With two kids of my own, a niece, a nephew, and ever increasing birthday party invitations from my girls’ school friends, I’m always on the lookout for new toys. But I know from hard experience to look for quality toys that will last. I’m looking for toys that kids will play with for months and years, not just a few days before they’re forgotten or broken.
I’d heard of Magformers magnetic building sets before, but I’d never seen them in person, so when we were asked to try them out for ourselves I jumped at the chance. The kids were pretty excited too!
Instead of physically locking together like other building sets, these BPA-free HQABS plastic construction shapes contain rare-earth neodymium magnets that attach on any side, not just top and bottom. Neodymium magnets are the strongest type of permanent magnet commercially available, and they allow us to build pretty much anything we want with them. The magnets are safely and securely enclosed in small channels that allow them to freely rotate inside so they always connect and never reject.
We received two sets to try. The 124 piece Math set is part of Magformers’ Educational Line and comes with 124 magnetic shapes, 39 printed plastic number cards, and a math workbook. The workbook has exercises and activities for teaching shape and pattern recognition, numbers and fractions, geometry, symmetry, and 3D spatial awareness. I thought this was a fantastic way of keeping Tee’s skills sharp over summer vacation.
It’s really cool how the pieces just snap together. 13 different shapes in bright primary and secondary colours provide lots of opportunities for fun and creative building. Each piece is a different colour on the reverse side so there are tons of colour combo options.
We also received the 100 piece Imagine set in pinks, purples, and turquoise. This set comes with 15 different shapes including some neat curved pieces and two rechargeable LED light-up tiles (USB cable included) which were fun to add into our structures.
Personally, I’m not crazy about the idea that girls need their toys to be pink, but mine were just happy to add new colours and shapes into their play. All the sets and pieces are compatible so we just dumped them into one big bin and got busy building.
Magformers are one of our favourite toys right now. They’re fun and colourful and the hollow shapes are easy for even the littlest fingers to manipulate. Playing with them can be as simple or as advanced as your child’s developmental level. My three-year-old likes to stack them, count them, and create simple shapes. My five-year-old builds three-dimensional figures. Even hubby and I like to play with them. They’re just so much fun!
We shot this quick video of hubby making an icosahedron – a 20 sided polyhedron. (Apologies for the quality. Yes, my video camera sucks but it’s all I’ve got right now.)
I love that playing with these engages mathematical and scientific thought, creativity, deductive reasoning, and spatial awareness. STEM skills (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) are vital to any child’s future, and Magformers are a fantastically creative way to introduce these skills. Most of all, they’re fun!
Win a Set of Magformers!
This giveaway is linked up with the Looking Forward to Fall Giveaway Hop, hosted by Viva Veltoro and Lindsey Blogs. After entering here, scroll down to see all the other giveaways worth at least $25!
Magformers is generously giving one of my readers their choice of either of the sets that I reviewed: the 100 piece Inspire set or the 124 piece Math set. Enter to win in the widget below. This giveaway is open to residents of Canada and the US, 18+. All entries will be verified.
While you’re here, check out my other open giveaways on my Giveaway Page!
Disclosure: I received sample items for review. All opinions expressed are completely honest and my own, based on my personal experience. Your experience may differ. This post contains affiliate links. This West Coast Mommy is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. I will receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no additional cost to you. This income helps pay for the operating costs of my website – thank you for your support! So Easy Being Green, Viva Veltoro, and the Looking Forward to Fall participating bloggers are not responsible for sponsors who do not fulfill prize obligations.
The RC Custom set looks cool!
Im thinking the super brain set but im sure he would love any of them the magnets in motion is cool
My daughter would enjoy the Magnets In Motion 83-piece Set! That’s a lot of hours of entertainment in one box!
My son would love the XL Cruisers car set
I also think my kids would love the Forest Friends set
My kids would all love the Magnets in Motion 83 Piece Power Set.
My niece would like the Light Show Double Accessory Pack
My nephew would love the light up set!
My son and daughter would love the Magnets in Motion 83 Piece Power Set.
My daughter would like the Unique Piece set.
My daughter would enjoy the Super brain kit.
I like the 83 pc Magnets in Motion set for my grandsons.
The Magnets in Motion 83 Piece Power Set would be a huge hit here!
The Magformers Safari Set would be a HUGE hit in my house. As much as my kids enjoy building stuff, they love animals more!
My grandkids would love the Magic in Motion set.
My son would love the Dinosaur Set!
Definitely the RC Custom Set! He loves cars
My daughter would love the Inspire sets!! Mostly for the colors. 🙂
We love Magformers! We would love to get the cruisers construction set for our kids.
The Dinosaur set also looks pretty neat! My son would love to make various dinosaurs and even mom would love to put them together!
My granddaughter would also like the Magnets in Motion 83 pieces
My nephew would love the dinosaurs one
They would love the Magnets in Motion 61 Piece Gear Set
The Deep Sea Set looks like fun and my child would enjoy this set.
I agree it’s an amazing product
My nephew would love the Super Brain set!
My niece would like the Rainbow 30 Piece set
There are so many i want. I like the land mark set, but i know my son would go crazy for the XL Cruisers Construction set! amazing
My daughter would love the rc custom set. Thank you.
He would like magnets in motion 61 pcs. Thank you for the entry.
I think my boys would love the Magnets in Motion 83 Piece Power Set.
My niece would love this Magnets in Motion 61 Piece Gear Set.
These look like so much fun! My son would love the XL CRUISERS SET
I think the kids would like the Magnets in Motion Gear Accessory Set
I think my nephews would like Magnets in Motion 83 Piece Power Set .really that would like most of them if not all of them.
I think my son would love the XL Cruisers Construction set
An RC set? No way he’d pass that up!
The transformer set. Kids like things that change from one thing to another.
My nephew would love the Dinosaur Set or the Deep Sea Set.
My son would like the Super Brain set.