1-2-3 Build It! Robot Factory

This set includes 18 plastic robot pieces that snap together, including arms, legs, eyes, and a cute propeller. To use 1-2-3 Build It! Robot Factory, children will need a clean, indoor play space, and younger users would benefit from adult assistance. Children use the robot body parts to build various plastic robots through various combinations of the parts. The snap-together pieces are straightforward and effective for even the smallest hands, however some of the pieces may be difficult to get apart and adult assistance may be required.

1-2-3 Build It! Robot Factory does a fantastic job of introducing creative thinking and design to younger kids while strengthening their spatial reasoning skills.  This toy is also adorable and allows for creative play, as parts can fit together in so many different ways. However, despite this toy stating that its age range is two and up, children on the lower end of that age range would undoubtedly benefit more. Older children may find the pieces and snap-together aspect of this toy too simplistic. 

This toy's building aspects help develop spatial reasoning skills. Additionally, the open-ended nature of this toy encourages independent design and creative thinking. Users can genuinely design any robot they can think of with the provided parts. Overall, 1-2-3 Build It! Robot Factory by Learning Resources is a fantastic introduction to design skills and creative thinking. It will be a perfect introduction to engineering skills for younger kids.

Framework Categories

Engineering Thinking (EThink)
Processes of Design (POD)

Moore, T.J., Glancy, A.W., Tank, K.M., Kersten, J.A., Smith, K.A., & Stohlmann, M.S. (2014). A framework for quality K-12 engineering education: Research and development. Journal of Precollege Engineering Education Research, 4(1), 1-13.