Gravitrax Obstacle Starter Set Review – STEM Toy Ideas

Elian is a big fan of STEM based toys and games at the moment. Anything that involves construction and building of some sort, or engineering and moving parts. So he was really excited to break open this Gravitrax Obstacle Starter Set when it arrived a few weeks ago, and he’s been a little bit obsessed with it ever since. He has had a younger kids plastic marble run toys in the past but nothing as advanced as this one.

We were sent this Gravitrax set to review and so far Elian is loving them…I can already see additional sets being added to his christmas wishlist. And I don’t mind at all if I’m honest, I love that he has a passion for certain toys and they are played with on a daily basis, then it makes the cost of them worthwhile! Plus I am a big fan of encouraging play with STEM category toys like these.

READ BELOW TO FIND OUT ALL ABOUT THESE MARBLE RUN TOYS, WHAT OTHER SETS ARE AVAILABLE (IE. WHAT ELIAN ALREADY HAS HIS EYES ON!) AND WHAT THE BENEFITS OF STEM TOYS ARE FOR KIDS

We were sent this Gravitrax Starter Set for review but all thought and opinions are my own

What is Gravitrax?

Gravitrax is an Interactive track system and construction toy for children. The brand produces marble run toys with a difference. The sets have many different components which work in different ways, so children get to experimenting with gravity, magnetism and kinetics. The possibilities are endless, allowing hours of play. They can be as creative as they want, and will have hours of fun trying out different systems to get the marbles to run from A to B. It encourages logical thinking, forward planning and strategy to work out how the marbles will react to different parts of the course which they construct.

Whats Included in the Gravitrax Obstacle Starter Set

The Obstacle starter set comes with over 140 components and offers everything you need to get started right away – a pack full of endless possibilities, creativity and hours upon hours of fun.

It includes 4x Base Plates, 2x Transparent Levels, 6x Balls, 56x Large height tiles, 12x small height tiles, 2x angles height tiles, 21x curves, 3x junctions, 2x switches, 1x 3in1 block, 1x vortex, 1x Launchpad, 1x extra-long narrow plastic track, 1x extra long slow plastic track, 3x long plastics tracks, 9x short plastic tracks, 3x length adjustable bridges, 3x transfers, 2x trampolines, 1x zipline, 2x spirals, 1x finish line, 4x basic tiles, 2x catchers, 1x freefall, 1x splash, 1x landing, 1x Set of Instructions, 1x Set of Construction Plans

There is also a free app you can download which allows you to build and edit your own tracks digitally, testing out endless combinations to find out what works. Experience the tracks interactively and follow the balls from a variety of camera angles before you construct it for real.

WHAT AGE is the Gravitrax Obstacle Marble run Set SUITABLE FOR?

These type of marble run toys, with the balls, plates and tracks, are advised for children (and adults) over the age of 8. Elian is only 5, but quite advanced in his construction skills and logical thinking, plus he is only allowed to play with them with an adult at the moment, not independently yet. Due to the small balls we have to make sure Elian only plays with them away from Effie at the moment too, as it would be dangerous for her to swallow one of the balls. But Elian is old enough to know that he shouldn’t put them in his mouth (or up his nose!! as little ones seem so keen to do with small objects!)

Gravitrax toys are so versatile though that they will be suitable for older children as well. Even Jon has enjoyed attempting different track layouts with them. We have started with the simpler layouts so far, but the kit contains a huge amount of components to make more challenging and intricate structures, which is great for older children. I think this is a toy that can really grow with your children and is perfect for expanding the set as they age.

There are a number of expansion packs available with alternative components to allow even larger and more intricate layouts.

What we thought of the Gravitrax Obstacle Starter Set?

Well Elian has honestly loved them so far. As I said he is a big fan of any STEM toys that involve construction of some form, so I knew these would be a hit. He loves building the run then making small alterations to the track and seeing how it affects the run of the marbles. All the pieces connect and disconnect very easily, they simply slot into the groves of the board or on the pieces. Elian would have no trouble building it himself if we let him.

The construction plans booklet has been great for giving Elian ideas and prompts on how to connect them to make different marble runs. Jon has been following them to build the runs so far, and the plans are really well laid out and easy to follow. Im sure Elian would be able to do them on his own, at least for the more basic ones, with no issues. As he gets older he will be able to use his own imagination to work out how to build with them, but for now this was a great starting point for him. He is already experimenting by altering the course of different track pieces to see where the marbles will end up.

I can see that it is likely to be a toy that we keep around for many years to come as it is very versatile and with endless possibilities, he is able to construct completely new tracks every time. It is really great for teaching children about kinetic energy, gravity and cause and effect. For older children it would be brilliant for engineering skills also as you can add more moving and advanced parts to the set.

We have yet to test out the app, but it sounds like it would be great for older children to practice track building and experimenting without having to pull out all the track and build each run. Possibly a great idea for when they are on car journeys or away from home. Stem activities to keep them occupied but still learning

What are the benefits of playing with a Gravitrax STEM Activity set

Although toys are meant to be fun, it is also great when they are educational. Or when they help with kids development. These toys are STEM based so are intended to be educational and work on kids science and mathematical skills, without them really realising they are learning.

Here are some of the main benefits of STEM based toys

• Hand eye coordination
• Spatial awareness
• Improves fine motor skills
• Understanding shapes and structures. Physically being able to touch and feel a shape, its sides and corners helps them understand better
• Logical thinking and strategy. How to connect the pieces to make structures
• Increases attention span
• Problem solving
• Early maths and language development
• Understanding basic engineering and construction
• Basic understanding of physics, movement and gravity

IF YOU LIKE THIS POST CHECK OUT SOME OF OUR OTHER TOY REVIEWS

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