K'Nex has done an amazing job with their educational sets, and we have been using them as a supplement to our family homeschool program. The K'NEX Education - Intro to Structures: Bridges set is an excellent way to teach how different types of bridges are built. As we take family car trips, my kids always notice the bridges we cross over. We have some really neat ones in Maryland, like the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, the Bay-Bridge Tunnel, and various smaller bridges all around the area. This set helped my kids learn how all of them work. First, the set comes in a nice red plastic tray with a tight fitting lid, so all of the parts stay together. It stacks easily with other K'Nex education sets in the series. There are 7 types of bridges, with a few variants, for a total of 14 structures you can build. Each of the 7 types has an explanatory paragraph to describe the technology. The first bridge is a simple beam bridge. There is a second variant, a long-span beam bridge, useful so you can observe how it flexes under a load. The beam bridge is then improve as a truss, with examples of a Warren Truss, Howe Truss, Baltimore Truss, and K-Truss. The neat thing is that the trust could be attached at the end, so the children could see the weakness of the bridge before the truss and the strength once attached. The kit also covers the cantilevel bridge (a special type of truss) and the bascule bridge (movable bridge). The arch bridge was particularly fun, with three variants, the arch under, arch over, and arch through. Finally, the kit ends with three modern bridges, a suspension bridge, a single-tower cable-stayed, and a double-tower cable stayed. My only negative on the kit is that the instructions are not like lego instructions with many steps. Many instructions are nothing but a single picture, and it can be hard to see how all of the pieces fit. I built the bridges with an 8 year old, 6 year old, and 5 year old. Only the 8 year old fully understood the instructions without help, but my 5 year old could do it with a little assistance. For instance, bridges are symmetrical, so I would build the left while my 5 year old copied me and built the right. A few pieces required a bit more finger strength than the 5 year old could must, but the 6 and 8 year olds were fine. Once built, my kids had fun experimenting with different toy cars (not included of course) to see how the bridge could hold them. These are functional bridges that really demonstrate the concepts well. There is also a teacher's guide on CD with additional information and activities. This set is quite a good buy for the money - lots of education and fun all in one box. Plus most of the parts are made in the USA, something that can't be said for a lot of toys today. A recommended buy!
