Skoolzy STEM Toys Connecting Straws Building 200 Piece Kit - Tinker Toys Fine Motor Skills Interlocking Engineering Builder Set Preschool Activity Building Toys Ages 3+ Includes Bag and eBook

Great toy, particularly for the cost. 3.5 year old (who struggles with the tinker toy connectors) was able to do these connectors all by herself with minimal guidance. We have a good collection of magnatiles and tinkertoys. These are currently her favorite because they're new. But I suspect they'll remain competitive. Most novel interaction was putting all the straws down on the ground and pretending to play the xylophone. She was bummed she couldn't wear the tower she made (pull it over her head) w/o it falling apart. But to give you some indication, only one or two linkages actually disconnected--the connections are stronger than I initially feared. Will be curious to see how they wear. If they get enough play, I'd consider buying another set.Note, the company sent an automated email asking me to review the product honestly, and offered to reimburse me for leaving honest feedback with a free toy.

My nephew asked for a build a fort kit, and I happened upon this Connect a Straw Structure kit, and decided to purchase this instead. I received the product promptly, and decided to test it out. The pieces come in a sturdy bag for safe keeping, and the rods are flexible and fun to work with! In comparison to the fort building kit, these work even better for making cool shapes and designs because they are bendable and come in a variety of colors. Also, they can be used for a variety of fun projects. As a former preschool teacher, I can tell these will work great to develop those fine motor skills and hand eye coordination. The connector pieces are on the small side, so you'll want to keep a watchful eye if your children are smaller, but otherwise this is a great product and I can't wait to see what the kiddos will build!

I purchased this product to use in my PreK classroom next year, after a child in this year's class proudly brought in a structure he had build for Show and Tell, using a straw building toy. I never got to ask his mother the name of the company who made his particular toy but decided to search Amazon for it. It turns out there are several different similar sets to choose from. I picked this one based on other reviews, the price and the storage bag. Although I won't get to test it out until September, the product seems sturdy. I think children under 3 1/2 might have trouble connecting the straws, due to the force needed to push them together and their lack of fine motor abilities. But it should be great for my 4 and 5 year olds. Younger children could benefit from sorting, patterning, and sequencing the colors. If I remember, in the chaos of the fall, I will try to come back and review the toy after use. I gave it 4 stars, only because it hasn't been "kid tested" yet.

I cannot say enough about this toy. I bought it on a whim for a birthday gift for my sons. I didn't know what to expect. Straws and jacks? Not at all. This kit was so wonderful. My kids have built as much as they build with Legos. Schoolzy comes with instructions to build different things. Together we built a rocket. My kids love building swords to fight with and they like connecting them in to circles. This toy is great for my 4 year olds and I think it'll be a lasting toy. Comes in a very nice bag suitable for car travel. Would be a great hotel toy for road trips. It does have a lot of pieces so it's a good toy to have out in a contained area, to avoid losing parts. Schoolzy is a household name around here now!

I am a home visitor for an early childhood education program and this product was way better than I was anticipating. Connect a Straw Structures is extremely versatile for children (and adults) of any age. Not only can this be used for building, which is easier for older children, but it is great for younger children as well. I had my almost three-year-olds do some simple color sorting, counting and other fine motor activities with this product -- I just had to be careful that they wouldn't bend the straws too sharply and dent them. The quality of the straws and connectors is excellent and I really liked the little pouch they came in. I also liked the inclusion of structure ideas, as I think it helped inspire the kids to build. I will definitely be purchasing more products from this company in the future!

I’ve bought skoolzy toys for my kids in the past so thought this would be another hit. Assembly was difficult though I imagine this will lessen as the straws get broken in but the biggest disappointment was that there weren’t nearly enough straws to create more than half of the items on the suggestion sheet. My kids and I were halfway through building a fort structure when I realized there was absolutely no way we could finish. We then tried to build the rocket ship structure and same thing. It’s a neat idea but not worth buying a second one to actually build something.

I purchased this item as a gift and I'm really pleased with it! The straws seem decently durable, it's intuitive for kids so they can jump right in with no instructions, the connectors aren't TOO small, and the straws can be slightly rounded and connected into circular/domed shapes for added creativity and imagination. I can see how it's possible that after a lot of use, the ends of the straws might begin to spread and not hold quite as tightly, but my suggestion would be that if that happens, trim them slightly and they'll be like new again! I especially love that they come in a handy storage pouch. It's hard finding ways to store all the kids' small toys and so this is an especially attractive aspect to me as a parent.

Cheap and kind of useless. Bought for Christmas gift for my5 year old and now it’s past refund time otherwise i would have returned. The parts are very cheap and would snap easily which is pointless since they are suppose to build and bend. The “straws” are very small and the parts that attach them are super small and fragile. Definitely not what i expected and would not recommend. They show building structures and building and these definitely are not durable for that. There are also not even enough to make the designs shown.