Kits for Learning

Lies, damn lies and early Meccano instructions.

Kits are a very good way to entertain and amuse the builder but they can also perform a useful educational function. Legend has it that the instructions contained in early Meccano sets had deliberate mistakes printed into the step-by-step guide. This may, or may not be true but many budding engineers first gained the skills for their calling from Meccano.

 The pieces contained in this new Meccano set perform fewer functions than the earlier sets.

Many of the new Meccano and Lego kits today contain parts that perform only one function and only a limited number of outcomes are possible to construct from these kits. Whilst the young builders of these new kits are no doubt having fun, it is worth considering whether these types of kits are limiting the imaginative opportunities for the modern kit builder.