Learning Resources Wacky Wheels STEM Challenge, 15 Pieces

Crap- I returned, after realizing what poor quality it is.

This has been so fun to watch my two children (6) and (3) work together, cheer each other on, and find ways to get the balls to shoot through the hoop. It's a great way to get their gears working!

STEM challenge wacky wheels let you build, launch and crash things. It's a great engineering game for kids 5 and up. The kit comes with 15 pieces which includes 2 balls, a wheel launcher, a ramp, 3 piece hoop target, 5 X targets, a goal cup, sticker sheets and a booklet. The booklet has 9 suggested challenges. Our five year old son loves doing the challenges and trying to create his own obstacle course. He puts the balls in the launcher and spins the wheel to launch the ball through hoop or via a ramp to knock down X targets. He loves rearranging the pieces and is learning about speed and thrust and other science concepts. Only tricky part was putting on the stickers as the instruction was not very clear as to where they should go.

I picked this up for my 5 and 8 year old boys. Right out of the box I noticed that all the pieces are well built and durable - this is not going to fall apart on you (or the kids). The set comes with 9 different challenges to complete that show off what the different pieces can do. The challenges are illustrated well with no reading required. My 8 year old had a blast following the 9 different challenges, while my 5 year old preferred to build his own sets and use some PVC piping to create paths and obstacles. I like that the set introduces very rudimentary physics such as force and angles. You could also use the scientific method with this (which way will the ball go? Make a hypothesis and test it...) and get creative as well! My only concern with the set is that there is only so much you can do with the pieces themselves, so my boys were tired of it after an hour and haven't touched it since. The set would probably be more interesting with additional challenges or by pairing it with additional STEM kits. I received this for free in return for my honest review.

Not nearly as exciting as pictures. Boring.

Not only is this educational...it has also kept my kids entertained for hours!

Not only is this educational...it has also kept my kids entertained for hours!

Educational

My students loved to play with this as one of their centers. It kept them busy for quite a while.

I recieved this product as part of an incentivized review program. My kids (ages 4 and 7) have a blast with this STEM challenge. They love taking turns and seeing who can get the ball through the ring on the first try. They complete the challenges included in the booklet and then come up with their own to try to challenge each other. It definitely takes a lot of skill and precise adjustments to complete the challenges. It's so fun to watch their brains working! We love interactive, educational toys. They really don't even know they are learning!

The Wacky Wheels Stem Challenge set is great fun for a variety of ages. It's a fun twist on the Pendulonium set; in this case, you use a spinning wheel to propel the objects in each challenge. I would say this set is more challenging because finding the right speed to spin the wheel proved challenging for my 10 year old. The Pendulonium set seems more suited to beginners; this one feels like a step up. As an added bonus, I LOVE that the sets coordinate and that children are encouraged to combine sets for added challenges. That is something that my 10 year old has loved--combining sets. Also, I have included a photo here of one of the pages of the directions for Wacky Wheels because I wanted to show another great feature. I love how the instructions encourage your child to create their own challenges with objects from home--like the books featured in the photo. I received this toy as a part of an incentivized review program.

This was such a great way to introduce more STEM related products to my 4 year old. It was great to see how he was excited to build the ramp and keep trying when it was not working. It is challenging for him to think outside of the box. I would not think he would play this on a daily basis but bringing it out from the mom's hiding spot from time to time will keep him entertained.

The packaging is bright and colorful and easy to open. The pieces were separated making it easy for a child to follow the directions. The box is sturdy enough for storage after use and will last a long time if cared for correctly. The instructions are easy to follow and my nephew learned rather quickly that he could create his own design. In fact, he preferred to use his own creation and spent a lot of time making necessary adjustments to ensure his targets were correct. He enjoyed placing the stickers on the items. He did use the box/instructions as the guide. The quality and construction of the toy is very sturdy and not easily breakable. This is truly a toy I would recommend because the child will use skills to develop many different obstacles. We made a game out of it by counting how many times he was able to get the item through the circle. Again he made adjustments as necessary. Highly recommended, your child will experience hours of fun.

This is a new favorite of our 4 year old who is high functioning autistic. It's helping him develop problem solving skills when the ball needs more force to get through the hoop and also coordination to line up the ramp, hoop and blocks in a straight line. It's easy to play and the only assembly required is just putting on the stickers after unpacking the parts so took maybe two minutes and it was ready to play. The instructions are clear with picture diagrams to show different ways to play or you can leave it to your kiddos imagination and watch them develop special awareness and problem solving. Highly recommend!

I received this product as part of an incentivized review program. We have played with Crashapult, so I was very excited to see a different version of the STEM challenge game. Just like the Crashpult, the game was easy to put together. My kids were able to put it together on their own. I just helped them with putting on the stickers. We used the front of the box to help us figure out where to put the stickers. The game seems durable and will last for a long time. I love how simple the instruction booklet is for the kids. My kids just took the game and took the booklet and started to set up the first challenge. As much as I love to see them play, it is great to know that this game can be played independently by the kids on their own. There were a few challenges in the booklet that were difficult for them. But, they tried their best and then chose a different challenge to try. Since we had the Crashapult game, the kids wanted to put the two games together and create their own challenges This is what I love about these games. There are guided instructions for children to put together a specific challenge, but there is also opportunities for them to be creative and make their own challenge. The next few days, the kids kept opening up the game and not using the instruction booklet and making up their own challenges. I think these groups of games are one of my favorite games from Learning Resources. The game is educational and it gives children the opportunity to challenge their thinking to solve the challenge. Also, I love how this game allows for the creativity of kids to come out so they can create their own challenges to beat. This is a great game for kids and I can't wait to recommend it to my friends.

I received this porduct as part of an incentivised review program. I had my 8 year old niece play with it. Without knowing it she was learning about angles and motion. I watched her play with the different parts of the product and then see what happened and readjust or redesign her layout to get her desired results. It was great seeing her acting like a little scientist and clearly using the engineering design process without even knowing it. It was clearly STEM in action!

We love this game!!! My 3.5 year loves playing this game and creating new challenges (with the help from either her daddy or mommy). I love games where my kids are learning without realizing it because they are having so much fun and this is one of those fun and educational games! There are so many different ways to set up and play this game so you can adjust it based on the ages of your kids. Even adults will love this! My husband, daughter and I love playing this game together while her baby sister was napping! I really like that my daughter is already learning about physics without even realizing it! The activity guide is very helpful with some good starting challenges but really this game is so customizable so you and/or your child can invent your own obstacle course. I love how all the pieces can fit in the box for storage. I love that this game will be played with for years to come as there isn't just one way to play it! And an added bonus is that it doesn't require any batteries! Highly recommend!

My kinders love it