Exploring with the Electric Motors Catalyst STEAM Kit

The Tinkering Labs Electric Motors Catalyst STEAM kit is a perfect way to introduce kids to motors and motion.

 

We love STEAM kits, robots, and toys.  Designed to help kids discover, STEAM toys allow kids to use their imagination to build toys and inventions on their own.

The Tinkering Labs Electric Motors Catalyst is a great STEAM kit for kids aged 8-12, although my 14-year-old and his friends also enjoyed inventing with it.

The STEAM Kit with Imagination

The Tinkering Labs Electric Motors Catalyst comes with over 50 parts.

The STEAM Kit includes different sized wooden wheels,  cogs, screws and nuts, sturdy rubber bands, motors, a battery back, and so much more.

Although there are 10 cards with suggestions on creations to make, none of the cards tell kids how to make them.

Creating with STEAM Toys

My son and his friends were able to build a vehicle, but they did follow the instruction booklet that came with the kit.

Although Tinkering Labs prefers kids to create on their own, they recognize that it may be hard to get started. 

The included 22-page provides basic building techniques and assembly instructions for three of the challenges. 

The rest of the challenges from the 10 cards are left up to the child.

In my opinion, if you have younger kids, having an adult present to guide them through their first builds would be helpful and recommended.

Once kids build 1 or 2 of the challenges from the instruction booklet, they will understand the basic concepts more to spur them to try the other challenge cards on their own.

Some of the other challenge cards include:

• Build a machine that draws curvy lines
• Make a machine that can scramble an egg
• Build a vehicle with a suspension system

After kids come up with their own creations they can send them to Tinkering Labs to display with other kids’ creations on their website.

Dependent upon the age of each child, challenges an take up to 60 minutes. 

Kids can make cars, pen doodling robots, learn to motorize their Legos, vehicles to transport their stuffed animals, and more.  The possibilities are endless.

As all of the wheels and “floorboard” of any vehicle is made from wood and there are lots of small bolts and nuts, it is a bit intimidating where to start.  

Vehicles or robots made will not look “finished.”  But you will be able to see clearly how the wheels, motors, cogs, and rubber bands work together well.

The art part of STEAM can come in when your child builds a shell around their vehicle – made from cardboard, foam, plastic, popsicle sticks, or whatever s/he wants.

• Everything a kid needs to build including 50+ parts like motors, wheels, hardware, nuts and bolts, and more
• 1 Pair of child’s safety glasses
• 1 Full-Size Phillips Head Screwdriver
• Includes three washable markers to use with the doodling robot challenge
• Endless possibilities with just one STEAM kit
• Printed Tips & Guides
• A 22-Page Building Techniques Booklet
• 1 Safety Tips Card
• 10 Challenge Cards

   

PROS:

• Leaves the design up to the child to imagine what to create
• All the pieces needed to create a vehicle with different methods of movement
• Gives parents the opportunity to teach engineering and mechanical concepts with their child
• The challenge cards help give kids a sense of what’s possible to build
• Everything a kid needs is in the STEAM kit, including a screwdriver, batteries, safety glasses, and materials
• It comes with a tin to keep the screws and a bag to keep the parts and cards together
• It’s a lot of fun to see the robot or vehicle move – gives kids a great sense of accomplishment

CONS:

• There are limited instructions so kids can create their own creations, but this is hard for kids who need directions to stay focused
• For many kids, they will find it difficult to do on their own…at first

The Tinkering Labs Electric Motors Catalyst is available from Amazon for $59 with free shipping.

A Mom’s Perspective

I love the flexibility of the Tinkering Labs Motor Catalyst STEAM kit.  It really has everything a child needs to build a vehicle or some mechanical creation.

The kit is well thought out and I love Tinkering Lab’s attempt to help kids create things on their own by not providing instructions for all of their challenge cards.

I have found with my own son that if you don’t take the time to sit down with your child on kits like this, oftentimes s/he won’t spend the time working on it.

It’s not that s/he doesn’t want to try it, it’s just that sometimes a STEAM kit can seem overwhelming. 

Even if you’ve never built a motorized vehicle in your life, just being present in helping your child figure things out goes a long way – in building a solution and in relationship building.

*I was given a Tinkering Labs Electric Motors Catalyst in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.