K’NEX Education – Intro to Structures: Bridges Set – 207 Pieces – For Grades 3-5 Construction Education Toy

K'Nex has done an amazing job with their educational sets, and we have been using them as a supplement to our family homeschool program. The K'NEX Education - Intro to Structures: Bridges set is an excellent way to teach how different types of bridges are built. As we take family car trips, my kids always notice the bridges we cross over. We have some really neat ones in Maryland, like the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, the Bay-Bridge Tunnel, and various smaller bridges all around the area. This set helped my kids learn how all of them work. First, the set comes in a nice red plastic tray with a tight fitting lid, so all of the parts stay together. It stacks easily with other K'Nex education sets in the series. There are 7 types of bridges, with a few variants, for a total of 14 structures you can build. Each of the 7 types has an explanatory paragraph to describe the technology. The first bridge is a simple beam bridge. There is a second variant, a long-span beam bridge, useful so you can observe how it flexes under a load. The beam bridge is then improve as a truss, with examples of a Warren Truss, Howe Truss, Baltimore Truss, and K-Truss. The neat thing is that the trust could be attached at the end, so the children could see the weakness of the bridge before the truss and the strength once attached. The kit also covers the cantilevel bridge (a special type of truss) and the bascule bridge (movable bridge). The arch bridge was particularly fun, with three variants, the arch under, arch over, and arch through. Finally, the kit ends with three modern bridges, a suspension bridge, a single-tower cable-stayed, and a double-tower cable stayed. My only negative on the kit is that the instructions are not like lego instructions with many steps. Many instructions are nothing but a single picture, and it can be hard to see how all of the pieces fit. I built the bridges with an 8 year old, 6 year old, and 5 year old. Only the 8 year old fully understood the instructions without help, but my 5 year old could do it with a little assistance. For instance, bridges are symmetrical, so I would build the left while my 5 year old copied me and built the right. A few pieces required a bit more finger strength than the 5 year old could must, but the 6 and 8 year olds were fine. Once built, my kids had fun experimenting with different toy cars (not included of course) to see how the bridge could hold them. These are functional bridges that really demonstrate the concepts well. There is also a teacher's guide on CD with additional information and activities. This set is quite a good buy for the money - lots of education and fun all in one box. Plus most of the parts are made in the USA, something that can't be said for a lot of toys today. A recommended buy!

I bought this for my 4 year old and I wasn't sure if he would be able to use it, but he surprised us by making a bridge on his own during quiet time after we built the first one together. The first time we used the set he had a hard time clicking the pieces together and asked for help a lot. I'm not sure if he just got better at it or if the pieces got a little less stiff with use, but he managed to click them all together. He loves bridges (and since getting this set now knows what type they are when we see them in the wild) and has been having a great time with this toy. He also loves the long flexible green pieces, he likes to use the pieces from the set to make them into clover leaf shapes and pretend they are ramps on and off of the highway. Overall I am impressed with this toy, it's educational and the pieces can be used for much more than just building bridges. We can't wait to complete all of the designs!

I bought a couple of these sets for my friend's children. They seem to like them and have made some interesting contraptions. These K'nex sets are pretty easy to put together with single connectors...each piece connects to others with one snap. These are different from Legos actually appearing more realistic. One draw back is the pieces are more fragile (breakable) and may need adult help with younger children. Overall, I (er, the kids) find these to be fun and even educational...A newfangled idea for youngsters.

Included are instructions for several bridge types. Each bridge may take 30 to 50 minutes to build. It has been a good project for my 10 years old grandson and I to do. The plastic case is well build with solid latches. I will buy another product from this company soon.

I bought this for my 7 year-old at the same time I purchased a K'nex generic set and then we pooled the pieces. She hadn't played with them before and decided on a bridge to build first. The pieces are a little stiff to put together but there was only one point in the assembly that she needed help figuring out the picture. Other times she knew what she needed to do but needed help snapping the pieces together. I think part of that is that we were both new to K'nex and didn't realize how sturdy they are, now when we build things we don't have any qualms about using a lot of pressure to snap things together or pry them apart. It's been three months now and anytime we pull them out it's at least two hours of fun building off of each others projects or working out ideas, but left to her own devices thirty minutes max is about her limit. She gets more time out of items that are built that she can then use with her other toys, like matchbox cars on the bridge or miniature dolls on the planes or merri-go-rounds that we build together.

My child uses these as part of a class. Amazing what you can build with this kit! The down side is that the pieces can be tough for little fingers to snap together, but that’s what parents are for.

My 6-year-old and I had fun putting this together. He could not have done it on his own, thus the older age recommendation, but it was a fun and interesting project to do with an adult. Once assembled, it held its shape well enough that he could bring it to school and proudly share it with his friends for show-and-tell. We plan to take it apart and try another bridge configuration.

My 6 year old son is infatuated with bridges and building block-type toys. He loves this kit and plays with it nearly every day. He's built each bridge at least 5 times in the 3 weeks he's had it. He's also incorporated it into his Hot Wheels tracks set ups. The tracks fit nicely over the bridge decks. One issue, though, has been that two of the pieces broke shortly after he started playing with it. I chalk this up to his overexcitement when starting out with it and the fact that he is 6 years old when the kit is designed for kids 8+ years old. However, he picked up on how to do it quickly and can now build the bridges himself after a short initial period of adult supervision. Great toy for budding engineers!

The kids enjoy this. It keeps them entertain for hours. It's a great way to challenge their imagination. Free you up to do other things. This is the second set I have purchased.

Brilliant. Got this for my grandson and he loves it. K’nex has really captured his imagination he is adapting and making his own designs. You are supposed to be able to access further designs that you can make with the set online but we have had difficulty with that

good

Doesnt matter what I think of it, but my Grandson loves it. My Son now needs a bigger house to store everything that his Son has built. I helps teach dexterity and imagination.

My son loves this.