Children create an intricate maze of colorful interlocking and spinning gears that turns out looking like the magical machinery in Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory. The building process is easy and certainly a big part of the creative pleasure children will find in this toy. The idea is to stack and interconnect gears, using pillars, axles, and adapter pegs. The written instructions will be challenging for many children under 9 years old, but once adults show children how to get started, kids should have no problem taking off with their own factory plans. Gears come in an abundance of sizes and bright colors (along with psychedelic decals). The instruction sheet suggests three experiments for exploring how gears spin, how to gauge spinning speed, and how to understand gear ratios. <i>--Gail Hudson</i>
