Author: TatianaZh

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Zoob Piece Connection

Zoob strong side is specific Zoob piece connections and not its size.

Back in 1997, inventor Michael Grey introduced Zoob, a toy inspired by the science of motion and organism development. Zoob represents an acronym for Zoology, Ontology, Ontogeny, and Botany. Each set has rod-like pieces with joint balls and sockets on their ends. Each of these balls has small bumps on its surface, so the joints can both move and stay in a certain position if you need them to.

This innovative toy features a ball and socket connection system, mimicking the natural movement and design found in people, animals, and machines. With just five basic shapes, Zoob offers 20 different ways to connect them together.

Zoob building sets have won awards because they’re different from regular building blocks. They use plastic pieces that snap together, like gears and joints, to build all kinds of objects, limited only by your imagination. After you build something with Zoob, you can actually play with it – the pieces were designed to move after being assembled, so you can have fun with the toys you create.

Zoobs are great for helping children improve their fine motor skills. The pieces are small enough to easily manipulate and put them together, but they’re not too tiny like some other toys, so it’s easier for kids who find small objects tricky.

Zoob Piece Connection
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Magformers – Magnetic Geometric Bulding Kit

We mastered yet another magnetic constructor – there is no way we can live without magnets. The children at first mastered it without me or the camera, so I witnessed only the assembled ball. The children promised to demonstrate the crafting process again for the Encyclopedia.

The set has 4 basic geometric shapes – square, triangle, pentagon and hexagon. There is also a set with wheels. You can find videos and descriptions of the kits in Magformers Amazon store. The magnets are very strong, you can toss and catch a cube made from 24 parts or a ball like the one on the photo.

Magformers - Magnetic Geometric Bulding Kit
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Satellite Tracking Station – Panoramic View

Satellite Tracking Station. Panoramic View. You need to track satellites somewhere in space. My son sat with it for 2 days, building and rebuilding. Here’s what it turned out to be in the final version. Various radars, antennas, transmitters. On the right, there’s a rocket with a satellite, ready for launch.

Satellite Tracking Station - Panoramic View
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Knight In Tiko Armor

Anny (6 years old) was a knight for a day and actively made and tried on Tiko armor. The green square on the sword is an emerald. The chain mail is attached to Anny’s neck and belt. The shield has a handle on the back side to make it easier to hold.

Pythagoras, Tiko, and Tako are vintage building sets. They have big panels of different colors and shapes, that connect by the edges. Each piece has sockets and balls that can snap together, connecting the pieces. You can also connect the pieces of different shapes, as long as their sides match. This connection is strong enough to hold even the biggest structures together.

Because of the sockets’ form, Pythagoras and Tiko panels can form both flat surfaces and 3D shapes. The flexible joint connection means that you can connect the pieces at different angles. The bigger panels are huge – they are a few inches long, so kids can create toy hats or items to hold, and not just toys. They are sturdy enough to wear and to play with. There also are smaller pieces that can help connect the bigger pannels together or make smaller crafts. The pieces of this set have all kinds of shapes – there are different triangles, rectangles, squares, pentagons, and so on, all in different colors.

Sadly, Amazon seemingly has no sets exactly like Tiko and Pythagoras, but some very similar concepts also are interesting enough.

Knight In Tiko Armor
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Sorting bucket for magnetic blocks

The construction set was released in the USA in the 80s by the Hilco corporation. It is designed for very young children. The parts are made of plastic with colorful metal inserts and a magnet on one side. They are packed in a small plastic bucket, and to add variety to the construction play, the lid of the bucket has indentations – you can sort the parts by shape.

Sorting bucket for magnetic blocks
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Magnet building blocks for babies – Magnet Blocks

We have this old construction set. It was released in the USA in the 80s by the Hilco corporation. It is designed for very young children. The parts are made of plastic with colorful metal inserts and a magnet on one side. There aren’t many of them, but it’s sufficient for the experiments of a 2-3-year-old child. You can build a little car, and it will move, or a pyramid, and something else suitable for toddlers. – Tatiana Zheglova.

Magnet building blocks for babies - Magnet Blocks
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