Uberstix is a new series of building kits unveiled at this year’s New York Toy Fair. The sets allow you to build towers, animals, vehicles or just about anything you can imagine using interchangeable plastic pieces and real-world engineering principles.

The pieces are all made from recycled plastics and come in a variety of shapes and purposes, with kits having different piece selections. The kits also are labeled with different degrees of difficulty, so someone looking to just start out doesn’t need to worry about getting too complex of a kit, while an experienced builder can look for a challenge. The pieces all click together in multiple ways, and can be used to build surprisingly large and strong structures. The guide book included with each kit does a good job of explaining what each piece does and how to make it work better at its job, with the entire thing written in a very light but intelligent voice.

Probably the coolest aspect of Uberstix is “up-cycling,” the ability to use other items and materials to create bigger and better constructs. For example, the pirate ship kit has you gathering empty water bottles and disposable coffee cups to use in construction of the ship. These materials, things you otherwise might throw away, actually allow the model to float in water. Many of the pieces included in kits are designed to use with everyday items, like Popsicle sticks and plastic bottles. The makers encourage builders to find ways to incorporate household items as well as pieces from other building kits like Kinex or LEGOs to make new structures.

The guides also give you tips to use partial or damaged Uberstix. In fact, some higher-end projects can’t be completed with the Uberstix as they are originally designed, and master builders may want multiple kits so they can modify pieces to see what new shapes and designs they can build.

There is a lot you can do with these kits, and chances are after you buy one, you’ll want more to try some of your own designs and just to play with.

One of my only complaints with Uberstix is concerning the building guides. The main Uberstix pieces have about four slots and six tines on them that click together in various ways. To illustrate new pieces being added to existing ones, the instructions show the new pieces as gray, rather than black. Even so, it can be really challenging to tell exactly how the pieces fit together, especially if you are working on a portion of a vehicle or tower or animal with a lot of these strong pieces. As such, there is a bit of trial and error, and I can easily see completing a project only to figure out several pieces are out of alignment because you misunderstood how they fit together.

I’m not sure how the instructions could be made more clear, but with both of the kits I tried, I had several times where I had to go back several steps to correct a mistake. For an adult this is frustrating; for a 6- or 7-year-old child, this could be a deal breaker and cause them to give up completely.

Even with this drawback, the kits are incredibly fun and can be a bit of a brain-burner as you figure out new ways to fit the pieces together to make different shapes. Shortly after I started on a kit to build a bird with movable wings, my 3-year-old and 7-year-old sons were stealing pieces to build a rather stable bridge spanning between two pieces of furniture.

This is a great toy, because it not only invites you to be creative, but also teaches you engineering principals while encouraging (but not too forcefully) recycling and thinking about the world around you. You can find more information on Uberstix and the kits offered by going to www.uberstix.com .

Contact Michael Erb at merb101@gmail.com