GoldieBlox
STEM Skills targeted: Engineering
Recommended age range: 4-12
GoldieBlox is probably one of the most well known engineering toys for girls and has been really popular with girls and parents since its Kickstarter campaign started in 2012
You’ve probably seen the GoldieBlox video advert before as it went viral at the end of 2013. The advert features a Rube Goldberg machine named the “Princess Machine” with a version of the Beastie Boys track “Girls” as background music
The GoldieBlox toys are designed around a girl named Goldie, a kid inventor who builds machines for various different purposes. Each book comes with a storybook
GoldieBlox was designed by Debbie Sterling, a Stanford engineer worried about the low rate of women entering the engineering industry (there’s only one woman for every ten men) and looking for a way to make construction and engineering more appealing to girls through play.
These cleverly designed building sets take advantage of girls’ natural affinity with verbal skills and creativity to expand upon their spatial skills and increase confidence.
GoldieBlox Ruby Rails Skydive Action Figure
When GoldieBlox first came out it was criticised by some as the main character Goldie is a blond haired, blue eyed barbie like doll. 2015 sees the welcome of Goldie's friend Ruby, an African American doll who is also a software engineer (named after the Ruby on Rails programming language)
Ruby comes with a working fabric parachute, a coder backpack, laptop and camera. She has fully articulated limbs and hands that grip.
This doll is a great additon to your child's toybox to add some diversity to the pile of Barbies.
GoldieBlox and The Spinning Machine
This construction kit includes:
- 1 storybook
- 5 animal figurines
- 1 pegboard
- 5 wheels
- 10 axles
- 5 blocks
- 5 washers
- 1 crank
- 1 ribbon
- 14 design templates
Skills and concepts targeted:
- Belt drive
- Friction
- Problem solving
- Spatial relationships
- Basic building principles
Recommended for kids aged 6-9 years
GoldieBlox and The Dunk Tank
Kit contains:
- 1 storybook
- 1 animal figurine
- 1 bouncy ball
- 2 wheels
- 9 short axles
- 18 long axles
- 12 blocks
- 10 spacers
- 2 targets
- 3 design templates
The story behind this kit is that Goldie wants to get her dog, Nacho clean. The only problem is that he hates water. Goldie comes up with this contraption in order to dunk Nacho in the water and get him clean.
Skills and concepts targeted:
- spatial skills
- engineering concepts (hinges and levers)
- confidence in problem solving
This kit is recommended for girls aged 4-9
GoldieBlox and The Movie Machine
In this story, Goldie and her friends invent a solution to stop the Bloxtown Film Festival from being cancelled because the projector at the movie theatre is broken.
The kit contains:
- 1 Storybook
- 1 character figurine
- 4 movie packs
- 1 movie hoop
- 1 movie reel
- 2 mini peg boards
- 2 long axles
- 4 short axles
- 2 mini axles
- 4 pegs
- 2 big wheel ends
- 4 small wheel ends
- 1 small wheel hub
- 8 star stoppers
- 4 elbow joints
- 1 crank
- 1 noodle belt
- 1 star coupler
With this pack kids learn to build their own zoetrope and then make their own movies with stickers, guided illustrations and their own drawings and ideas.
Skills targeted include:
- Spatial skills
- Engineering principles
- Drawing and animation
- Reading skills
- Confidence in problem solving
This toy can also be used with the movie machine app which helps kids to learn the fundamentals of animation and has a toolbox which contains everything kids need to easily make their own movie.
GoldieBlox and The Parade Float
This kit contains all the pieces needed to make a parade float and other designs, including:
- 1 Storybook
- 3 animal figurines
- 7 wheels
- 6 blocks
- 9 short axles
- 4 long axles
- 4 spacers
- 1 band
- 1 ribbon
- 9 design ideas
Skills developed:
- spatial skills
- engineering principles
- confidence in problem soliving
Recommended for kids aged 4-9
GoldieBlox Zipline Action Figure
This Goldie action figure is not just a doll – she comes with a construction kit to build a zipline and can be sent flying down it with fully articulated limbs, hands that can grip and feet that fit on axles
The kit includes:
- 2 suction cups
- 4 elbow joints
- 6 mini axles
- 4 washers
- 4 T-joints
- 2 short axles
- 4 small wheel ends
- 2 cord handles
- 1 zip line
Encourages:
- spatial skills
- engineering principles (suspension)
- confidence in problem solving
The suction cups are really strong and can be stuck to any smooth surface such as a window at a height to create the zip line. Kids can also customize it to send other kids down by attaching a basket or hooks to the cord handles.
GoldieBlox Craft-struction Box
This box is a large open-ended construction kit that includesover 275 pieces for making models or expanding on the other Goldie Blox sets. This kit doesn’t come with a finished design like the other GoldieBlox kits but rather kids are free to come up with their own designs or can take inspiration from the weekly how-to videos published at BloxTown.com.
This is the perfect expansion kit for girls who already own one or more of the GoldieBlox play sets or a great starter kit for little engineers who hate following instructions!
Contents include:
- 1 quarter pegboard
- 8 small wheel hubs
- 2 big wheel ends
- 8 Blox
- 4 coupler joints
- 6 elbow joints
- 4 T-joints
- 4 corner joints
- 4 cross joints
- 8 5-way joints
- 2 popcorn joints
- 12 angle joints
- 2 star couplers
- 18 pegs
- 16 mini axles
- 12 short axles
- 8 long axles
- 6 short flexi-axles
- 2 long flexi-axles
- 8 washers
- 12 spacers
- 1 crank
- 10 star stoppers
- 2 suction cups
- 4 tires
- 1 noodle belt
- 1 rubber band
- 2 long springs
- 2 short springs
- 40 crafting pieces
- 50 stickers
- 10 pom poms
Create a spring car, a pom pom catapult, balance bot, extendable flower, Bloxipede, fling flyer or hundreds of other inventions – the possibilities are endless!
Skills developed:
- Prototyping
- Spatial skills
- Confidence in problem solving
Recommended for kids aged 6+
GoldieBlox Benjamin’s Cat Nook
This building set contains pieces and instructions for building a kitty hideout with lever for Goldie’s cat Benjamin Cranklin.
The kit includes:
- 4 mini axles
- 2 coupler joints
- 7 elbow joints
- 2 T-joints
- 1 spacer
- 1 angle joint
- 6 short axles
- 3 long axles
- 2 5-way joints
- 3 star stoppers
- 1 peg
- 3 wheel hubs
- 8 paper pieces
- 1 Benjamin Cranklin cat figurine.
Skills developed:
- Spatial reasoning
- Fine motor skills
- Engineering principles (lever)
- Confidence in problem solving
Recommended for kids aged 4+
GoldieBlox and the Builder’s Survival Kit
This is another expansion pack for the main play sets containing over 190 pieces and a “Goldie’s Field Notes” notebook containing her sketches and ideas for inventions. If your kids really like this toy you’re going to want to buy them this set so they can make even more and bigger contraptions.
Kit includes:
- 1 storybook
- 3 character figurines
- 1 character bouncy ball
- 3 sheets of paper punch outs
- 1 sheet of stickers
- 2 big wheel ends
- 6 blox
- 4 elbow joints
- 4 corner joints
- 4 T-joints
- 4 cross joints
- 7 5-way joints
- 4 popcorn joints
- 4 coupler joints
- 6 angle joints
- 2 star couplers
- 8 long axles
- 15 short axles
- 19 mini axles
- 17 pegs
- 6 short flexi axles
- 6 long flexi axles
- 8 washers
- 10 spacers
- 2 cord lengths
- 1 crank
- 2 suction cups
- 12 star stoppers
- 1 noodle belt
- 4 tires
- 1 quarter pegboard
- 1 mini pegboard
- 1 table tent
- 6 wheel hubs
- 8 wheel ends
Skills encouraged:
- mechanical engineering
Recommended for kids aged 7-12
GoldieBlox Nacho's Rocket Ride
This engineering kit for girls has materials and full instructions for building a spinning rocket ride for Goldie’s Dog Nacho.
Kit includes:
- 7 mini axles
- 4 short axles
- 2 long axles
- 3 T-joints
- 7 spacers
- 2 washers
- 2 pegs
- 4 corner joints
- 2 elbow joints
- 2 angle joints
- 4 star stoppers
- 2 wheel hubs
- 1 rubber band
- 7 paper pieces
- 1 Nacho dog figurine
Targetted skills
- Spatial skills
- Engineering principles (torque)
- Confidence in problem solving
Recommended for kids aged 6+
GoldieBlox Katinka’s Dream Racer
Katinka is Goldie’s pet pink dolphin, who wears a tutu! In this kit you help her to build a racer to shoot around and learn all about how propulsion works.
The kit includes:
- 6 mini axles
- 1 short axle
- 1 XL flexi-axle
- 13 spacers
- 4 washers
- 1 spring
- 3 coupler joints
- 1 star coupler
- 5 wheel ends
- 3 wheel ends
- 10 paper pieces
- 1 Kantinka dolphin figurine
Recommended for kids aged 6+
GoldieBlox Lucky’s High Roller
Build a carnival game with platforms, pendulums and paddles that will help your kids learn all about momentum through building a ball-run game.
The kit includes:
- 9 mini axles
- 2 coupler joints
- 1 elbow
- 1 block
- 3 spacers
- 1 T-joint
- 2 short axles
- 10 suction cups
- 3 wheel hubs
- 8 paper pieces
- 1 bouncy ball
Recommended for kids aged 6+