4M Tin Can Cable Car, DIY Mechanical Engineering - STEM Toys Science Gondola Educational Gift for Kids & Teens, Girls & Boys

I confess: I saw this kit on Amazon several months ago, and kept coming back to it, thinking it might be a cool gift for one or both nephews. I've liked construction toys and figuring out how things work for as long as I remember, so I eventually realized I was probably interested in this for myself first. I bought it, and I'm really happy with the purchase. Materials are good quality, assembly instructions are mostly easy to understand, and the whole project comes together pretty easily. (I can see how this would be a fun kit to work on with a child, mainly because the grown-up really wouldn't need to do much but coach.) Like other reviewers, I did away with the soda can. That's a cool nod to learning something with materials on-hand, but it still looks like a soda can. I tried my hand at a couple of paper-craft models of aerial trams, which was a lot more fun. The result is cooler, too, and it would be fun to think outside the box with a child, too. I attached a couple of photos of my amateur efforts at a paper model--it's supposed to resemble the Roosevelt Island tram here in NYC, at least a little. Like other reviewers, I'd like to have had more of the string used as the cable included, just to see how a longer span would work. Failing that, I'd like to know the specs of the string provided so I could order a workable substitute on my own.

used a whole bunch of these for a hovercraft build clinic in support of Science Olympiad, and they work quite well, are reasonably easy to assemble (good for middle school, or elementary with parent help). If you're looking at this for the Hovercraft event for Science Olympiad, be sure to carefully read the rules to ensure that you modify the craft correctly to comply with the event parameters (the default design does *not* comply with the event parameters). These will churn through batteries quickly, so be sure to have a bunch of extras on hand.

Bought this for myself as a fun project. It works really well and I think was a good buy. Not sure if it would be good for young kids though. Slightly tricky to put together, but I enjoyed it.

I bought this for my son's science project. He needed some working example as a starting point. Now he knows what to do. And the motor and fan can be reused on his project. Very happy with the purchase.

Sadly I can't take a picture of it now, it's long broken; but it lasted for at least a year, and man was it fun to see this thing take off. I should have mod an RC into it, but for what it was, it was fun to watch my youngest build this on his own.

The product arrived heavily and badly used. It is as if somebody poorly tried to assemble it, failed, packed it back poorly and returned the item. Then, the item was resold to me. It was unusable and even dirty (other people's dust and hair), oh and some small parts were missing (e.g. one of the small screws that keeps the electric wire in place). Unfortunately it was a gift and by the time it was opened it was too late to return.

I had eight youth working on four builds under my supervision. Directions were clear and each build turned out great. However they didn't run well, even on the gym floor. The skirt inflated, then collapsed onto the supports holding the battery housing. We checked for leaks and tried coins and Lego mini figs for weight distribution, but nothing helped. It was a nice kit, but it need some tine tuning.

Great educational toy created a wonderful memory with my grandson and granddaughter. They enjoyed helping me put it together and watching the cable car go forward and backwards automatically while suspended on the screen supplied.