I love all the STEM based products out on the market. I was thrilled to have my son explore The GeoSmart Flip Bot from Smart Toys and Games.

If you are not familiar with what STEM stands for it is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. What a fantastic way to introduce them to these subjects and the concepts involved than having them create it for themselves. I was not sure how to teach STEM to my son at first. I found that I did not need to worry much as all I needed to do is to put some amazing products in his hands and watch him flourish.

GeoSmart Flip Bot is for ages five and up. My son is thirteen and had a lot of fun with the Flip Bot. The kit has thirty pieces in all. The kit comes with detailed instructions in the form of step by step full colored picture instructions. This is great for younger kids who are just learning to read as they can follow along with the detailed pictures. The instructions have three Flip Bots you can build. That does not mean that is all you can create as you have lots of freedom to create your own unique working Flip Bots.

The Flip Bot has magnetic building blocks that are in colorful geometric shapes to create your vehicles. Everything snaps together and uses the magnets to build your Flip Bot. The kit has connectors, couplings, snap-in arms, transmitter, wheels, panels, and a rechargeable receiver (motor). Everything you need to operate your GeoSmart Flip Bot except for three AAA batteries for the wireless remote.

You do not have to worry about the magnets falling out and the magnets getting swallowed by younger kids and animals. The magnets are welded into the construction pieces, locked in place by stainless steel caps, and have other housing systems to keep the magnet contained within the toy. They have patented the safety system with safety and durability in mind.

My son noted that the first few times snapping the pieces together some of them tended to be a bit more challenging and needed more muscle. However, after snapping them together a few times they were easier to work with. You may need to help younger kids at first with attaching the pieces.

The rechargeable motor I would recommend you charge it first. It had a minimum charge out of the box. The average time that the Flip Bot stayed charged was around an hour with a full charge.

The wireless remote my son called it “tank steering” you need to press down both buttons simultaneouslyeither on the top or bottom of the switch to go forward or backwards. If you want to go left or right, you just press one button.

My son built all three of the Flip Bots from the instructions. Afterwards he was able to produce three unique creations by himself. He drove the Flip Bot both inside and outside and felt that it did much better on a smoother terrain. He created obstacle courses to drive the Flip Bots in. He discovered that he had to make the obstacles wider as the flipping action would sometimes take it off the intended course. He also had some plastic ramps on hand and created some ramps out of cardboard. He found that the magnets would disengage slightly if the drop was too significant or if it bumped into something.

My son and his friends played with the Flip Bot often. It was neat seeing the boys work together to create a vehicle. They found that some designs did not work out as planned and needed to redo certain pieces to make the vehicle flip and drive.

My son did not care that much for the magnet shapes and how they attach to one another. He felt that it would have been better if everything snapped together instead. The magnets create the main body of the vehicles. The magnets do not completely fall apart from the body. It is more like they slip a tad and collapse together. You must fix the magnetic shapes several times throughout driving the Flip Bots around. He spent a lot of time reattaching the magnets. This was especially true after driving it on rougher terrain and when the Flip Bot flipped off a ramp. That minor issue did not stop him from entertaining himself with the Flip Bots. I felt it was an effective way to teach patience with him having to readjust the magnets when they slipped.

My son had a lot of fun watching the physics in action of the Flip Bot flipping around and seeing what it did with different creations and terrains.

I liked that my son had to solve problems, engage in logical thinking, and overcome challenges when building the Flip Bots. GeoSmart Flip Bot ended up being a huge hit with my son and his friends.

This has been a fun STEM project and it should appeal to all ages and both boys and girls alike.

There are multiple building sets for you to choose from. I would assume that you could collect other sets to create even more challenging Flip Bots.

- Product review by Renee Knoblauch, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, February 2019