different: I only get what I go out of my way to ask for, and everything I get is reported as income to me, so I'll have to pay income taxes at what will probably be reported as list price. I may actually lose on the deal. But I wanted this product as soon as I saw it was available, it's a success, I didn't know it existed before I saw it available for review, and, hopefully, my experience has been a help to you.

These are a lot of fun to show mechanics in action. The gears aren't small so it's good for smaller kids. The gears are very easy to insert into the board. It takes a minute for kids to realize you can't place the gears to close or too far from each other but the concept is easily grasped. They operate with each other smoothly, I was worried they may bunch up together and not turn. There is plenty of room on the board to make several different patterns and paths for the gears. They are a great size for little fingers to pick up and turn. The board has rubber feet on it to keep it from slipping off of surfaces. I definitely recommend this.

I think this is a neat little toy. You put the gears together and then you can spin them around. The only problems are that my kids haven't taken a huge interest in the toy and have a hard time getting it to work properly. Actually, sometimes I have a hard time getting it to work properly. To get the wheels to spin I've found you need to alternate big cogs with little cogs. The pieces are easily lost and I find that the wheels get stuck quite often. This is all user error, so I don't think that it detracts from the product too much, as it does what it is advertised to do. However, my kids (ages 2 and 3) have a hard time figuring out why they can't put a big cog next to a big cog and get it to spin, so they've lost interest in it pretty quickly.

Our young elementary aged kids were thrilled with this when we opened the box. They enjoyed putting the gears in place and spinning them around. A definite hit!There are some examples inside that the kids were able use to start creating gear designs. The set is well made, sturdy and unsharp plastic. Nice toy.

I'm always looking for toys that I can enjoy with a younger kid. This is ages 2+, which means it's on my gift list now for nieces, nephews, and my friends little kids!The gears are both visually interesting and easy to manipulate. My 4 year old enjoys making patterns with them but loses focus relatively quickly.If you're buying sibling presents, Learning Resources has a cool Wreckercar, and Lakeshore Learning makes a radio controlled Gear Bot that's rather pricey but neat, so you could get this for the younger sibling and a more sophisticated option for the older kid.That said, these are a great introduction to cause and effect with gears for a preschool aged kid, I'm excited to have them on hand to explore!

Our two grandkids, ages 3 and 5 liked this swap and spin gear grid. There are a number of colors and different sizes. It was great to see them move the gears around and try different things. Obviously, the five year old was more successful and used it for a longer time than the three year old. It is well made and durable. I just wish that there were more gears that could be used and interchanged. The picture is of the five year old using it.

I ordered this because there is a very large version of this at a Discovery Center that we go to and the kids love it. The large scale gear grid that we are used to is a much better quality and of course, an expensive toy. This set is a good learning toy but won't hold a child's attention for a long period of time. Once they figure out how things work there is a finite number of patterns and they move on to something else. Sometimes the holes don't line up well for the small gears and you have to move them around to make it work.Overall, this is a good learning toy but it won't hold their attention for a long time. Kind of like comparing a puzzle with a finite solution to blocks with infinite solutions.