Smartivity Music Machine; Mechanical Action, Science, Engineering STEM and STEAM Building Kit for Kids Ages 8 and Up

I especially love that even after assembly is complete, there is plenty of learning to be done with rearranging the pegs to make the "music machine" play different songs. My grandchildren, ages 8 and 10, assembled their kits on their own (with only a tiny bit of help routing out one hole to be big enough to fit the insert piece), then had a great time making music — some tunes that came with and some of their own.

My 10 YO was able to put together and made a song. It is sturdy but definitely not for kids who are more ‘destructive’. Came with extra pegs which is nice.

The media could not be loaded. Bought this for Christmas, got the kids together, penned the dog in (lots of small swallowable parts guys) and put this machine together. The instructions are great, you get extra rubber bands and boy do you need them, the tiny bands are worse than Jesus clips. The instructions come with music so you can play right off the bat. I'd say that the pegs need more effort to get out than the particle board can withstand. We used sandpaper to make the pegs a little easier to get out. So overall a great teambuilding exercise, mechanically challenging for the age it's made for, but not very sturdy. I will be getting more of these kits for the kids.

Love it! My 10 year old was able to put it together by himself. One of the gear teeth broke off but that might have been his fault and it didn't affect how the device played music. After putting it together, he's not only been thrilled with learning the included songs, but has been creatively coming up with his own tunes and patterns. Sound is crisp and clear, and surprisingly pretty and not too annoying.

Truly simple, tool-free and glue-free construction. This was a gift for an 8-year-old who can be easily frustrated, so I stood by during the build. The way this comes together is clever and simple, and the child was able to follow the instructions and happily tinker while I merely handed over the parts they needed for each stage.The sound is small and tinny, as expected, but well-tuned. It's easy to program songs, and a small songbook is included. I'd buy it again for a similar aged kid.