Spirograph Design Tin Set

The Spirograph Design Set Tin holds seven precision wheels, a precision ring, and a precision rack, plus two design pens, a 10-page guide book, and a 24-page design pad. A pen drops through a hole in one of the toothed wheels, which rolls around the inside or outside of the ring to trace a looping curve. Five grams of reusable putty holds the pieces to the paper, replacing the pins earlier sets used, and the gears take most standard pens and pencils too. Everything snaps into a storage tray inside the tin. The pattern you get depends on the ratio between the wheel's teeth and the ring's, so kids pick up gear ratios and symmetry by swapping wheels. Ages 8 and up.

Something I loved as a kid, part focus and tracing practice, part art, and a quiet intro to how patterns and symmetry work.