Awesome Animation

This was our second crate that we've worked on here at the home and I was quite impressed with the amount of thought and activity and learning we were able to do here. All 6 of my kids were quite involved and enthusiastic with this crate-- as well as their Dad when he came home.

My daughter (and I) loved the book containing the history of the zoetrope and the connections to current animation. She could identify with the content and it was perfect for her reading and age level. The interchangeable pictures are great and she, at 8, was able to fully put it together independently.

The kids liked to watch the "movie" with each of the sets of images. They made their own movie with the blank cards. One of my kids said we'd never have to watch a movie on tv again because we had these cool ones to watch. It would be really nice if the completed project could fit back into the crate without dis-assembly for easier storage. One child did not want the others to cut up the TinkerZine for the thaumatropes. Perhaps that page could have been a pull-out instead.

I liked the high quality materials. I loved the fact that my 6 year old (7 now) built it all by himself with very little interference from me. He loved the different animations and cut out three separate ones before drawing one himself. He drew an animation of a comet hitting the moon. So cool.

We liked having so many different options to use inside the zoetrope, the options to create our own film strip, and the additional thaumatrope cut-outs provided. We also LOVE all the scientific and historical information in the Tinkerzine.

Super simple to put together and look great even for my 12 year old who has some issues with craftsmanship. It was a great confidence booster.