Remember when we were kids and we could find two sticks and a rock and play with them for hours? Kids used their imagination back then, which was a great way to engage and interact with the world. Healthy brain development is so important for kids and any toy that allows children to be creative, imaginative, and think cognitively is a toy I will go for again and again. That’s why I am so excited to tell you about Strawbees. You may have seen my enthusiastic post on Instagram about receiving Strawbees in the mail and how eager I was to play with it, and of course my daughter too! We could hardly wait to open the box and get started this past weekend.
Strawbees consists of two simple materials, plastic drinking straws and connectors made from recyclable material. There are infinite possibilities for things to make and build. The kit comes with an instruction booklet to explain how the connectors work and get you started. The idea is to “dream big”! Could your child immediately build a flying dragon,...probably not. Start out small, then explore your ideas and play around a little bit until you’ve invented a new way to use Strawbees. The Basic tricks learned at the beginning will help your child build smarter.
My daughter started out with the first 3D pyramid and had a little bit of a challenge figuring out how to put it together. Once we started to envision the shape of the pyramid, it all fell into place. We discovered you could turn a pyramid into a cube by adding some more straws and Strawbees (the recyclable connectors).
At this point, she really got the hang of how to construct the different projects. Her imagination was flowing and interest was piqued. I let her put on that engineering hat and just go for it! She was totally engaged and having a really fun time making all the different projects! She made a puppy, a catapult, a tablet stand, a bridge, and a butterfly over a period of about 2 hours and was captivated the entire time. You can see a video of her inventor wheels spinning HERE!
You can also build huge mechanical objects with Strawbees, including an umbrella, a bridge, and a morphing arm. If your child loves geometric shapes, have them try to construct an octahedron, a dodecahedron, or an icosohedron. For more challenges, your kids can make them bigger, taller, wider, stronger, faster, rounder, or spikier! It’s an open-ended experience for beginners to experts with many opportunities to explore, challenge, conquer, or most importantly, just PLAY!
I truly think this toy is a MUST HAVE for creative children, ages 5 and up. My daughter is 7 and it was so age appropriate for her. She could easily put the pieces together, but was able to challenge herself when building the projects. A five year old would have fun making simpler objects, whereas a ten year old would love the more difficult and challenging aspects when building. It depends on what they wish to achieve. The toy itself encourages the children to make, dream, explore and try out new ideas, which is probably why it’s won an award as an educational toy for problem solvers of the future.
The other great thing about this toy is the relationship they want to have with your future inventors. They really are interested in building a community of thinkers and makers through connections with teachers, parents, and other makers around the world. You can FOLLOW them for contests and other fun inspiration (with prizes) on Instagram and Facebook. You can also download the Strawbees APP for more fun challenges for your kids.
You can purchase the Inventor Kit that my daughter received at www.strawbees.com. Or you can choose from one of the other kits: Maker Kit, Crazy Scientist Kit, or the Coding and Robotics Kit. There are also school kits and education bundles if you’re interested in taking it into the classroom. Check out their website for prices and other information.
My daughter loved it and I think it is one of those toys that you’ve got to have around the house for a rainy day, a sunny day, and basically any day you want your kids to use their imaginations and create something amazing! She wants to keep building things every chance she gets and we now have many unique and fascinating objects all around the playroom. If you get one for your child, I also 100% recommend giving this as a gift because it will be that thing that makes everyone say, “WOW”!
Disclaimer: we received the Strawbees Inventor Kit to review, but all opinions are my own.
