Magformers Wow Box Children's Construction Toy Review (age 3+)

Magformers are a multi-award winning construction toy which has multiple educational benefits, as well as being really great fun to play with. The way they are constructed means they are mainly safe for children of all ages, and model sets exist for children aged around 18 months and over. We've been sent the Wow Set to review, which has a recommended age of 3+.

Magformers are mainly regular shaped strong plastic toys which are used for construction. They need no fixings and you don't have to be precise, because they attract together with rotating built-in magnets.

Inside all of the straight edges of the Magformers are Neodymium magnets, which are free to rotate so that your child can always connect positive to negative and won't become frustrated. The magnets are all encased securely inside the strong plastic and therefore can't be swallowed. Neodymium is safe, and 3 times as strong as regular steel magnets.

Included in the Magformers Wow Box are16 pieces:

2 x double wheel and axle combination pieces
5 squares
8 triangles
1 square holding a figure

The figure may be a 'driver' or 'pilot' or 'fairground ride rider' or whatever you want him to be. The fact he's so nondescript is excellent and really works for imaginative play - he may not even be a 'he'.

The Magformers Wow Box also includes a huge pile of instructions printed on excellent quality thick gloss paper. The instruction sheets include 11 cards for making shapes, 8 cards for 'imitating the planar figures' and 20 cards for making Magformers mini-cars.

"I made a pyramid!"

The shapes cards are easiest to make as they're 2D, and some of the more complicated planar figures are really quite tricky and need a lot of working out how to bend and fold them without losing the shape you're creating.

There's a terrific sense of achievement when you create something technically quite difficult. I found that my 7 year old was able to make any shape he liked (with a few second attempts and collapses), but my 5 year old hasn't yet the fine control to 'fold' a larger 2D shape into a 3D shape, so the 'planar figures' cards really stretch him.

"Building complex magnetic structures develops such skills as abstract and spatial thinking, creates a lot of interest and engages children at all stages of play".

Magformers are popular in schools, and excellentfor teaching science and maths skills, encouraging social skills (discussion and team work), raising self-esteem and pride, as well as design and other skills which as adults we take for granted:

"Will that vehicle work? If not, why not?"
"What shape have you created? What shape will it become if we make it 3D?"
"Can we make our model taller? Even taller? What will happen?"
"How can we make our car faster/stronger/bigger?"
"Can we make a vehicle to transport something else?"

Youngsters who struggle with other construction toys can often build something fairly sturdy and impressive from Magformers. Children and young people with limited mobility, grip or physical strength can often have great fun, as can people who struggle to decipher building instructions for more complicated models.

Magformers are a toy everyone picks up and fiddles with, and people of any age group get a sense of satisfaction when they've made a nice 3D car or model - and no-one shouts at you because you 'broke their model', because it doesn't take long to change it back.

Although the finished models are more self-supporting and sturdy than they look, they don't withstand much rough and tumble and need to be rebuilt during play, but because that only takes seconds it doesn't cause frustration and annoyance, and it encourages the child to consider improvements and upgrades to their design.

I knew magnetic shapes were great before, I've used them in schools, and the Magformers are a massive improvement because of the rotating magnets and ability to 'stick together' any side of the shapes.

I thought play with Magformers would be more limited than it is, I've been really surprised just how long my boys have spent making new models and designs over the last few days. I'm also really pleased with how proud they are! I'm constantly being shown something new, and they still haven't even built more than half of the suggested models

The quality of the Magformers is excellent, they feel strong and the plastic is faultless with gorgeous colours. The magnets are all as strong as promised, you can even make shapes slide across the table towards one another.

Magformers are available in a huge range of different sets. The Magformers Wow Box which features vehicles, has 16 Magformer's shapes and 39 design ideas cards costs £29.99. Sets start at £26.99 and include sets with remote controls, LED lighting, and starter sets for children aged 18m.

You can find out more about Magformers, including information on how they help with child development, on the Magformers website.