More than a few months ago, my wife found a kickstarter project for a girl focused engineering set, Goldie Blox. As with all kickstarter projects, a compelling video and a descent product and it usually gets funded. I hadn’t backed any kickstarter projects and didn’t think much of it, but when the project made it’s funding goals and the kits could be pre ordered, Esther and I ordered one.
We had to wait a long while until the kit was shipped, but it was worth the wait.
Goldie Blox is includes a story book and parts to build a pulley based machine. The story leads any budding engineer through building their first project, providing them a blueprint to build a character spinning, pulley mechanism. Along the way they learn some spatial reasoning in where place the axles and wheels, as well as an understanding of how to get all of the wheels and characters to move by threading the ribbon through the pulleys in the correct fashion.
The first time through, we had a lot of parent help, but since then, there has been almost no questions for help about the building, only in how to achieve the pattern that is indicated on the back of each page in the story book. This has filled me with a lot of pride. I am very spatially oriented, but Esther is not. Anything help our kids be able to mentally organize spatially and manipulate objects in three dimensions in their mind is super important, not just as a skill for “engineering”, but for their creative brains.
Assuming more Goldie Blox kits are made, I know that we will be buying them.
