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I'm pleased to announce that More Than Gears won the prestigious 2012 TOP toy of the year award in Educational Toys category from Creative Child Magazine.  

More Than Gears is created to help children build a strong math foundation at an early age

Hi Kickstarters!  

My name is Yeoun, the creator of the toy, More Than Gears. This is a fun and unique educational toy with a ton of features excellent for children. It is precision machined for high quality and beautifully finished with paints made of recycled whey in the US. Developed for kids at age 4+, it can help children build a strong math foundation at an early age.

With your help today, I would like get them to as many children as possible.  The more you support, the more children we can help together, and the more people I can hire for the project: my shop is set up in Springfield, Illinois. Why outsource manufacturing when you have great people with great skills ready to get their hands dirty? As an engineer with advanced degrees in mechanical engineering as well as a father of two beautiful princesses (5 & 3), I'm very proud of the toy that I developed, based on extensive research and development.

So, please make a pledge today, and spread the word.

I truly appreciate your support.

Yeoun

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What is More Than Gears?

More Than Gears is an educational wooden toy that can help children build a strong math foundation. It has one internal gear, five external gears, and a wooden dowel. Invented by an engineer with advanced degrees in mechanical engineering, it offers a unique approach to inspiring children to develop imagination, stimulate creativity, and discover the joy of learning.  As the name suggests, More Than Gears is not just a wooden toy with gears. It is designed to provide multiple layers of values based on extensive research and development.

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How does it work?

As shown below, it is very simple to play More Than Gears. 

• Step 1: pick any external gear. Make sure you pick only one gear at a time
• Step 2: Align the holes at start
• Step 3: Turn the gear with a dowel either clockwise or counterclockwise

Gears are used almost everywhere in many forms. Their main purpose is to transmit motion from one location to another. However, the main purpose of More Than Gears is to inspire children to discover the joy of learning and develop an analytical mind. How? They develop motor skills and cognitive skills through play with More Than Gears. As they become familiar with gears, they may want to know more about gears; for example, what they are for in the real world and how they really work. With a clear image of gears running in their minds, they may become more curious and look for things that have gears. They may want to design their own things that have gears. That's the idea. 

Three milestones are constructed to help achieve the major goal:

 Strong hand-eye coordination is required for children to play More Than Gears. They need to hold a dowel with either hand and move their arm in a clockwise (or counterclockwise) fashion. Furthermore, the size of the external gears varies, which changes its revolution path slightly. Therefore, they have to adjust their arm movement accordingly. Inappropriate force is likely to result in gears meshing incorrectly, skipping, or disengaging. Unbeknownst to them, they develop not only motor skills, but also attention skills.

Try both hands at the same time if you have two

With skills acquired in reaching Milestone 1, they are prepared to find out what is going on. For example, count the total number of teeth of each gear, associate gear with color, count the total number of rotations of each gear for one revolution, and compare the teeth number with the rotation number. For example, for one revolution, a gear with 10 teeth needs to rotate 6 times, while a gear with 30 teeth rotates 2 times. It makes them wonder why it happens. Instead of teaching them that 15X4 = 60, they can choose the gear with 15 teeth, make one revolution, count how many times it rotates, and realize that it matches the total number of teeth of the internal gear, which is 60. The combinations are endless. After two rotations of a gear with 15 teeth, how many rotations are needed to make one revolution? Using more than one gear, how many combinations are possible for one revolution? What about more than one revolution? Gears have no labels intentionally for the purpose of enhancing memory skills.

You can also introduce your child to addition and subtraction!

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For example, 

After mastering all the skills for Milestones 1 and 2, they are ready to learn more about gears: history of gears, different types of gears, purpose of gears, and gear ratios. They can learn this in many ways: talking with teachers, parents, or grandparents, or going to a local library and reading books, or searching online. They are encouraged to look around and see where gears are used. Some of the most common examples include bicycles, cars, and clocks: almost all moving objects have gears. They are encouraged to design their own things that have gears. It is good for them to discuss their designs and how they can be used in the real world.

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Is it safe?

 More Than Gears complies with and meets/exceeds the safety requirements set by the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) as well as standards for Canada. This product has been tested at an accredited independent toy testing laboratory located in the USA. Lab tests include mechanical, physical and chemical testing of the toys and toy components:

• ASTM F963
• CPSIA (Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act)
• CCPSA (Canada Consumer Product Safety Act)
• Canada Toy Regulations

 More Than Gears complies with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) standards, which are among the most stringent in the country for indoor air quality. It is CARB 93120 Phase 2 compliant for formaldehyde.

 If you are a retailer or a distributor, want to carry More Than Gears, and want to request a test lab report, contact us. We are happy to provide the test results. A general certificate of conformity will be included in your order for retail. 

Thank you for checking out my project today!

More Than Gears is CNC machined for high quality and beautifully finished with paints made of recycled whey in the US. I'm very proud of the toy that I developed. With your help today, I would like get them to as many children as possible.

Thank you so much!

Sincerely,

Yeoun