by This is my full review of Genius Lego Inventions with bricks you already have. I was given an advance copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Are your kids like mine? They get a thrilling new Lego set, put it together, play with it a while, and then it's demolished. Sure they build a little with their "old" Legos, but they really just want a new set.
And then there are the kids that won't even touch their Legos unless they are part of a set. Seriously, I have had this happen!
And then there are those who want to put together the set, but it is big and they can't commit, so it sits half done while the remaining pieces are scattered through the room and down the hall never to be seen again.
Wouldn't it be great if they had a ready source of ideas for all those Legos they have taken apart or never put together. Ideas that weren't too big, but were still cool enough to warrant building. A sort of jumping off point to spur their engineering imaginations?
Enter Genius Lego Inventions with bricks you already have!
Are your kids like mine? They get a thrilling new Lego set, put it together, play with it a while, and then it's demolished. Sure they build a little with their "old" Legos, but they really just want a new set.
And then there are the kids that won't even touch their Legos unless they are part of a set. Seriously, I have had this happen!
And then there are those who want to put together the set, but it is big and they can't commit, so it sits half done while the remaining pieces are scattered through the room and down the hall never to be seen again.
Wouldn't it be great if they had a ready source of ideas for all those Legos they have taken apart or never put together. Ideas that weren't too big, but were still cool enough to warrant building. A sort of jumping off point to spur their engineering imaginations?
Enter Genius Lego Inventions with bricks you already have!
This book contains instructions to build 40 new creations, and the best part, they all have some sort of moving part or simple machine in the design.
There were cheers at my house when I pulled this book out of the envelope, and the building had to start as soon as humanly possible!
The Great Things about Genius Lego Inventions
- NEW IDEAS
- Smaller projects, so they don't loose the builders attention
- Creations can do more than just sit there
- Easy to personalize creations
- Supply list for each project
- Step-by-step instructions just like Lego sets
Lots of the positives are obviously about the actual projects, so let's look at those a little closer. After taking apart current Lego creations my kids have a tendency to build more houses. My son will build airplanes, but the girls tend to stick to houses. This book really broadens their horizons. They can build inspiring projects that actually DO something. My son was super excited to actually build a transformer!
I love how the projects in this book make use of gears and other moving parts. I think utilizing these in new ways is great STEM learning. It increases their curiosity for what other things they might be able to make too.
These are not large projects. Once the pieces are located, they can be built in a fairly short amount of time. So even kids who fizzle out on those large Lego sets can conquer these cool little creations.
They are also easily personalized. For the most part these projects could easily be any color of block and still perform the same function, so if you don't have the right size red bricks, just swap out blue in the same size. Or if you have a child who needs everything to be green, go for it!
The other thing that I appreciate about the book is that it gives a full instruction list for each project as well as step by step instructions. So, it is very similar to have the actual Lego sets are presented. This means it will also be familiar for the kids and they won't have to do a lot of reading to build a project.
One Thing to Be Aware of with Genius Lego Inventions
Genius Lego Inventions is a wonderful book, but because it has such fun, moving creations, it also uses parts to make them move. So lots of gears and some ball joints are used. These are not the most common Lego pieces. We have them, but we also have more Lego pieces than anyone needs because my husband leads robotics in our 4H. Before buying be sure you have a handful of these moving pieces. Otherwise check out one of the author's other books that have more stationary, yet cool, creations, or buy some some gears! Or do both, really if you have Lego lovers this might be the best way to go.
OK, maybe 2 things to be aware of. Even if you have every Lego piece you could imagine, you must be sure you have your Legos organized. I cannot even begin to explain the chaos that ensues when you have three Lego addicted kids with an awesome new book descend on the giant tub of Legos! I so wish we had had more organization; I see a day of Lego sorting in our future.
This book was a huge hit with my family, and if you have any tiny engineers it is sure to be a hit in your too! I personally can't wait to try it on those kids that refuse to build if it isn't a "set."
This book was a huge hit with my family, and if you have any tiny engineers it is sure to be a hit in your too! I personally can't wait to try it on those kids that refuse to build if it isn't a "set."
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