Science Toy Review

As star theater/toy planetariums go, the Uncle Milton Star Theater SE was about par for the course. Ie., it was a little disappointing. In any kid’s bedroom with a normal ceiling, the stars are a little hard to see. I had to put it on a shelf (or high dresser) which made it closer to the ceiling to really be able to see much. Maybe I am a bit too critical (as an adult) since my 7-year-old son seemed to enjoy it. The best part of it to me was the CD/DVD it comes with. That was actually the most educational and enjoyable part of it.

I can’t in good faith give this a two-thumbs-up review. It does come in great packaging and any kid would be excited to get to open this as a new present. And the CD was pretty educational. But it’s made of fairly simple plastic and I doubt it will last a long time. And I found the projections it put out to be overall fairly weak.

My opinion - there are much better science toys out there. This time of year there are many lists of best selling toys and you can probably find something a bit more functional, durable and fun.

Its easy and fun for young children to learn the alphabet letter sounds and over 500 three-letter words! The GeoSafari Phonics Lab features standard 1/4 inch headphone jack; raised tactile letter keys that light up during game play; 7 interactive beginning reading games; 20 colorful double-sided word cards; 28-page reproducible book with assessments sight word cards, and simple storybooks students can make and read themselves; and a Teachers Guide.

Seven fun learning games:

1. Alphabet Song - Sing along and learn the ABCs!
2. Lets Learn the Alphabet - Learn as you light up the letters!
3. Lights Out Alphabet Search - Test your Alphabet I.Q. as you switch off the lights!
4. Lets Learn the Sound Alphabet - Discover letter sounds as you light up each letter!
5. Lights Out Sound Search - Check your Sound Alphabet I.Q.
6. Secret Word Maker - Learn to spell 120 three-letter words!
7. Word Explorer - Spell almost any three-letter word (word bank has over 500 words!).

Overall review- a great educational toy for the youngster just learning to read.

This is one pretty cool science kit. I’ve been pleased with most all of the Ein-O science toys and kits I’ve reviewed so far and this one is pretty much as cool as all the others. Don’t let the picture fool you, this is actually one pretty packed toy. It comes with a great instruction manual and all the scientific equipment to do 30 experiments.

Some of the topics the Ein-O Rocket Science Explorer cover are: energy, matter, forces and light. There are a few aeronautics and rocket-type experiments but there are just as many that have to do with basic physics. It’s recommended for ages six and up, but I could see where anyone up to about 11 or 12 might benefit from some of the lessons it teaches. Like all of the Ein-O science kits, my overall recommendation is that it’s a pretty good educational value for the money.

I love almost all of the Ein-O Science toys and this one was no exception. This Discovery Tank “opens up the spectacular expanse of space” as it claims in the toy’s description. Okay, so that’s a little hokey but it’s still a pretty cool toy. It comes with a small mobile of the solar system for kids to put together. It’s not too detailed, but will give most youngsters a nice introduction. The space shuttle actually glows in the dark. The model of the astronaut is pretty cool as well as the space station. And oh yeah, it also comes with a star finder.

Do note that this isn’t a huge kit, as it all fits in a box a little smaller than a shoe box, but it is packed with several fun learning toys. And for about $17 US, the Ein-O Space Science Discovery Tank is a solid educational toy.

. This kit provides a great introduction to Space Science. Includes Ein-O’s I Know Guide.

This is a pretty clever toy for any kid interested in astronomy or the solar system. And it makes a perfect night light for any younger kids who may be starting to get interested in science. With this nifty science toy, kids can look up at their own moon in their own room. You can set this one to cycle through all the moon’s phases or you can manually cycle through them with the included remote control.

While this toy isn’t my favorite of all things dealing with the planets or the solar system, it is fairly economical and for the price is a pretty good buy. The Uncle Milton Moon in my Room also comes with an educational CD that teaches kids all kinds of interesting facts about our closest neighbor in the solar system.

I love all the Scientific Explorer science kits but this one was particularly fun. The kit comes with enough stuff to make up to 15 different flavors but you could really make an indefinite number by combining the extracts in any way you want. How about pickle-juice/marshmallow gum? Okay, so that sounds pretty nasty but it might be kind of fun to make. Aside from what comes with the kit, you could really explore the options by digging around in your own pantry or refrigerator.

All that is great fun, but what’s really cool (for us parents) is that kids will learn some of the chemistry behind what goes into making chewing gum. Have you ever wondered who the scientists are that come up with the various flavors of gum? Well this kit isn’t going to answer that for you, but it could make your kid want to become one of those scientists someday. Okay, so this is a pretty cool kit overall. It’s got enough gum-making stuff in it for several rounds of scientific exploring or one big group activity. I can see this being pretty educational (and fun) for a small elementary school class or for homeschooling parents or even for your kid’s birthday party. For around $25 US, the Scientific Explorer Ultimate Gum Kit is a pretty sweet deal.

If you’ve ever played with one of these 10-in-1 or 50-in-1 electronics kits, you know how educational they can be. I got my first kit when I was about ten years old. It was one of those from Radio Shack, and from what I remember it was comparable to this one by GeoSafari. I tried this one out, and wow, it brought back lots of memories. I can’t say I got as excited now (as a thirty-something year old grown up) as I did when I built my first crystal radio as a ten year old. But still, it was kind of fun. And for a kid doing these experiments for the first time, I’m sure they’re as much fun now as they were 30 years ago.

With this kit, kids get to build a Morse code telegraph, a burglar alarm, and of course the simple radio. The instruction guide is decent and walks kids through all the projects in a fairly straightforward manner. The GeoSafari 10-in-1 Electronic Lab is recommended for ages 9 and up and I agree that that is about right in this case. Much younger and they would need more adult supervision. But on the same note, much older than about 13 and they might find the kit too elementary. For about $20 US, I can recommend this as one of the better valued science toys around.

We’re happy to announce that the Science Toy Review is partnering with Atomic Elephant Toy to offer free gift certificates for the 2008 holiday season! Shop from their store with thousands of educational toys - most with a science and nature theme, but some general education toys as well.

How can you get one of these free gift certificates?

It’s simple if you have a blog and write about any of the following topics: family life, parenting, children, education, science, toys and anything related to these. Simply write a post and link to their best selling toys page with the anchor text “best selling toys” and any product on the site that interests you. For example, the Uncle Milton Star Theater Planetarium would be a great one. You don’t have to post any pictures but they would like at least a couple of short paragraphs about their products.

Once you write the post, go to their “contact us” page and let them know about the link. They will email you an electronic gift certificate to be used for anything in the store. The denominations of the award will be based primarily on your blog’s page rank and number of readers. Here’s the basic breakdown:

PR0-2: $10

PR3-4: $20

PR5-6: $30

PR7: $50

PR8+: $75

If you have any questions about their offer, you can use their website’s contact form. Give it a shot! You’ve got nothing to lose but a couple of minutes of your time.

If you’re looking for a Halloween-themed chemistry set, this might be the only one out there! And this one is really kind of cool. With the Wild Science Scary Soap science kit, kids will get to create gruesomely lifelike brain-shaped soap. Operate on special castings to make slippery soap eyeballs. Graft soap fingers onto your soap creations to scare everyone — including you! Blend colors and fragrance to make your own signature soap. Experiment in the kitchen to make astonishing new soaps. Your creations will make wonderfully repulsive gifts for friends and relatives, assuming they are willing to wash with such horrific soap. Each kit contains enough material to make several soap projects with plenty left for experimenting.

I love all of the Wild Science chemistry sets and this one was no exception. You can usually find this kit for around $20 US. Of course, my favorite online educational science toy store is Atomic Elephant Toy. While you’re at it, check out their list of the best selling toys of 2008. They offer some great science kits!

I thought I would take a break from reviewing educational toys tonight and take a look at something much more mainstream and popular. I’ve heard a lot about the anime TV series “Bakugan Battle Brawlers” and was wondering what all the fuss is about. The product description says this: “kids 4 and above will enjoy the challenge of earning points by rolling their Bakugan (or shooting them from a launcher) onto magnetic cards where the plastic spheres burst open to reveal the fearsome warrior apparatus inside. Kids will also love the way the Bakugan transform suddenly into warrior mode, and fans of the show will have an especially good time with the game.”

So this particular set retails between $35-$40 US. Not too cheap, but there are certainly a lot more expensive toys out there. More of the description from Amazon follows.

The mission of Bakugan game play is to battle against other Bakugan to win the points awarded on the cards by getting your Bakugan to land on card. Players will love pretending to be one of the various characters in the show, such as the fiery 12-year-old leader “Dan” or the wise “Marucho,” and they gain a deeper understanding of the cards and warriors as they play.

The Battle Pack includes instructions, making it an ideal way for newbies to get started with this fun and exciting game. The game itself is fairly straightforward, but if your child has never played before, you might have to help him or her to understand the rules — after reading and understanding them yourself. While some of the plastic Bakugan pieces are small and could easily get lost, others, like the Bakugan Deka, are as big as a softball.

If your child is already a Bakugan fan, the Battle Pack is a good investment. This set comes with six randomly selected Bakugan and eight magnetic cards. Your child will love how this set dramatically increases their collection of Bakugan! He or she can also use the Battle Pack to play with his friends who might not have any Bakugan of their own.

So yeah, this sounds pretty exciting and interesting. I may have to do a little more research and try it out with my son this holiday season. I’ll bet this will make several lists of the best selling Christmas toys of 2008.