Customer Reviews for Educational Insights Design & Drill Activity Center (4112)
58 reviews
Most helpful positive review
Posted Sep 28, 2010
Hours of Fun!
The Design & Drill is a wonderful product for my 5 year old. Even though he is very coordinated, this product still challenges him, and brings out his creativity for designing patterns and more. Even my 2 1/2 yr old son was facinated by it and although this is a product for ages 3+, I felt comfortable playing along side my younger son and letting him explore too! Good s...
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Most helpful critical review
Posted Jan 7, 2011
Cheaply made moving parts
The jumbo power screwdriver is poorly constructed. The one we got out of the box didn't work. We ordered another and it didn't work either. Seems that the soldering on the connections is faulty. We heard rattling inside both screwdrivers we received.
Mme Reach
Reviewed at:
Educational Insights
Posted Mar 25, 2025
Nice concept but the drill doesn't last long.
Tried this product twice for my K5 class - they love working with it. I am very disappointed in the drills. Both drills ran out of battery quickly, and putting in new batteries did not work. The drills are useless.
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Shari
This reviewer received a free product or coupon in exchange for an unbiased review of the product
Reviewed at:
Educational Insights
Posted May 23, 2021
Terrific!
It was a real hit with our granddaughter. She kept going back to play with it over and over again. I highly recommend. Also, nice quality.
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Janene
Reviewed at:
Educational Insights
Posted Feb 8, 2021
Update to my last review
I should have called the company first before I made a negative comment. They did an outstanding job of making me happy! I would buy this toy again and again. Sorry to the company.
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mike
This reviewer received a free product or coupon in exchange for an unbiased review of the product
Reviewed at:
Educational Insights
Posted Jul 9, 2020
Screen free product!!
Pecrfect for stimulating the mind and great for visual motor integration.
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Mapmom
Reviewed at:
Educational Insights
Posted Jul 18, 2019
Storage
No matter how you situate it, you have to unscrew the bolts to get the drill to also fit back in the box. My youngest (3) wants to screw them in and then put it away, meaning more work on the clean up for Mom :(
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Theo's Umma
Reviewed at:
Educational Insights
Posted Jul 2, 2019
My son loves this toy!
As soon as I saw this toy, I knew my son would love it. He loves building things and so this is the perfect construction toy for him using the drill, tools and drill bits. He played with this for a solid hour, first "building" the activity cards and then became more creative by making his own pattern shapes. He loved drilling the bolts in just as much as removing the bo...
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Jenny C
Reviewed at:
Educational Insights
Posted Jun 28, 2019
Creative and fun toy for kids of all ages!
We already own a design & drill set so I knew my kids would love this activity center and I was right! My girls who are 4.5 years old and 2.5 years old loved creating different designs and I loved seeing them take turns using the power drill and screwdriver. This set comes with 20 activity cards so my 4.5 year old enjoyed picking an activity card and creating it on the ...
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Linda
Reviewed at:
Educational Insights
Posted May 23, 2019
I now have two sets and am hoping for a third.
I had one of these last year and several of the parts disappeared during summer school, so I ordered a second set. These are great fine motor toys for a special education class. It practices a needed skill set without any pencils or papers. All my students (K-5) love it.
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OT
Reviewed at:
Educational Insights
Posted Mar 13, 2019
Therapist in Nursing Home. Residents enjoy it
I use this product with my geriatric patients for problem solving and fine motor coordination. It is a great addition to our Tx options!
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Molly
Reviewed at:
Educational Insights
Posted Jan 4, 2019
So much fun!
My boys love it! They received it as a gift, but there were no activity cards. Is there a way to get more cards somewhere? I even tried to find some printable ones but couldn't find any. They still enjoy it though, even without designs to make!
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Staples Customer
Verified Buyer
Posted Aug 16, 2018
This is our favorite toy ever!!! So educational and good quality. I love it as much as my kids.
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Mom of boys
Reviewed at:
Educational Insights
Posted Jul 20, 2018
An all around winner!
Purchased this for my 5 year old son. I LOVE the durability of it...definitely not cheap or flimsy! It captured the attention of all five of my boys
(7 years - 8months) immediately. The educational applications are great (colors, numbers, patterns, ordinal position, spatial awareness). But this toy is so fun that my boys learning through play. How wonderful!
(7 years - 8months) immediately. The educational applications are great (colors, numbers, patterns, ordinal position, spatial awareness). But this toy is so fun that my boys learning through play. How wonderful!
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Taichigrandma
Reviewed at:
Educational Insights
Posted Nov 11, 2017
Love it however we need some replacement parts.
I received this second hand and need a few replacement parts. My grandsons love it. They just love the drill. Please advise me how to get a few parts. I need the Flat tip bit, the Phillips bit and the screwdriver. Thank you
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Ace
Reviewed at:
Educational Insights
Posted Jun 24, 2017
Thought it was different
I originally got this because I thought it would be really fun for my three-year-old to do because he likes taking things apart and putting them together.I was kind of disappointed because I thought that when you had your design sheet that you were able to clip it underneath and the color would show through the circle. And then the child could see the color and put the ...
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Anna
Reviewed at:
Educational Insights
Posted Nov 1, 2016
5 in one
We just got it. So fare everything works good.
In fact we made up several educational games out of it. I set up five colors, took one away and kids had to guess which one is missing. To make it harder, make a pattern, take away one, or two colors, they have to guess which one is missing.
We mixed all bolts together and I gave each child their own color and they had to ...
In fact we made up several educational games out of it. I set up five colors, took one away and kids had to guess which one is missing. To make it harder, make a pattern, take away one, or two colors, they have to guess which one is missing.
We mixed all bolts together and I gave each child their own color and they had to ...
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VeeKaloose
Reviewed at:
Educational Insights
Posted Sep 22, 2016
Great Toy, Poorly Designed Case
My 4 year old boy and 2 year old girl love this toy. They love to mess around with drilling and undrilling things. The only flaw is that the case isn't very kid friendly. You have to place each nut, bolt, and piece in a certain way in order for the case to close. I have difficulty as a parent to even do it sometimes. For us, the kids just leave it open in the 'tool area...
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Carla C.
Reviewed at:
Educational Insights
Posted Sep 16, 2016
A Favorite Toy!
I bought this for three boys we adopted 12 years ago. One is 15 now, special needs, and he continues to love this toy! We are buying our 3rd drill because he broke it (He is tough on toys). I am so thankful you continue to provide replacements, as he has only a few favorite toys that he plays with over and over.
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WonderMom
Reviewed at:
Educational Insights
Posted Aug 22, 2016
So Many Options - Hours of Fun!
My twins were SO excited to receive this toy! It was perfect for them because it has two drills. Everything was very easy to work, and they dove right into it. It then evolved into making patterns and getting more creative. This toy kept my boys entertained for a very long time, and I love how it challenged them and got them thinking about the way things work. It's defi...
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Cindi
Reviewed at:
Educational Insights
Posted Aug 16, 2016
Big hit with my boys!
I received this product for free to provide my honest feedback.
My sons (age 6 and 4) love this drill set! They will sit for hours and play and design different patterns. They love the different bolts (regular and ones with shapes) and the different drills and wrenches it comes with. I like that it all comes in one case, for easy play and storage. Some of the drill bit...
My sons (age 6 and 4) love this drill set! They will sit for hours and play and design different patterns. They love the different bolts (regular and ones with shapes) and the different drills and wrenches it comes with. I like that it all comes in one case, for easy play and storage. Some of the drill bit...
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Lea H
Reviewed at:
Educational Insights
Posted Aug 14, 2016
Fun for busy fingers.
Our 5 year old son loves all of the Design & Drill products and this most recent addition has been the best yet. We love the carry case that has room for all the tools, bolts and board. Love the combinations of power and manual tools and the new bolt styles with fun designs. We have been using the toy to practice patterns which is something his preschool teacher had sug...
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