How we use CONNETIX to spark STEAM learning and educational play

CONNETIX are suitable for children from age 3+ but this is the sort of toy that gets better as the child gets older. It will also be useful for young kids to aid them in their development of fine motor skills. My children are 5 and 10 and they both absolutely love playing with them and to be perfectly honest, so do I! CONNETIX are a perfect open-ended resource for cognitive development and, when playing with another child, for developing important social skills.



The great thing about CONNETIX is that the older the child gets, the more complicated their creations can become. My youngest started out by making flat designs on the floor like a dinosaur, a fish, and a repeating pattern and then as he started to play with his older sister, he started to make 3-dimensional designs like cubes and small towers. Eventually, they worked together to build a large tower which was lovely to watch, especially as it kept them engaged, communicating, and working together for an hour and a half. This has quickly become one of their favourite toys and I’m looking forward to creating more steam learning opportunities for them with our Pastel Mega Pack.

The Pastel Mega Pack contains 202 pieces so there is plenty to share. The set is made up of 48 small squares, 32 equilateral triangles, 32 scalene or right-angled triangles, 32 isosceles triangles, 8 small rectangles, 8 square frames, 8 square ‘window’ frames, 8 small ladder shapes, 16 large squares, 8 large hexagons and 2 vehicle bases with real rubber wheels. As this was our first time playing with CONNETIX, the Pastel Mega Pack has been a perfect first purchase to give us a really good feel for the potential, but the Pastel Mini Pack (which contains 32 pieces) would be a good introduction to the range and would also make a great grab-and-go toy for packing in your bag.



We have been playing with the CONNETIX Pastel Mega Pack, a 202-piece set of transparent bevelled magnetic tiles. I’ve already got my eye on the 80 Piece Pastel Ball Run Expansion Pack to increase our STEAM magnetic tile play possibilities!



CONNETIX can be used in a whole host of ways that incorporate STEAM learning, these are some of our favourite ways to play:



• Making tall towers and seeing who can get the highest
• Building villages
• Making ramps and tracks for small cars
• Making a ball maze
• Pattern recognition
• Dominoes
• Building ball runs

I think CONNETIX are a brilliant toy for both my children. As there is quite a big age gap between them, finding something that is not electronic that they will play with together is a challenge. Every time I get the CONNETIX out for them to play with, they will happily sit and play together for an hour or more without arguing. I love watching them work together to build things and show each other what they have discovered. It is wonderful to see Unicorn taking the time to explain things to her brother and help him when he’s stuck and trying to copy her builds. It’s also great seeing him making discoveries and getting so excited to tell his sister and me what he’s found. The look of joy on his face the first time he built his own domino track with them was wonderful. He’s even found pleasure in just carrying one tile about with him so that he can look for magnetic objects when we’re out and about. That’s the beauty of CONNETIX, they are so sturdy they can withstand spending the day being whipped in and out of the pocket of a lively five-year-old boy while he’s trying to stick them to any flat surface he encounters.



To find out where CONNETIX can be purchased near you, head to www.connetixtiles.com/store-locator