MindFrames Complete Set (136 pc) Review
DISCLOSURE -THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER’S OWN.
Reviewed by Dottie Rood
MindFrames is a wearable construction set for ages 5 + and was created by WobbleWorks, a company that has been creating since 2013.
The set I received to review has 136 pieces (pcs) which consists of:
16 blue hexagon shapes/16 small yellow triangle shapes / 16 green pentagon shapes and 16 small orange square shapes. It also contains 72 very small connectors (there is a warning on the box, “CHOKING HAZARD_Not suitable for children under 36 months. Contains small parts”) which consist of 24 x 2 appendages, 24 x 3 appendages and 24 x 4 appendages.
They do sell different sizes of these kits:
MindFrames Essential Kit (68 pc) / MindFrames Family Pack (256 pc) / MindFrames Click ‘N’ Create-Maker Wearable Construction Set (1,360 pc) so you can add more pieces if needed.
On the WobbleWorks web site (https://wobbleworks.net) they claim that the benefits of MindFrames are:
• Develops Storytelling Skills
• Encourages Open-Ended Play
• Fosters 3D Thinking
• Improves Fine Motor Skills
The pack came in a good solid box with the 136 pcs inside and an instruction booklet, ‘Activity Guide’, that had 10 suggestions of what could be made with your pack:
Koala Bear Head/ Cat Head/ Glasses/ Flying Bird/ Tetra Hat/ Square Football/ Hex Building/ Turtle/ Flower and Cobra. It also has a reminder on the back that there are more to find at: makemindframes.com however I could only find the same suggestions?
So how does MindFrames ‘shape up’ (sorry!) when played with?
I gathered an assortment of grandchildren and their parents to try out MindFrames, the ages of the children range from 8 years old up to 13 years old (I won’t put the ages of the parents!). The pieces are lightweight and easy to handle; each piece has a ‘ridge’ on each side that you put the various connectors in to create your desired shape.
We followed the activity booklet suggestions first, this had a mixture of results from, “look I’ve made the ball” to, “what on earth is this?”. Generally, all the children found the components fairly easy to handle and put the bit’s together but one obvious downside was the fact that there didn’t appear to be enough of the ‘2 connectors’ to make a couple of the projects and there definitely wasn’t enough pieces for more than 2 people to play at once. We then decided to make our own models, focusing on the ‘wearable’ aspect of the MindFrames product—as mentioned on the WobbleWorks website, “Wearable Creations for age 5 upwards”. They promote purposeful play in short bursts…from fairy wings to superhero wear. There is also a visual reminder on the box, showing children with a lady ‘wearing’ their creations on their heads and holding them as shields and wands.
The children (and the adults) took it in turns to make something with the view to wearing what they had created, most of them enjoyed doing this, the older ones got a little frustrated as they felt their creations didn’t look like what they were trying to produce! but the younger children were pleased with their results.
I have a mixed opinion of this product, yes, the pieces were fairly easy to put together and yes some of the creations did fulfil the ‘wearable’ aspect, but I felt there wasn’t enough connectors for each project and the ability to make more than one model was a bit limiting. This set would be a good present, Christmas or birthdays, for children who like playing with items that occupy their hands, like to produce ‘different’ models and who have a good imagination. The ‘purposeful play in short bursts’ describes the product perfectly.
WobbleWorks also have a number of other award-winning products that include not only Mind Frames ages 5+ but also 3Doodlers ages 6+ / Airbuilders ages 5+ and Scribe 3D ages 14+ so there are other products to explore from this company.
Rating: 4/5
RRP: £24.99
This product can be purchased from: WobbleWorks.net and John Lewis