Magic Curie is a cute, programmable LEGO-compatible STEM kit “for girls” (their words, not mine). You’ll need to build the model from bricks first, then learn ScratchJr to program it. It’s currently crowdfunding on Indiegogo for the low price of $67, and might make a great gift for a creative young brick builder in your life (of any gender).

The Concept

"The first thematic programming blocks for girls", the campaign proudly claims. Magic Curie is the first character—six are planned—in the Alpha Girls series, and is loosely based on Madame Curie. Very loosely, indeed. The series aims to highlight six of the most famous and influential women in science, in the hopes of inspiring more young girls to take up STEAM subjects. It's an admirable goal, and certainly more than the skin-deep purple and pink would suggest.

This 820 piece set consists of a motor module, light purple sports car, trailer carrying a bright pink flask, and accompanying app. Kids are guided step by step through the construction, then eased into coding, as well as given the option to just play with the remote control functionality.

Unboxing

The Magic Curie set is exquisitely well presented in a pretty gift box. Inside you’ll find another box containing the brick parts, as well as “invitation letter”, and some collectable cards.

Our sample was as-yet unlocalised, so the text is mostly in Chinese. We’ve been assured that final production units will be in English, however.

Before doing anything else, you should download the app by following the listed QR code. The same app—entitled iHoneycomb—has been used for a number of STEM toys over the years, so it’s not obvious that it works with the Magic Curie set. But rest assured, that’s the one. You might also want to charge the motor module so you don't need to wait around after building.

Building the Magic Curie

The set is aimed at ages 6 and up, and I’d say that’s optimistic. Younger ages will require a lot of parental supervision for the build, even if they’ve got some LEGO experience—and I’d recommend using the app on a tablet rather than phone. The instructions are presented only in digital form through the app, and they’re really too small, even if you can pinch to zoom.

On a phone screen, you’ll find yourself pinching and scrolling around a lot. Given the digital nature of the set, you’d think a fully interactive 3D model step-by-step might have been an offer, but alas, it seems more like a scanned version of some paper instructions. The app could really do with a once over by a native speaker though. At various points of the build you'll be presented with random pop ups that I assume are achievements, but it's not explained and some will leave you bamboozled. "Get Colorpan!" It proudly proclaims. The icon looks like a paint palette. Their appearance is random, and not correlated with anything other than simply progressing through the instructions.

Other than the technical parts (including a total of 96 tiny chain links to connect together), the actual build process isn’t complex, though it can be fiddly. My son (almost 8) managed to put it together in a few hours, though it did need some daddy-intervention at times to correct bits that he’d rushed. Considering these are off-brand bricks, they snap together and hold well.

Once completed, you'll need to lift up the seating area to access the microUSB charging port, and the on/off button. There's no complex pairing required—simply press the button to turn it on, then press the link button in the app, and it'll all be done within seconds. If only all Bluetooth toys were this reliable.

ScratchJr and The Learning Journey

Since it's designed for ages of around 6 years old, the full visual programming language Scratch would have been a bit much. Instead, the Magic Curie set makes use of ScratchJr, which is an even more simplified version of the drag-and-drop programming blocks. It's very similar to the system used in LEGO's own remote control cars, so my son was already familiar with it.

Arguably more important than the underlying system is the learning journey. You’ll need to complete all five series of lessons before you unlock the ability to run your own programs with all of the possible blocks. Each one consists of about 10 steps introducing the various blocks, and it’s all rather simple to the point that after explaining how to drag or split blocks.

That said, we experienced a few frustrating bugs, where having created a program which matched exactly what it wanted us to create, it still said it was wrong. In this case, we found that going back and restarting the lesson, then following the instructions to the letter was required. Even if your program matches because you built it from scratch, if you didn’t create it in the same way the app tells you to, it won’t allow you to pass. Hopefully this can be fixed before the final release.

At the end of it all, you’ve got a programmable, remote control, cute pink sports car. Neat!

These Aren't LEGO Bricks

If you’ve been away from LEGO for a while, you might be wondering how another company is allowed to produce something that’s such a blatant copy of your beloved childhood toys, even down to using the same standardised part numbers. The patent on the design of LEGO bricks expired many years ago, so it’s now perfectly legal to produce generic LEGO-shaped bricks, as long as you don’t actually call it the L-word anywhere on your marketing.

That said, real LEGO bricks are produced to such exacting standards and tolerances that fake LEGO can never truly compete. For any LEGO households, the introduction of fake LEGO is usually a deal breaker. It’s just isn’t the same. The bricks in the Magic Curie set are good, but not as good as real LEGO.

If you’ll allow me to geek out for a moment: AFOLs (Adult Fans of LEGO) will know immediately that this is not an official LEGO product. The 4x4x11 curved panel, normally used in hot air balloons, has never been produced in translucent colors. While I’m normally averse to any kind of non-LEGO bricks, I’m tempted to make an exception for a new hot pink transparent air balloon in my layout.

Do We Need STEM Toys for Girls?

Is it right to target STEM products at girls specifically? When LEGO was first created, the message was quite clear: this is for both genders. But then LEGO broke its own gender-neutral marketing, and created the decidedly pink and cutesy Friends line, which this particular STEM toy draws inspiration from.

While the LEGO group now maintains that all of its toys are for all genders, the colors used and placement within stores tells a different story: that of reinforcing traditional gender stereotypes. The LEGO group's own research showed that parents are twice as likely to encourage boys to engage with coding toys than if they were girls.

So it’s a shame LEGO doesn’t make their own female-targeted STEM toys, because products like this are evidently needed. Alpha Egg has a done a great job of producing interlocking generic bricks, even down to the Friend’s mini figure, but those with an existing LEGO collection will get better long term value from an official LEGO technic or robotics play set with motor components (such as the LEGO Boost). Whether or not you can encourage your daughter to play with that is on you.

Taken in isolation, this is a fantastic beginner STEM toy for all children, with hours of play, that ties nicely into the early years curriculum. Scratch is taught in UK schools from Key Stage 2 (7-10 years old), so this should give them a good head start.

On the other hand, there's a lot more than the Magic Curie kit could have been. The learning journey is basic, and really only introduces the different types of blocks. There's very little challenge to it, and my son had unlocked all the lessons by the next day. Nor is there anything factual to learn about Madame Curie, which seems amiss on a kit aimed to empower girls and teach about powerful women from science. The theming is weak, and just doesn't do justice to its namesake. The incredible women they're drawing inspiration from deserve better.

Disclaimer: It's a Crowdfunding Campaign

As ever, the usual crowdfunded caveat applies: backing a project doesn't guarantee anything. It is not a pre-order, and the creator is not legally obliged to ship you anything, merely to show that the funds were used in a good faith attempt to do so.

That said, the product we receive is almost fully developed, and just needs some final localization for the box text. I doubt they even needed to use Kickstarter (or Indiegogo, either). At the time of writing, the meagre goal was apparently smashed, with an average of $301 per backer. At $67 for a single set, that must mean a fair few people who believe in the project enough to order classroom or retail sets (or that the numbers aren’t from real backers).

There are a few alarm bells for the project. Numerous publications are listed without context—such as PC Gamer and Time—but I can't find any mention of the project there. There’s also zero comments, which is unusual for any Kickstarter.