Goldieblox.Ruby
Ruby Rail’s Skyhigh Cable Car

GoldieBlox, the girl engineer who gets kids interested in STEM concepts, is back this year, and she’s brought some new friends along!

Made for kids who love to tinker, each of the four new Build & Craft sets allows young builders to explore their STEM sides as they follow the instructions to produce a basically engineered play structure for their character. The new kits include Valentina Voltz’s Level Up Skate Park, Ruby Rails’ Sky-High Cable Car, Goldie Blox’s Crankin’ Clubhouse, and Li Gravity’s Lighthouse Lookout. New to the GoldieBlox world, Li is the first ever male character in the brand.

GoldieBlox_Li
Li Gravity’s Lighthouse Lookout

Designed for kids ages 6 and up, every kit comes with a set of colorful, whimsically illustrated cardboard building boards and plastic construction pieces, as well as an action figure and instruction manual that doubles as the character’s bio. Each figure is about 3 inches tall, and the new arrivals sport a range of hair, eye, and skin colors. Each also comes with his or her own unique style.

Edgy, tech-loving Valentina is suited up in a gray jumpsuit, purple leggings, and bright pink high-tops. She also wears a pair of glasses, headphones, and has cool dark-purple highlights in her hair. Ruby Rails has fun riding the cable cars in a purple dress, turquoise leggings, and trendy purple booties. Her curly hair is up and out of the way in a ponytail and she sports a gold key-shaped necklace. Li is ready for adventure with jeans, a gray and purple T-shirt, a purple beanie, and a watch; and Goldie herself is back wearing her iconic overalls, red sneakers, and blue tool belt.

Each set contains between 30 and 40 pieces (all of which are compatible with other GoldieBlox kits), and has a skill level, like Intermediate I, Intermediate II, Intermediate III, and Advanced I, so kids can build their way up to more advanced sets (and concepts).

The play structures are fairly simple to put together and each one focuses on a STEM skill concept, like inclined planes, tension, center of gravity, and belt drives. As kids put their structure together, they can explore these concepts and see them come to life step by step, right in front of their eyes. Budding engineers can try to find Li’s center of gravity as they balance him on top of the Lighthouse Lookout and Ruby’s cable car is a simple, easy-to-build version of the real thing.

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Valentina Voltz’s Level Up Skate Park

Especially entertaining is the Advanced I set Goldie Blox’s Crankin’ Clubhouse. Fulfilling every child’s dream of having a super cool hideout of his or her very own, the clubhouse features two stories of engineering fun. Styled to look as though it’s been built in to a tree, the vibrant pink and orange structure has a moving swing for Goldie and a working windmill that builds in to the roof, both of which are operated at the same time with the help of a crank. The illustrations inside of the clubhouse are just as detailed and inviting as the outside, ensuring kids will want to continue to play with Goldie and her friends long after they finish building.

While the play sets are easy enough for small hands to put together, parental guidance is advised for younger children, as the directions can sometimes be tricky, and the cardboard sets are a bit fragile.

Young builders can rejoice in the fact that there are now building sets that include structures that are fun to put together and action figures with relatable stories. The new Goldieblox Build & Craft kits combine problem solving and imagination for a well-rounded play experience.

About the author

Elyse Carmosino

Elyse Carmosino

Elyse Carmosino is an editorial intern at Adventure Publishing Group. She is a junior journalism and global studies double major at Hofstra University and is originally from Boston, Massachusetts. She spends her days helping run Hofstra University’s chapter of Society of Professional Journalists and dancing in various on-campus clubs. Her previous experience includes writing for College Lifestyles online magazine and for Hofstra’s campus newspaper The Chronicle.

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