Reviews-and-Awards

UBERSTIX - Award Winning Toys

Uberstix: Fun Meets Function

I'll never forget the look of pride on my son's face the first time he completed a construction set model on his own. It was a helicopter with less than 100 pieces,

but at five years old he was as amazed as I that he'd been able to follow the detailed instructions to create the model just as it appeared on the box.

There's something else I'll never forget -- the look of total defeat that followed his triumph the minute he tried to play with his new creation. The rotors broke into pieces as

soon as he picked it up and when he tried to replace them the based snapped off. We finally realized the only way to get the thing to stay together was to put it on display

on a shelf. His sense of accomplishment crumbled along with the helicopter.

Many other parents have shared this same frustration with the major building systems, but one parent, rather than accept defeat, decided to do something about it.

His name is Dane Scarborough, and he decided to change the entire industry.

Several years back, Scarborough bought a hang glider construction kit for his son during a family vacation, only to find after they built the thing that it was purely

ornamental. (It wasn't meant to fly.) A natural problem solver, Scarborough went down to the hotel restaurant, picked up some paper and a swizzle stick and built a

working glider. His son played with the paper model for hours.

"I thought, you know, when you build something, it should work," recalls Scarborough. "You should be able to play with it and it should actually work.

" Realizing that none of the construction kits available at the time did work, he adds, "I saw there was a huge opportunity to do a better job."

With Uberstix, he did just that!

A New Way to Build

With two goals in mind -- functionality, meaning kids could play with the models they built; and accessibility, meaning cost wouldn't be a barrier for kids

from all economic backgrounds -- Scarborough set out to design a new and innovative construction system. When he hit upon the idea of creating parts that

are compatible with reused materials -- plastic bottles, straws, paper clips, etc. -- he became an innovator not only in the construction toy arena but also in

the increasingly popular "green toy" market.

"We're the first toy on the market that rewards kids directly for recycling," says Scarborough, noting that his "scavenger" kits require a variety of commonly

discarded items as parts. "We didn't change anything to be at the front of the green movement. It was inherent in the philosophy of the company from day one,

in the accessibility and functionality. Green was the answer to that."

Uberstix's compatibility doesn't end with reusable items. Uberstix components are compatible with all major build systems, from LEGO® and K'NEX® to ZOOB®,

Zome® and beyond. I found this exceptionally appealing in light of the large supply of construction pieces my son had acquired over the years. (The "Helicopter Incident"

was the first of many disappointments with popular building systems, leaving us with a huge tub of various components in addition to those frustrating memories.)

"Every build system on the market has its own attributes," says Scarborough. "Playing with LEGOs versus playing with K'NEX, that's two very different experiences,

and playing with Uberstix is very different than either of those. The ability to play with all three and to integrate all three together, that's just cool."

Not just cool ... it's another great way to recycle!

Extending the Education

Scarborough believes that "building with any construction system is key to a child's development," and many experts agree. Children develop spatial awareness

and problem solving skills and get a hands-on introduction to basic physics and engineering. They develop patience, imagination and self confidence along with many

other important academic and life skills. And the best part is, they love doing it!

With a passion for the educational value of construction kits in addition to his passion for sheer fun, Scarborough includes some enticing extras in his kits to

extend the education.

UberArch architectural kits, for example, come with full scale blueprints to guide construction. "When the kids unroll the blueprints for the first time,

they're intimidated," he says, "and their parents are even more intimidated. The first thing they realize when they open it up is the blueprints are one to one scale,

so it starts to make sense right away." The first few steps, he adds, are simple and quickly executed, giving kids immediate success to spur them on.

"From there it takes them to an overhead view of (the completed first step), and all of a sudden, once they understand what the overhead view represents,

then the rest of the blueprints start to make sense and the light bulb goes on and they hit the ground running."

Soon after, he adds, "when the structure is well on its way up and the kids are just poring over the blueprints and actually building from them, it's fantastic.

The parents are ecstatic. They finally have proof that their kid is in fact a genius and the kid's self esteem has gone through the roof."

Other Uberstix kits include lab sheets to encourage young builders to experiment with and improve on the basic designs. "On the catapult," says Scarborough,

"building it is just the beginning." The kit includes twice as many parts as are needed for the basic structure, with suggestions for testing the catapult with

a longer arm versus a shorter arm, a flexible arm versus a more rigid arm, a fixed base versus a free standing base, and more.

"They write down what they think will happen and then what actually happened," he says. "It teaches them to run experiments and make improvements."

These types of experiments, adds Scarborough, introduce basic physics and engineering in a way that gets kids fully engaged.

"They're learning physics without a book shoved in their face," he says. "They're learning it through play."

(The) Play's the Thing!

It doesn't take long to realize Scarborough's creative spirit and passion for play are the key to Uberstix's innovative design.

"We don't deal with focus groups and test marketing and all that," he says. "The way we make decisions here is we play. I create kits that I want to play with.

" His method seems to be working. Uberstix are popular with kids and adults -- "We've got architects buying these and building them in their offices,"

says Scarborough -- and he's developing new kits all the time. Each kit is fun to build and fun to play with when the building is complete!

"I don't know the toy industry that well," says Scarborough, "but I know how to play."

At DiscoverThis.com, we're proud to carry a great selection of Uberstix building kits to encourage you and your kids to create what you see in your imagination

-- and play with your creations for years to come!

My rating of UBERSTIX STARTER SET

Posted 1/5/2010 by Kathryn

Rating:

I purchased two of these sets as gifts - one for my 11-year old son, and one for a 13-year old boy. Both of them love it!! If you have a Lego maniac or builder in your life, this is the perfect set for them. They can be interlocked with virtually anything (household items, other building set pieces), so with some imagination the possibilities are endless. I highly recommend this set.

Posted 6/25/2008 by Jeffrey Schmidt

Rating:

Ok I've been very serious lego builder for the last 12 years, and I am only 18. I thought that legos were the greatest toy on earth. Not any more. I absolutely loved this set, and have already bought double that since my purchase 3 days ago.

Anyone who likes construction products will like this.

"Their philosophy of recycling, universality and using your imagination is refreshing.

The pieces are incredibly versitile. The pieces will connect with just about anything you

come up with. Kits come with plenty of extra pieces to upgrade or add to designs.”

-wired.com

Very Versatile

Posted 12/7/2009

Rating:

Truly innovative design. The cross-compatibility feature with existing building toys is really cool. Good for the imaginative types . . .

"Absolutely, positively original! Yes we've seen models, Yes we've seen toys that can teach kids about recycling. But Uberstix combines them in a really, really cool way. They supply base pieces and some directions, kids recycle the rest and supply the creativity! Awesome!"

-WTS Toy Review

"These ingeniously designed sets of building pieces require children to incorporate recyclable household products - such as plastic water bottles, Popsicle sticks, straws and paper clips -

into their structures to build a pirate ship or UFO. The Uberstix work well not ony with many recyclables, but with other major building systems, such as LEGO, K'NEX and Zoobs. Children

get to unleash their imaginations, see beyond the instructions, experiment and explore ways to

play with more than one toy or brand at a time."

- National Parenting Publications Awards

Awesome set to build and learn (UBERARC 1200- Empire State Building)

Posted 2/8/2010 by David Tremaine

Rating:

My two boys, ages 7 and 9, and I had a blast putting this building together. It took several hours to build, but time

went by quickly. The blue prints that came with it were great! As an engineer, these blueprints were a simple way

to introduce concepts of blue prints, which included plan, elevation and isometric views. The building looks great

once completed. I would highly recommend.

Gretchen Colonius

01/07/08

Durability: Fun: Educational:

My boys have been entranced with this building set (they have the starter and uberpult). They are dedicated legomaniacs, but UberStix have expanded their repertoire considerably. And I love the several pp in the instructions that are dedicated to "if this piece breaks, it can now be utilized in the following ways. . .!" A very new way of thinking for a toy company!

(But none have broken yet!)

Gianna Zellner

Rating:

My daughter wanted some building toys for Christmas. I searched and everything I looked for was for a "specific" model.

I wanted something with enough stuff to build anything. Well this is it. So easy to use and so versatile. If you haven't

watched the video, you should. She played with this forever. It will work with most of the legos and other stuff she has

and she's really excited that she can build things by recycling objects we have around the house. Great buy!

GTC "g8t"

Rating:Durability: Fun: Educational:

01/19/09

This is an awesome toy for kids who like to create. I like it even more than I do Legos and K'nex. It is limitless in its

diversability and its ability to use recyled items (popsicle sticks, plastic grocery bags, empty water bottles, and others)

make it even better for teaching children to use their imagination. Even my three-year-old is building awesome things.

Carole Weinfurtner

12/5/2009

Rating:

My grand daughter loves Ubertropolis. She is 12 and interested in architecture and ancient cultures. This is an excellent

toy also to explore geometric shapes (plane and solid). I think she may eventually try to cover her uberstix shapes with thin

paper "skins" to make them look like complete buildings. A reflective paper would be interesting,

creating a skyline with movement and color.

"The Uberstix Sailboat Kit was the very best in scoring in regard to innovation. Not a whole lot of product developers are eager to take on the challenge of developing a product which is not only educational, it contributes to creative skills and so much more. The concept of the design of the product is one of the most unique in innovative concepts and is clearly a winner."

-The Toy Man

Reviewed by Kidzworld

Rating: 5 out of 5

Build it, float it or fly it with Uberstix - the coolest building system in the world. Uberstix is a building system with plastic pieces, which can be used to build planes, boats, buildings, dragons or whatever else your imagination can think of. But what makes Uberstix a really unique construction toy is that they can connect and integrate with other building toys like LEGO, Zoobs and K'Nex. So, you can use your LEGO pieces with Uberstix to build even bigger models. Uberstix have also been designed to integrate with McDonald's straws, popsicles sticks,

egg cartons and other household items, so you can make recycled materials part of your models.

Rebecca Sloan

10/24/2009

Rating:

My 10 year old son loves building. This seemed like the next step up in our toys. He loves it.

He and his brothers spend hours building. They like creating their own designs.

Click here to add text.

Marilyn Peters

7/31/2010

Rating:

Product is awesome.

Suzie Lucken

12/9/2009

Rating:

This product was actually a gift, but my husband who is an engineer wants me to get one for him

-- thinks it looks great for any boy who wants to get imaginative with catapults!

Greg Carter

5/19/2008 by Greg Carter

Rating:

My son really enjoyed this building set. He said that he thinks the Uberstix are superior to Lego and KNex --

high praise indeed! He also really likes the fact that the manufacturer allows for the use of non-Uberstix parts,

and encourages hacking the parts to make new items unimagined by the designers. Very cool!

www.ebeanstalk.com

We hands down love all the Überstix! Think of them as advanced Legos. They′re not just building blocks, once you build your project

you can play with it for hours and hours. And you utilize household materials, like plastic cups and recycled bottles to create the projects.

Forget green living, this is green playing! Add on Überstix from other sets for more possibilities. We can′t get enough of these,

and neither can the kids. It′s the übertoy!

www.Home Schooling Hearts And Mind.com

And what do I love about Uberstix?

They have been engineered to work with any of the major building systems already on the market and a number of household materials,

greatly expanding the creative possibilities. Many of their kits encourage the use of recycled components, l ike plastic spoons and plastic water bottles

to create functioning projects. Moving joints make your creations do something, and they give educational support for understanding the why behind it.

Beth said on 12/18/10 (UBERSTIX BLOG)

Thank you for spending so much time with my son at the OC Market recently. We purchased the airplane pack. My son has spent hours building so many things.

The airplanes really do fly. He also has created catapults, boats and more. What a fantastic product!

UBERSTIX®, UBERBOTS®, UBERTROPOLIS®, AEROFORCE®, UBERARC®

and GEMINI POE are Trademarks of UBERSTIX IG, Ltd.

Patents & Patents Pending Worldwide

Uberstix Science Project Series: Sailboat

Never Ending Fun!, 5.0

PROS:Easy assembly, Educational, High quality, Lasting fun, CONS...,

BEST USES: Home, Outdoors, Parties

"This is a fantastic construction toy! My children and I had a great time putting this sailboat together. I loved the aspect of adding recycled water bottles. The best part was that once we finished building it, we could actually sail it!! And it sailed great! The lab sheet was a great touch and we enjoyed experimenting with the sailboat to improve it's performance. My son who has always been a big lego fan loved adding his lego people to the sailboat and I was truly surprised by how well the lego connected with the uberstix parts. All around great system. We'll be buying lots more uberstix kits!!"

BOTTOM LINE Yes, I would recommend this to a friend

Read more: http://www.buzzillions.com/reviews/kids-topper-scott-1010327-uberstix-science-project-series-sailboat-reviews#ixzz1B2cqmjvc

Parents' Choice Award * Uberstix PirateShip/UberFO * Spring 2009 Toys * Ages: 8 & Up

Parents' ChoiceReview:

There seems to be no end to the proliferation of building toys, evidence of the enduring popularity of this activity, an affection shared by parents as well as kids. This series of kits is based on an admirable concept: combining household items that are often discarded with the pieces in the set. This project kit combines snap-together plastic pieces with recycled household items like cups, straws, and plastic bags to construct a ship or a UFO. Not only does the recycling theme add to the creativity of construction, this kit could even inspire families to visit their local the libraries which are filled with books detailing these kinds of projects.

Sam Hillers * Parents' Choice

Hello, My name is Matthew and I am 11 years old. I am UBERSTIX4EVER!!!! I have build a lot of these projects and i love them! i am waiting for more projects to

come out so i can build them. I think one way you could improve your site is, to have accounts. People could have accounts, and get awards (online awards)

based on what they have built. Maybe you can make a chatroom too!

Thanks, Matthew (from the comment box on 1/24/10)