ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Zometool Building Toy

Updated on September 11, 2014

This is What the Math, Science and Engineering Lovers on Your Gift List Want!

If you are looking for a gift for anyone from age 6 to adult who loves math and construction, you should definitely add Zometools to your gift list!

With Zometools, you can build geometric models, DNA models, geodesic domes, and other cool models. You can make bubble sculptures, explore crystals and viruses, build structures ... the possibilities are endless.

Read on to find out more about Zometool, what you can do with it, and where to buy it. Or see what Zometool is available on Amazon.com today.

Photo: A friend's daughter shows off her Zome models

Zometool Sets

Zometool can be bought in sets of many sizes, as well as small project kits. The Creator 1 is an entry-level set, good for building small models.

There are other sets up to college classroom size.

What is Zome? - Nodes and Struts ...

Creator 1 Set (there's a case and instructions, too_
Creator 1 Set (there's a case and instructions, too_

Zometools consists of spherical nodes and colored struts of different lengths.

Each node has holes in which to fit struts. There are three types of holes, carefully placed on each node. Each different strut color will fit one type of hole. For example, to make a cube you use blue struts. Yellow struts are for triangles, and red are for pentagons. When used in the right combinations, an infinite number of shapes can be made.

Is it Zome or Zometool? - It's both

Great Grand Stellated 120-Cell
Great Grand Stellated 120-Cell

Zome was originally a term invented by Steve Baer to describe a specific system. of making large buildings by connecting geodescic panels together to form weird, domelike sstructures.. Later, the modeling system with hubs and struts was developed and also called Zome. Eventually Baer asked the makers of Zome to use a different word, so the two systems wouldn't be confused, and the term Zometool was created for the hub and strut system.

People who have been using Zometool since before the name change still call it Zome. In this article, I use both terms.

So, What Do You Think?

By now you have an idea of what Zometool are, and what you can do with them.

Does Zome Look Like Fun to You?

See results
Zometool Bucky Ball Kit
Zometool Bucky Ball Kit
Learn about buckyballs and build a 6" diameter model.
 

ZomeTool Project Kits - Small Fun

In addition to the larger sets, Zometool has many small single project kits. To the right is a link to one.

Save Your Broken Parts!

Zometool parts are very sturdy, but they do break occasionally. Zometool Inc. will replace all broken parts.

Zometool at eBay

The one drawback with Zometool is that it is a bit expensive. I think it has so much play value that the cost is worth paying, but for you bargain hunters, here are some current eBay auctions on Zometool.

The selection changes often, and is keyed to the term "zometool", so occasionally, odd items may appear.

Zome Geometry: Hands-on Learning with Zome Models
Zome Geometry: Hands-on Learning with Zome Models
This is a good general book on building with Zometools
 

Books About Zome

There are several books on Amazon.com about Zome. More books, papers, and lesson plans can be found on the Zometools website. see below for the link.

Paul's Big Bag of Parts
Paul's Big Bag of Parts

Extra Parts

Though the ""Buy Now" links on this page go to Amazon.com (Supersaver shipping! Discount prices!) Zometool has its own website and ordering pages. Zometool sells parts individually, specialty parts (colored nodes), and kits not available elsewhere.

One of the best bargains on the Zometools site is "Paul's Big Bag of Parts". This is a bag of at least 120 random parts, all usable. Some are excess inventory, others are odd colors (pink nodes and struts). The bag is $9.90, an excellent deal.

The Zometools website also has links to papers about the zometools system, lesson plans for teachers, ans photos of impressive models.

Comments!

Have you used Zometools, or a similar product? Built any good models? Share with us!

[I would love to post photos of your models. Leave a comment and I'll contact you.]

working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)