STEAMAS with Tinkering Labs and Tryazon! ~ Let Me Review That For You!

In our homeschooling household we are all about making new traditions, and coming up with some-what-wacky themes or names for our activities. So, it was perfection when we were selected to host a Tinkering Labs party from Tryazon. It was also a bit stressful, would we be able to pull this party? I think by the feedback of all our guests, we did! Here is a bit more on how everything went...

Tinkering Labs Electric Motors Catalyst Kit box

For some weeks before being selected, I had been throwing the idea that I wanted to do merge between two of our son’s passions: STEM and Christmas. It took some tinkering to fuse them in a way that our to be guests would understand the concept but once the name was set, there was no walking back. We were going to celebrate our very own, and the very first, all ages welcomed and involved STEAMAS!

First, let’s decipher what the name means: What is STEAMAS? STEAM is our way (and many others) of including arts into our regular STEM learning, and MAS, well, for it being our “crowd” of guests.

After those details were figured… It was time to create our invite which without any doubt was the best time for me, as I love the creative process that goes with it to the max! Everyone approved the invite, and we moved on… We moved on to plowing and removing snow all over because Mother Nature decided to throw in some (a lot!) of snow on all of us. But that was not going to stop us from STEAMASing with our friends.

STEAMAS 2019 Invite

Party day arrived.

Oh! Before I forget, if you are planning a party, the magical “bring your favorite party snack” suggestion is a must! I was hesitant to do so but after reading it as a Tryazon party tip, I decided to give it a try. It was great! It not only supplied foods that guests who brought it would eat, it also brought everyone together as people wanted to know more about each food, so the party snacks ended up becoming a way to break the ice between guests who didn’t know each other.

Some of the snacks!

As soon as our guests began to arrive, they gravitated to the table were the Tinkering Labs’ Electric Motors Catalyst robotic STEM kits were set. There were two sets; one was out of the box on display so everyone could get familiar with the parts. After a brief introduction of everyone, my husband introduced Tinkering Labs, and I proceeded to introduce Tryazon.

Motors Catalyst Kit display

STEAMAS was on! As soon as all the introductions were done, strangers (at that moment) paired up creating Team A and B, and the tinkering began! I cannot find words to describe how much fun it was for everyone, EVERYONE! From the youngest to the eldest of guests, they were all hands on, exchanging ideas, and plans.

We even watch some Tinkering Labs videos!

The Electric Motors Catalyst robotic STEM kits were (and are!) just an awesome! Everyone loved that it did not have instructions. Nope! You cannot say you did it wrong because it has no right or wrong way(s), it simply has 10 cards with challenges for your creative scientist mind to take on. We started with challenge card number 3 which simply says, “Build a machine that draws curvy lines.” Oh, how everyone’s creativity came out! All the giggles, laughter and chatter was so refreshing to be part of. I was afraid that some of our guests would be hesitant to join the fun, but I could not be more wrong about it! Everyone had a suggestion, everyone was hands on, and everyone was involved. There were no ages, divisions or anything, it was just teams!

Let me tell you about the kits! As I mentioned, we had 2 robotic kits. Other than using a Minifig as a “Make a ride for one of your toys”, nothing else was needed! The challenge cards are simple to read which definitely brought out everyone’s imagination. It even brings a pair of safety glasses! The kits do not require previous knowledge of robotics which I found to be one of the best things ever as it made people who doubted themselves at the beginning leave with a great sense of accomplishment, and wanting to do more. Some guests wanted to conquer all the 10 challenges, others created their own. At the end of the night, we even received requests for more parties with “teams”.

Challenge #4

I wanted to capture a group photo but it was impossible to get our guests to part from the table with the kits, no one wanted to interrupt their flow of ideas! We had other things to do as a backup just in case we had guests that were not engaged with the Tinkering Labs’ kits but everyone was! At the end, we surprised our guests with Tinkering Labs stickers, a discount code, and a “thank you for coming” cookie cutters set!

Our "Thank you!" gift

Overall, it was so mystifying to witness all of our guests bonding together, leaving behind the stress of everyday, and any other differences aside to have fun in such clever, out of the box and creative ways. This was an experience I wish everyone could have because we all need to disconnect to reconnect.

Wf-Fi free fun for all!

By the way, our kit has not been put away since the day of the party. It is used, changed, re-done and re-imagined every single day! No need of tablets, phones, or anything else! Perfect evening activity to unwind before bed.

Just another evening tinkering around!

As a mother that is always trying to find different ways to promote learning and play time without Wi-Fi connections involved, Tinkering Labs and Tryazon have given me the ability to achieve such a difficult ideal. My family (and friends) know that they can disconnect from all, and let their mind take over without rights or wrongs. Thank you!