Product Reviews

Product Review: Magna-Tiles

Posted by Anneliese Lawton

Family-Tested, Family-Approved

You’re here because you want to know if Magna-Tiles is awesome - we did, too. That’s why real parents put everything on our marketplace to the test. Every play-essential brand on Peeka & Co. is vetted - aka, played with by real families to ensure it meets our standards and values. After racing toy cars, rocking baby dolls, and building with blocks - we review our experience. Only the best products make it to our marketplace. This is our family-tested, family-approved approach. And most importantly, it's how we ensure a brand aligns with your values, too.

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MAGNA-TILES
Who is Magna-Tiles?

In 1997 American resident Rudy Valenta discovered Magna-Tiles while visiting Japan. They were invented by a Japanese mathematics teacher who wanted to create a better hands-on experience for children when learning geometric shapes. Rudy loved the product so much that he brought the rights to the toy, changing the name from Pythagoras to Magna-Tiles. Sales began slowly, but Magna-Tiles are now “ubiquitous” among young children in North America (and in our home, too). 

How Does it Work?

Some of the best toys come without instructions, and Magna-Tiles is one of them. These colorful magnetic blocks encourage unstructured STEM learning and spark imagination. In addition, the magnetic tiles and shapes are specially designed to help little ones of all ages develop motor, social, cognitive, and emotional skills. Children can design 2-D and 3-D structures by stacking, building a cube, or creating a small house for their favorite toys. Magna-Tiles come in a rainbow of bright colors and easily “click” together to create letters, numbers, animals, buildings and anything else children can imagine!

Little girl engineers a large castle with the sturdy, magnetic Magna-Tiles.

What Does it Cost?

Smaller Magna-Tiles sets start at around $30 while larger sets are $100+. 

First Impression 

We’re a family who not only loves Magna-Tiles but loves STEM learning, so our first impression was “yay!” We were so excited to add more tiles to our collection. The Magna-Tiles 100-Piece Set comes with 100 translucent, colorful shapes including 4 large squares, 50 small squares, 20 equilateral triangles, 11 right triangles, and 15 isosceles triangles. The colors are bright, beautiful and double-sided. I especially love that they can easily be stored away in their original box. Since they’re made from a safe and durable plastic, they’re easy to clean – and I feel confident my littlest one is safe playing with them as well. 


Orange, yellow and green tiles click together with safari animal tile figures on a white background.

While Magna-Tiles look like simple magnetic blocks, the building sets engage young minds by fusing together math, science, and creativity. You can mix Magna-Tiles sets together to take building to the next level. We even incorporated our 25-Piece Jungle Animals Set to make a storyline together. 

What makes this brand/product special?

Magna-Tiles were invented for a simple reason: to help kids learn geometric concepts at home and school. They were created by a Japanese math teacher and brought to the United States in 1997 – they quickly became a favorite for children, parents, and teachers. 

Each colorful Magna-Tiles is made with premium components designed to last for years and to keep children safe. They offer hands-on learning – which is essential when it comes to math and science – and can be enjoyed by the entire family. There’s really no limit when it comes to the playful learning activities and cool experiments you can create with Magna-Tiles. In addition to their safety features (they’re made of non-toxic materials and stainless steel rivets) they’re gender neutral and can be loved by kids of all abilities.

Little boy sits behind his Magna-Tiles construction of a large, multi colored castle.

VALUE STANDARDS
  • Child Development: Foster an interest in stem topics (such as design, architecture and coding) while also promoting fine motor skills development and color identification. 
  • Clean Ingredients: Made of non-toxic material, stainless steel rivets, and highly-translucent, clear colors that are not foggy. 
  • Ethical Production
  • Expert Recommend
CONCLUSION

As a mom of three kids – ages 2, 4, and 6 – I’m always looking for a toy or activity that can occupy all three, and Magna-Tiles always does the trick. My two year old loves stacking the blocks into a tall tower while my 4 and 6 year old create more extensive builds including houses and rocket ships. They’re a great way to encourage free play (and reduce screen time) while also encouraging an interest in STEM learning. Even though our collection is over 100 pieces, they’re easy to clean up and store away. We love sorting the shapes and colors into different bins. 

Magna-Tiles are a must-have for every family. There’s no limit to what my children will create – and they’re learning while they do it!