Engineering & Design Castle Set
| Lower Age: | 5 |
|---|---|
| Upper Age: | 10 |
| Price: | $29.99 |
| Year Added: | 2021 |
| Amazon URL: | https://bit.ly/designcastleset |
The set includes 123 pieces including structural pieces such as posts, walls, and platforms, a variety of accessories, an activity guide, and 10 challenge cards. Children can use the included pieces to build a castle structure either from their imagination or to satisfy one of the challenge cards. Each card presents the user with a challenge to solve by building or adding to a structure. For example, the first card provides instructions on how to assemble two towers. Children are then asked to design a walkway between the two towers.
The toy is very explicit in its use of the engineering design process, directly asking children to work through every step of the process by considering the problem, brainstorming a solution, planning how to execute the solution, building the model, and reflecting on how to improve their solution. Each challenge card contains all these steps and the Activity Guide provides a planning sheet that children can fill out as they design. While the pieces are easy enough to assemble and disassemble that a younger child could play on their own, the Activity Guide suggests that an adult work with younger users of the toy to guide them through the challenge cards in order to direct and prompt them through the design process.
While playing with the Castle Building Set, children will have the opportunity to build their iterative design, problem solving, and critical and creative thinking skills. Children are directly encouraged to use engineering design principles to solve the presented problems, as well as use their imagination to create their own castle designs. Castle Building Set is a perfect toy to engage a child’s problem solving skills and creativity in a fun and exciting way!
Framework Categories
Processes of Design (POD)
Engineering Thinking (EThink)
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.