iBrick Review: Is This STEM Building Set Worth it for Homeschool Families?

As part of the Timberdoodle Blog Team, I have received complimentary access to this product. I have not been compensated for my time reviewing the product and producing this review. I have not been influenced in any way and my opinions on this product are my own.

If your child loves building with bricks, solving problems, and figuring out how things work, you’ve probably come across iBrick. At first glance, it looks like another building block set, but iBrick is so much more than that! It combines hands-on engineering with online, guided STEM lessons to create a unique, engaging educational experience that grows with your child.

I gave the iBrick set, and their 12-month subscription, a try with my own boys. In this article, I’m sharing our experience and what homeschool families should know before deciding if it’s a good investment.

What is iBrick?

iBrick is a subscription-based STEM learning program designed for children ages 5-12. Instead of using a brand-new brick building kit every month, families receive one comprehensive building kit containing LEGO-compatible pieces, gears, motors, wheels, and specialty parts. Through the annual subscription, kids can then complete weekly online lessons and challenges through new-to-them engineering projects using those same pieces over and over again.

Pretty cool, right?

What’s Included?

The iBrick set, available as standalone purchase or as part of Timberdoodle’s 4th grade curriculum set, includes:

• a reusable building kit including
  • LEGO-compatible bricks
  • battery-powered motor (powered by 6 AAA batteries)
  • gears, axles, wheels, and specialty connectors
• digital building instructions available in both the familiar page-by-page book format and a 3D version that can be manipulated
• weekly STEM lessons (enough for a whole year!)
• engineering challenges
• creative extension activities

Educational Benefits

Deciding to include the iBrick program into your homeschool days is a great idea, especially when you consider all of the educational benefits their activities offer. Through their weekly lessons, engineering challenges, and hands-on activities, children naturally practice:

• engineering design
• critical thinking
• spatial reasoning
• problem solving
• find motor skills
• following multi-step directions
• mechanical concepts
• cause & effect…and so much more!

The kids learn without even realizing it…and I’ll always consider that a win!

Our iBrick Experience

My boys are currently 12 & 14, on the higher end of the suggested ages for the iBrick set. However, they’ve been involved in many local robotics classes (even participating in brick-based competitions!) and have absolutely loved building with their brick sets as long as I can remember. My husband has even built them a custom brick play platform that’s traveled with us through multiple moves.

When I got the opportunity to try out the iBrick set & subscription, I knew they’d be a great fit! After all, who better than two confident brick-building kids to try out a STEM building set and provide productive, genuine feedback?

After the iBrick block set arrived on our doorstep, my boys got straight to putting the set together. All of the pieces come in individual bags, ready to be opened and organized in the included plastic bin and tray. The set even came with a placement guide, thank goodness, showing exactly how to organize the pieces for easy access and storage.

When everything was organized, they got started on their assigned iBrick build – the Fishing Game. All of the build instructions and activities are easily accessible through the iBrick course page which, after ordering, is set up by clicking on an emailed link and creating your own username and password. Super easy.

The Build

To complete the iBrick assignment, a device of some sort is needed – a laptop, desktop computer, or even a tablet. I’m sure a phone screen could be used as well, but…honestly…I’d recommend a large screen just so the kids can easily view the directions. In our case, I had my boys set up their set on the floor of my office while I scrolled through the directions on my desktop computer monitor.

As I mentioned previously, iBrick offers the build instructions in two formats:

• one is similar to the typical brick building packets, with one step per page presented in a format similar to a slideshow presentation
• the other is more of a 3D generated image, able to be rotated and manipulated

I asked my boys which format they wanted to use and they ultimately selected the first option since that’s what they’re more familiar with. Sounds good, right?

You guys, even though the page-by-page directions were easy to use and follow, I sure am glad we had access to the 3D instructions. A few of the steps were more difficult than others (like when they had to attach a rubber band to the build)so it was super helpful to be able to manipulate the instructions to get a better look at the exact piece placement.

Other than a few minor user errors, their Fishing Game iBrick build went well and took about 45 minutes to complete from start to finish. The resulting build included a number of bricks, gears, and even the motor! When the motor was turned on, the “fish” would move up and down while on my kids used the fishing pole to “catch” the fish. So cute!

What We Like

In a nutshell, the iBrick set takes the typical brick build a step (or two) further by increasing the learning opportunities. Some of my favorite educational perks of using this kit include:

• Real STEM learning is encouraged: instead of simply copying a model or following build instructions, kids using this set get to lean the how and why mechanisms work through the build and extension activities.
• Reusable materials: I’m all for including educational tools in our day that have opportunities for multi-use – after all, our home can only fit so much! I love that this one kit provides access to a large library of projects, reducing clutter and increasing the long-term value of a single purchase.
• Progressive difficulty: the Fishing Game project my kids completed is #32 in the set of 51 activities, making it a mid-advanced range build. Since my kids have experience with using bricks in engineering projects, this was a nice starting point for them. But…if your kids are newbies, they should do just fine starting at project #1 and advancing from there. I appreciate that the projects become more challenging over time, helping them to continuously develop and hone their skills!
• Independent learning: The visual instructions are easy to use and allow many children to work at their own pace with minimal parent involvement. I have no doubt that my kids would’ve been perfectly ok completing this project on their own…but I wanted to be included for the purpose of this review article.
• Compatible with name brand bricks: Since the pieces work alongside our already large collection of name brand bricks, I love that my kids could expand on their projects using bricks they already own.

Who is iBrick Best For?

The iBrick set and 12-month subscription could be an excellent choice for children who:

• already love building with their plastic bricks
• enjoy figuring out how things work
• prefer hands-on learning (my favorite!)
• need engaging STEM activities
• thrive with project-based learning
• like creating moving models

Even though the set was designed with kids ages 5-12, I am confident in saying it can be enjoyed by kids (and adults) way past that age. After all, I’m in my 40s and still love building with bricks.

In addition, although you could technically include this set alongside an engineering-focused science curriculum, you definitely don’t need to. The iBrick set is one of those rare activities that can be enjoyed in conjunction with a program or on it’s own, allowing & encouraging kids to learn without it feeling like learning!

Happy Homeschooling!

If you’re simply looking for yet another toy to add the collection, there are less expensive options out there.

However, if you’re looking for a quality, reusable STEM program that combines engineering, critical thinking, and hands-on learning into one organized activity that’ll be enjoyed again and again by your kids…iBrick offers considerably more educational value than a traditional brick-building set.

I’ll be including the remainder of the iBrick lessons into our homeschooling days this year and can’t wait to see how my kids grow in their robotics and engineering skills! Will you be doing the same? Let me know in the comments below!

Until next time, stay safe, & enjoy quality time with your family,