Smartivity DIY Robotic Mechanical Hand STEM Toy for Kids 8-9-10-11-12-13-14 Years Old | 2024 Parents Choice Award Winner I Birthday Gift for Boys & Girls | Engineering Kit for 8-14 Years Old

The media could not be loaded. I bought the Smartivity Hydraulic Plane Launcher as a Father’s Day gift, hoping my husband and the kids could enjoy some quality hands-on time together. It ended up being mostly my husband and me assembling it, but our son did sneak in here and there to help with some of the steps. We all had a great time!The instructions are clear, and the laser-cut wooden pieces are impressively high quality. Assembling it is part of the fun, and the clever hydraulic system using syringes and tubing makes it even more interesting to build.Once everything was put together, it became a launching station for both paper airplanes and darts! The kit includes printable paper plane templates, and the launching mechanism is surprisingly robust. Quick tip: You need to reset the plane launcher to its lower position (by pulling back the syringe) before each launch to retract the holding mechanism.This project seamlessly blends play and learning. It’s a hands-on introduction to hydraulics, physics, and basic engineering. The kids benefited from our hard work—they spent hours launching planes and darts across the room. It’s genuinely fun for both kids and adults.Highly recommend this kit for families seeking a creative, screen-free activity that offers both bonding and learning opportunities.

This robotic hand was super fun for our 11-year-old son. He spent all day long putting it together and did not want to stop. That was about a month ago and the hand still works. I think that he had to alter one little part to get the thumb to work right. Other than that, it was a great purchase that teaches kids to think mechanically as well as have an understanding of how the mechanics works.

Super cool hand that was good to do with a 10 year old. Some parts are hard to assemble alone, given how tiny rubber bands are and many different parts, plus difficult to pop some parts out of the sheets they come in, but a great activity to build together that takes 1.5 - 2 hours. The instructions are easy to follow and the back of the instruction book has great educational lessons and activities! The 10 year old who got this couldn't wait to play, and it fit decently (her hands were a bit too small but it functioned)--she wore it for hours and loves playing with it.

My nephew loved this gift, it seems like okay quality and that the rubber band system will easily fray and break over time, but still a great gift!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Perfect Birthday Gift – Big Hit!I bought the Smartivity DIY Robotic Mechanical Hand for my daughter to give to her friend as a birthday gift, and he absolutely loved it! It’s such a fun and educational toy—great for hands-on learning and STEM exploration. It kept him engaged and excited, and it was a unique gift that really stood out. Highly recommend for curious kids who enjoy building and creating!

I purchased this for my 10 year old grandson. The design is clever and instructions are good. Assembly takes time and the final product works as advertised. I find the product is intended for a child/person with a small hand. I can barely get the product on my hand. I was surprised that you can easily pick up small objects with thumb and first finger just like your real hand. My grandson does like the product.

Looking at this out of the box was scary, so I procrastinated doing it with my son. But he was persistent which is a great sign that it is interesting for kids, he’s 7. So we set to work on it and it ended up being easier than it looked!! A lot of the length of the book was repetition for the four fingers that aren’t the thumb. He loved it and had a blast showing off his hard work. It was maybe a little big for him, it says 8 and up, but he ended up being able to move all five fingers with his hand enough of the time for him to be happy. I will be on the lookout for kits from this same company again!!

I bought the Smartivity DIY Robotic Mechanical Hand for my 11-year-old son’s birthday, and it was by far the gift he was most excited about. He’s a big fan of Legos, but this kit offered a totally different and refreshing experience. The assembly process was engaging and just challenging enough to keep him focused and entertained. What we loved most is that, unlike many building kits that just sit on a shelf once completed, this one can actually be played with afterward, adding extra value and fun. A fantastic gift for any kid who enjoys building and hands-on projects. Highly recommend!