Guidecraft 144-pc. Magneatos Construction Set

Friday, December 4th, 2009 at 8:58 pm

Manufacturer: Guidecraft
Customer Rating:
List Price: $105.00
Sale Price: $69.88
Availibility: Usually ships in 2-3 business days

Buy Now

Product Description

3 years & up. Children can create structures, build on imagination skills and experience the fun and mystery of magnetic construction. These jumbo sized pieces are magnetized and connect together easily. Designed for small hands and huge imaginations. Includes 144 pieces.

Product Details

Magnetic contruction set
Designed for small hands and huge imaginations

Video Reviews

No video reviews found for this product.

Customer Reviews

Nothing short of awesome

Review Date: January 28, 2007

Reviewer: M. Mori, Cambridge, MA USA

After buying a much smaller set (24pcs) for our 1.5 year old we decided that we needed more pieces. This is trully a toy that will grow with your child. For now our toddler enjoys playing with the 42 balls and sticking and unsticking pieces or playing with things that we build, but his parents enjoy building larger structures after he goes to bed. Even for adults there is something satisfying about having your project be more than a few inches tall. Granted this is an expensive toy but it isn't bad when you consider your children will never outgrow it.

Hours of Fun for Little Hands!

Review Date: March 4, 2008

Reviewer: TJK,

My grandson loves this toy! It keeps him busy for hours. He loves to build and then take it apart and build again! Great toy! Fast and perfect shipping!

fun for kids, great for parents

Review Date: December 19, 2009

Reviewer: shouldBworking, Washington D.C.

I got two of the 36 piece sets for my [...] year old and the whole family loves it. I'm writing the review here because this hasn't been enough pieces for us! Dad and I build complex structures that she can knock down, she likes sticking the pieces together and pulling them apart. We just pile them in a bin when we're done. If you've tried to build anything with straws or Popsicle sticks you know that you need to build support to get tall structures, it doesn't matter how strong the magnets are. We've built all kinds of 3 story objects, the only limit we've found is the number of pieces not the strength of the magnets. I love that she's learning about magnets now, and will learn about structures later. If you want to build a giant tower, this isn't the toy for you. If you want to teach your kids about strength and structure, this is awesome.

Pretty cool toy, BUT it is also a collection of hard plastic-coated metal balls.

Review Date: January 25, 2007

Reviewer: Mark A. Peot, Chapel Hill, NC USA

My children (age 6 and 2) have built some pretty neat things with Magneatos. Unlike the tiny metal balls and rods in a Magnetix, the large rods and balls do not pose a choking hazard. The rods come in two different lengths, that allow the child to explore a wide range of geometric structures.

Pluses:
* It is easy for kids to build complicated geometric structures. The magnetic rods teach kids the properties of magnets.
* In order to build tall structures, the child has to learn how to build strong "crystalline" structures on the lower levels.
* It is easy (and automatic) for young children to assemble balls to rods. No fine manual-dexterity required here!

Minuses:
* There are 144 pieces to return to the box each time. Half of the parts roll, which means that they are distributed evenly throughout the house when it is time to put them away.
* The toy has an additional use as a collection of 40 or so 3" hard plastic covered lightweight metal balls that your child will throw around the house (and my two year-old does just that). My two year old has constructed an improvised atl-atl by putting a ball on the end of a rod and then slinging the ball.
* The ratio between the mass of the parts and the strength of the magnets is less than for the smaller building sets. This means that models will be a bit more fragile than Magnetix models. You cannot build structures that are as tall and your children cannot play with the model they build or carry it to their parents.

Fun for 20 month old and 5 year old

Review Date: January 6, 2009

Reviewer: R.H.A., Lake Worth, FL

My children received this product for Christmas. Both the 5 year old and the 20 month old love to play with it. Large, durable pieces are perfect for the 20 month old's hands and the pieces are so large that I do not have to worry about choking.
Can't wait to get the curved pieces to add to our collection and give us more building options!