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Friday, January 3, 2014

GoldieBlox and the Parade Float (Read & Build) Review




GoldieBlox has a goal of getting more girls to build. "By tapping into girls' strong verbal skills, our story + construction set bolsters confidence in spatial skills while giving young inventors the tools they need to build and create amazing things." 

Photo from GoldieBlox


 In our world men largely outnumber women in science, technology, engineering and math as girls tend to lose interest in these subjects as early as the age of just 8 years old, GoldieBlox is determined to change the equations. Construction toys develop this early interest in these subjects and as you may know they have been considered "boys' toys" for over a hundred years now. GoldieBlox has designed a construction toy from the female perspective and they aim to disrupt the pink aisle and inspire the future generation of female engineers.













GoldieBlox and the Parade Float
 
 GoldieBlox and the Parade Float ($19.99ARV) is a read and build along kit for girls ages 4 through 9, that helps work engineering concepts with wheels and axles. This particular build and read-along from GoldieBlox is a sequel where friends Ruby and Katinka compete in a princess pageant and they hope to be able to ride in the town parade. Katinka loses the crown and ruby and Goldie build something great together. Through this they are teaching their friends that creativity and friendship are more important than any pageant. 

This construction sets help build spatial skills, engineering principles and confidence in problem-solving. It comes equipped with nine design ideas, a DIY project and an unlimited building possibilities! Plus, it is compatible with all of the other GoldieBlox toys. 


With this construction set you receive everything in this neat and organized box, containing the story book, 3 animal figurines, 7 wheels, 6 blocks, 9 short axles, 4 long axles, 4 spacers, 1 band, 1 ribbon and 9 design ideas. The story book is an easier read, great for ages 4 through 9 to be able to read on their own.


The building instructions are also easy to read and follow, plus they provided in full sentences, not just images and phrases like other construction sets. I know it's a bit hard to read in the photo above, but this construction box says to "Build Katrina's baton with one block and two short axles." with photos above the pieces needed. All of the construction boxes are similar to this one. 

Jedilynn loves this set! The best thing to me is that she also have nine different design ideas that she can work through. While she did ask a few question through out her constructing, she did it completely on her own and really didn't need to ask these questions. She said, "Mom, this is so cool! It's like LEGO's for GIRLS!" she then went on to see it was better then LEGOs because there was a story and the figurines are bigger and so on. She was so proud that she did this nearly all on her own, minus the few simple questions. We built a LEGOs Spaceship earlier this year and it took quite a long time, but held her attention from start to finish so I knew this more "girly" construction set would be perfect for her and it was! 

She has asked if there are more sets with different stories, looks like I know what will be her Birthday present this year. She will be turning 8 years old on Jan. 26th so I hope to be able to get her the GoldieBlox and the Spinning Machine set which comes with a larger construction project. I think she would also like one of their "More Than Just a Princess" T-shirts which are also available in adult sizes and they even have onesies and hoodies that have this phrase on them.

Store Locator
Need a construction set right away? Check the store locator to see if a store near you carries GoldieBlox.

Vote for GoldieBlox in the TOTY Awards & Sweepstakes! 
Every vote you cast on ToyAwards.org is a chance to win a prize package containing all of the toys in one of the 12 TOTY categories. Your name will be automatically entered into the sweepstakes each time you vote. Only one vote per e-mail address is allowed in each category and only one prize package will be awarded per family or address. Voting closes on January 13th; all winners will be notified in February 2014.  

VOTE HERE! To vote, Select "Innovative" (the light bulb) under Select a Category. Then scroll down until you see the GoldieBlox and the Spinning Machine, click the box to the left and go to the bottom to cast your vote. Easy right?

Connect
Twitter @goldieblox

What are your thoughts on GoldieBlox and the construction stories for girls? What little girl in your life do you think would love one of these sets? 

Disclosure: I received the above products in exchange for my honest review, all opinions and experiences are 100% my own and may differ from those of your own. I hold no responsibility for any aspect of the TOTY voting or sweepstakes, I will not be choosing the winner nor will I be responsible for the fulfillment of those prizes. 

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