Editorial Review

Did you know that painted ladies (the butterflies, that is) taste with their feet and have 10,000 eyes? You and your kids will be fascinated by all you learn about these beautiful creatures with the Butterfly Garden from Insect Lore. The kit comes with a relatively easy-to-assemble observation chamber; supplies for feeding the butterflies (you provide only sugar and water); an informative booklet of clear instructions and butterfly facts; and a certificate for three to five free painted lady caterpillars. The metamorphosis from larva to butterfly takes about three weeks from when you receive the caterpillar larvae (which arrive in a small container with all the nutrients they need). Your children can watch the larvae increase dramatically in size, form chrysalides, and finally emerge into full-fledged painted ladies (it's suggested that they release the butterflies after a few days of observation). This would make a wonderfulactivity for families with kids of any age, but younger children will need help assembling the observationchamber and reading the instruction booklet. (Note: The manufacturer recommends that butterflies should not be set free in temperatures lower than 55 degrees Fahrenheit.) --Rachel Radway ... Read more

Reviews (65)

DEAD BUGS
I purchased this for my 7 year old daughter for christmas. I was guarenteed 3 live larve.They are all dead and I can not get ahold of the company. I would rate this a big Zero

Butterfly Garden
My sister gave this to my 8 year old daughter for her birthday.I also have a 4 year old daughter.This is one of the best gifts my children have ever received!From the start, both of my children were enthralled with the metamorposis from caterpillar to butterfly.The bonus is that there is very little that is required of parents except to make sure the instructions are followed.The caterpillars come in a plastic container that has all the food they require to grow and change.Even though one of the chrysalides fell off the paper disc under the lid, it still was able to continue metamorphosis at the bottom of the butterfly observatory.We just released our three beautiful painted lady butterflies yesterday after three weeks of wonder and excitement.Luckily my daughter's birthday is in July so we could release our butterflies when the weather is warm and the flowers are in full bloom.I recommend that you keep your butterflies safe in their observation chamber for at least two days.Two butterflies emerged before the third one did and I was afraid they weren't eating the food I provided (sugar water).Not wanting the first two to starve, I had my daughters release all of them less than a day after the third butterfly emerged.That third butterfly didn't seem ready to fly off yet and stayed in the garden on a post unmoving for a long while. I watched it to make sure it was unharmed and breathed a sigh of relief when it finally flew off.I couldn't have asked for a more fun and educational gift!

Excellent
I purchased this for my daughter's 4th birthday. The caterpillars arrived on her birthday, which she loved even more. They are now in chrysalide form and she is so excited because she can see them grow and grow every day. This is an awesome toy and have reccomended it to everyone with and with out kids. I also bought a book called "From Caterpillar to Butterfly" and it describes the metaphorsis excellently to her. 2 thumbs up. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Activity    2. Learning    3. Science    4. Bugs    5. Butterflies   

Reviews (20)

GREAT Butterfly Kit!
I have been rasing butterflies for 5 years and I LOVE this kit! It's so cool to see them chow down on their nutrient and then change into a chrysalis. I have a suggestion:DO NOT move your caterpillars around a lot, they are delicate and when moved too much, it kills them. Keep them in a quiet, warm place and watch and learn! I have chrysalids right now and they are almost ready to hatch! Tip: mist your chrysalids every other day. This increses the chance that they'll emerge healthy!

Wonderful--Raise generations of butterflies!
My son (age 5) got this from his grandparents for Christmas and it has been terrific fun for all of us.The first set of ten caterpillars grew visibly day-by-day, then pupated and emerged as butterflies in a few weeks.There is a lot of great information about painted lady and other butterfly species online and having this project got my son very interested in how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly so soon I found myself showing him multi-colored pictures of imaginal discs (the larval structures that produce the butterfly wing, leg etc. during metamorphosis) online at websites I found--a great way to get him interested in developmental biology.The first time we talked about this he decided they were actually "magical discs", given what these groups of cells can do...the whole process has been very entertaining for the whole family....It is also really fun to have butterflies flitting around and caterpillars growing in the pavilion in the kitchen when it is gray and wintery outside.

How to raise more than one generation of critters inside:
Since we sent our coupon for larvae out immediately after Christmas, we had butterflies dancing around the pavilion and mating in February when there were no plants outside to collect for the next generation of caterpillars to eat.Anticipating this, I ordered a mallow plant and some additional larval food from Carolina Biological Supply Company at about the time when our caterpillars turned into chrysalises:there is an online store and the stuff to get is the L918 culture medium (144040).This will feed about 80 larvae.(Unfortunately the Insect Lore company, which makes the Pavilion, only sells caterpillar food in small quantities along with additional larvae, which we certainly didn't need).

How to do it:We set the mallow plant in the pavilion and the butterflies laid their eggs on the leaves where we could watch them darken and emerge as very tiny 1mm long new caterpillars.After 4-5 days of watching the caterpillars eat the mallow plant (making little tracks on the leaves) we prepared them new homes in caterpillar media.To do this, you can use either the original plastic containers that the first generation larvae are shipped in (clean them out and dish wash them) or use another small clear-sided plastic or glass jar with a lid.Clean the containers well (I wiped the inside with a paper towel with isopropyl alcohol on it after dishwashing to kill bacteria, which will contaminate the food and make the larvae sick).The food will come in two plastic containers (nearly full).One of these can be frozen for subsequent generations.Transfer the contents of one container to a covered microwaveable container and heat on medium in the microwave (swirling every 10-30 seconds to mix and avoid overheating) until it is a solution.Pour media into the bottoms of the larvae containers to a depth of about a quarter inch (this will make 4-5 new containers).If there is a lot of condensation on the sides after the media has hardened, you can wipe this away with a paper towel--I did this, but then again alcohol-wiped the inside solid surfaces and lid above the media.Cover the containers loosely (leave the lid slightly ajar) and put them somewhere to dry.I laid a clean paper towel over the collection of covered jars to keep dust/dirt from drifting in given the activity level of the children here.After a couple days of drying, these were ready for larvae.If necessary (ie., if not using the previously shipped containers) make very, very small air holes in the lid.Then use a toothpick or matchstick to collect each 2-4 mm long larva off of the mallow plant leaves and tap to drop them into the new container.Put a clean paper towel over the top of the container (under the lid) and re-cap the jar--now the paper will serve as a scaffold for new chrysalises to hang from and will allow air in while preventing the tiny caterpillars from escaping.Try to be relatively aseptic about this.

It appears that we're going to get about 20-30 new caterpillars from the first generation, which I should be able to accommodate with the larvae cups made above...hopefully by the time we've run out of this food and been through a couple more generations it will be summer and warm enough to release all of the butterflies we have outside.The pavilion is well made and sturdy enough that it should accommodate many other projects involving insects.All in all, we've been entirely pleased with this--a great gift that's had my son on the phone describing his butterflies' recent development to grandma and grandpa several times!

One more tip:the adult butterflies seem to become upended on the floor of the pavillion at times while they are flapping around and have trouble gaining traction to right themselves on the slick nylon surface.This shortened the lives of several of ours until I saw it happening and put some packing material (like easter straw) in there for them to stand on.

Wonderful for child and parent
My two daughters, ages 5 and 8, each received one of these as a Christmas present.We sent away for the caterpillars and they arrived in one week.I have to admit that even I, as an adult, really enjoyed watching the progress of the caterpillars as they transformed into beautiful butterflies.My only compaint is that we weren't prepared when two of the butterflies became entangled in the webbing surrounding the cocoon.There was nothing in the instructions about what to do so we had to watch the butterflies suffer until they finally died from exhaustion.We told the kids that it was simply part of nature.Other than that, what a great experience! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Learning    2. Science    3. Bugs   

Reviews (20)

a ten-year-olds point of veiw!!!!!!!
in the reveiws, i saw alot of age ranges, from 2 1/2 to 12!!!!!! This toy is great if you like dinosaurs and my friend is 11 and has this toy too. i like playing with it alot (it is fun for the dinosaurs to attack my Geotrax train set!....witch is also a great toy you can find on amazon) these dinosaurs are great (5 thumbs up to my favorite dinosaur the brachosaurus, who is also the biggest in the set i should add.....) But at first when i was getting this toy i was looking forward to the playmat, but now i dont even play with that or the rocks, volcanos or tree's, dinosaurs are the best part. and i realized that i actually put this toy back! i have a whole lot of toys and most of them are still out this very moment!!!!!!!! and i really like reading there names at the bottom of each dinosaur!!!!!!! Overall, this toy is a big hit (and for you moms out there, my mom tells me that this toy keeps me busy and quiet so she can relax!!!!!) and i totally reccomened it! i hope you enjoyed seeing a childs point of veiw on this toy!!!!!

Hours of fun
I bought this for my three year old son.He loves it.It comes with a plastic play mat and over 10 dinosaurs, plus trees, rocks and two volcanoes. He loves it and it entertains him for hours.But the best part for me is the plastic storage tub.Everything fits easily back in, and it takes up very little space (around the size of a large shoe box).

DINOmite!
If you have a child who loves dinosaurs then this is the toy for him/her! It's perfect size for (not to small where the pieces will get lost and not too big to store) and it comes with it's own storage container (I wish every toy came with it's own storage container). You child will spend hours of creative play with this great toy! I highly recommend it! And you can't beat the price! My 5 yr. old son set this up in his bedroom and he plays for hours up there. He LOVES it! I think I might buy him another set just to add more to his collection. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Pretend Play    2. Animals    3. Dinosaurs    4. Play Sets   

Editorial Review

Sibling to the award-winning Explorer Globe, this junior version can help children become interested in geography before they even start school. The Junior Explorer Globe is jam-packed with fun facts, trivia, and useful information about every aspect of the geographical world. It has four modes of interactive play, ranging from having kids search for certain pictures on the globe to playing regional music from each continent. The globe sits on a sturdy base, which features a dial to the four play functions, an on/off switch, volume control, and the attached penlike stylus. This stylus is the key instrument: kids use it to touch virtually any point on the surface of the globe to hear information and answer questions. --Pam Lauer ... Read more

Features

• Four modes include Explore, Music, Search the World & Adventure Raps
• Kids will learn about our oceans, continents, animals and landmarks
• Offers a taste of regional music and foreign phrases
• Volume control
• On/off switch

Reviews (13)

great learning and entertaining toy
My 4 years old LOVES to play with this globe and has been learning a lot from it. Yes, it doesn't say much about countries but let's not forget this is the JR version. I think it is great that they give emphasis in animals since kids like them. Also, all different languages and typical music that it includes. I think it is great that kids learn the continents at least they are aware that USA is not in this world alone. PULEASE... they didn't pay for someone's furniture to be cleaned... Don't get me wrong but this person must go around the world a bit. People have to know how to take care of themselves for a change instead of blaming someone else everytime. Gosh!
I recommend this toy. This is not a Geography professor substitue just a way to get kids interested in other areas and cultures. I suppose the more advanced version may bring the countries. I don't know. I am sure there is only so much they can fit inside this toy and as parents we can't expect to relay on a toy to teach our kids everything they need to know. We think this toy is awesome.

Watch out for stains on furniture
The toy has little rubber feet on the bottom which will leave little purple circle shaped stains on wood furniture.My son's brand new furniture was damaged and Leap Frog will not pay to have it cleaned.They were aware of the situation, however, they did not issue a recall.They simply changed the rubber feet on the toy for the new production runs, but they left all of the old ones on the store shelves.So which one will you get - the new or the old?This toy isn't worth the trouble.Leap Frogs' customer (dis)service is horrible.I will never buy another leap frog toy again.Watch out for this company - all they care about is making a buck.

BETTER THEN I THOUGHT
When my brother bought this for my 3 year old daughter I thought he had wasted his money, there was no way my daughter was going to pay attention to this globe. I was wrong! My daughter loves it and within 5 minutes she was telling me about the Statue of Liberty and the Great Wall of China. She and I love it so much that I am buying one for my neice's birthday present. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Learning    2. Geography    3. Electronic Learning Aids (ELA)    4. Electronic    5. Math    6. Alphabet   

Editorial Review

Re-create Mother Nature's beautiful designs on the wings of butterflies with this kit from Balitono. It includes 4-inch wooden butterflies that can be used as refrigerator magnets, hanging sculptures, window decorations, and toy treasures. The kit offers three butterflies, nontoxic acrylic paints in five colors, shiny varnish, and a paintbrush. Each figure also comes with a press-on magnet, hanging accessories, a suction cup (for window use), and a small gift tag. An easy-to-follow instruction sheet includes compelling facts about the nature of butterflies. Colorful illustrations on the box show a wide variety of butterflies young artists might like to paint. A coded diagram inside identifies each species by name. Children may want to give these items as gifts, use them to decorate their rooms, or simply use them in creative play. --Joan DeClaire ... Read more

Reviews (21)

Expensive
I felt this kit was expensive for the small amount of items that came with it. It is cute and beats having my kids sit in front of the television, [...] As a plus I must admit that my children (ages 9 and 7) enjoyed painting the butterflies and turning them into magnets. That is worth a few stars.

classic but fun!
My girls have received other Balitono kits before and theylove them, so I am always on the lookout for more styles.The best ones we had were the horses kit and some other jewelry box kits (not sure the exact names) but the painted things are on our girls' tables.

The butterflies kit is not as elaborate as the others we had but we had as much fun creating them.My 9 year old and 7 year old shared the kit and took the time painting them and making into magnets and ornaments.The butterflies are about 4 inches each, not large but there are 3 of them and i am impressed with the quality of the paints and paintbrush since i used to paint on canvas.on the pamphlet, it said the wooden butterflies are hand-carved and they have the details that are life-like.One improvement i would like to have is to have a glow-in-the-dark paint included.

Busy momof four with limited income
I was pretty disappointed when I open this toy. I have very little money to spend on four wonderful children, and this was to be a Christmas gift, but when I opened it and saw that there were only three littel wooden butterflies, one paint brush and only six primary colors of paint, I really felt like I had wasted my limited resources.

I wish I had taken the time to read ALL of the reviews before purchasing this product. At a lower price, like 3.99 or less, this would have been a great deal, well worth it. But not at $14.99 plus shipping. I will certainly be much more careful when choosing toys online that is for sure.

Fortunately for me, my children are very well-manored and very compassionate. It is the reason for holiday that makes them happy. NOT the quality or quantity of the gifts they get. God bless them all... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Arts and Crafts    2. Painting Kits    3. Animals    4. Bugs    5. Butterflies    6. Painting    7. Learning    8. Activity    9. Craft Kits   

Reviews (6)

Engaging science for young minds............
Although some of the questions/answers in this game are not educational, overall, I found this item to be great fun for the whole family. The questions have a range of difficulty, so when we play it with our 7 year old, he can answer some, and we adults don't get bored because we find others interesting. Some items are inappropriate, but we just omit those and ask another question or do another task that appears on the same card.
I would recommend this game to all parents who frequently play with their children, and are looking for something unique and fun for them, as well as the children.

Educational?? Scientific???NOT!!!!!
We bought the "Totally Gross" game for our son for a Christmas gift.When we looked at the game, we thought we were getting an educational game about science.

What we didn't know was that we got a game about rude behaviors.

After looking at the all cards, I was in shock. The number of body functions that are talke about is inappropraite. Also telling kids to stick fingers into their ears and into their mouths can be a health hazard.Telling the kids on the cards not to put their finger into their ear "too far" and to make sure they have "clean hands" before sticking their fingers into their mouths was a nice gesture BUT kids will be kids and do they really know when too far is enough or does it take a trip to the ER for a puncture ear drum!

I thought, surely there can't be that many cards with such offensive material so I started removing the offensive ones. I stopped at about 15 and decided the game is very inappropriate.

I'm not sure how this game has ANYTHING to do with the "major science disciplines", as quote on the box! I do not recommend this game to anyone unless you want your son running around telling everyone he needs to go "drain the lizard" when he needs to pee.

Girls love gross stuff too!!!
I bought this game for my two girls..ages 8 and 6.They absolutely love it...lots of good gross stuff and lots of educational items even the adults thought were great.My husband and I even thought that this game would be great with our adult friends :) ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Games    2. Learning   

Reviews (5)

Cannibals!
Our ladybug larvae seemed to prefer to eat each other rather than the food which came with our shipment of ladybugs.It was rather gruesome to watch, so we let the larvae loose outside.The company representative we spoke with had no explanation for the phenomenon, but was willing to ship us another package of ladybugs free of charge.I don't think we can handle watching a repeat of the cannibalism.

My daughter loved it!
I gave this to my 2nd grader for Christmas.It took a while for the larvae to arrive due to "unexpected need" -- how does that happen when the same company sells the land and ships the ladybugs?But once the tube of larvae arrived the land did exactly what it promised.My kids loved watching as the larvae became pupae attached to the dome, then hatched as ladybugs.We kept them in the dome for a couple of weeks (until after the last frost) then released them on our rose bushes.Ten minutes later the kids were begging to order more larvae!

Teacher and Parent
I bought this for my son's third birthday.He's already an avid entomologist.The larvae arrived just as expected already shedding its skin, which each one did multiple times.It was fascinating for my husband and me as well.The three of us found ourselves glued together watching these amazing creatures as the larvae shed it's final skin and entered the pupa stage.Several days after the fully-formed ladybugs emerged (they were yellow at first), we set them free into our back yard.They have a distinct appearance which is slightly different than the ladybugs we're accustomed to seeing around here.Therefore we have been able to easily identify them when we come across them in our yard.

We received about 14 or 15 ladybug larvae and all survived to become ladybugs except for one, which I consider to be pretty impressive.The container was especially effective because my son was not able (or tempted) to manhandle to ladybugs, yet it was easy to keep the water filled with the specially designed lid and water tube.We had an excellent view of all the events taking place inside.I would recommend purchasing books to go along with this.We had four different simple books relying upon excellent photographs and easy-to-understand descriptions.This heightened my son's (and our) anticipation and helped us to better understand what was happening.

I can honestly say that this has been well-worth the price we paid for it.Soon we're going to get a refill kit of ladybug larvae and begin anew. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Learning    2. Science    3. Bugs   

Reviews (14)

GEOGRAPHY
THE SCHOOLS MAY HAVE REMOVED GEOGRAPHY FROM THE CLASSROOMS, BUT THEY CAN'T TAKE IT AWAY FROM THOSE WHO LEARNED IT MANY YEARS AGO.PRESUMEABLY THOSE OF US WHO WOULD BUY THIS ITEM.TAKE A LOOK AT THE PUZZLE OF OUR GREAT UNITED STATES.NOW, WISCONSIN MAYBE WANTS THAT PART OF MICHIGAN, BUT IT OPERATES UNDER MICHIGAN LAW AND IS CALLED UPPER MICHIGAN OR THE UPPER PENNINSULA OF MICHIGAN.NO WHERE IS IT CALLED WISCONSIN.I WAS RATHER CONFUSED RIGHT AWAY WHEN THE DESCRIPTION OF THE PUZZLE SAID THERE ARE 44 PUZZLE PIECES. THE LAST I KNEW, THERE ARE 50 STATES AND 48 CONTIGUOUS STATES. THE IDEA OF THIS TALKING MAP IS GREAT, BUT LET'S GET IT CORRECT FOLKS.

GRANDPARENT LIVING IN MICHIGAN

A great way for kids to learn their states
This is the best learning aid I have seen so far for getting kids to learn the fifty states. My six-year-old son has been able to memorize them all, and he started with this map when he was three. Now my younger son, age three, is starting to learn with the same map, and my older son is beginning to work on state capitals.

The map's audio identifies each state when pushed, also gives the state's nickname, and its capital. The board also has permanently affixed buttons that play the Pledge of Allegiance and the song America the Beautiful. The map pieces can be lifted out of the board and presented as a puzzle challenge. This really helps children identify states by their shapes. Many competing map puzzles just stick together six or seven states into a simple puzzle piece. Only the tiniest states in New England and the Atlantic Coast are joined into single pieces on the map, so most states are the shape of their puzzle piece.

If I had a nitpick about this map, it's that it would be nice to have a locking feature that can prevent the pieces from falling out once the puzzle is assembled, because young children will scatter and lose the state pieces. It was more important to my kids to build the name and location recognition than to solve the puzzle challenge, so our temporary solution was to take clear packaging tape (the wide rolls) and gently tape over the whole map, to hold all the puzzle pieces in place. Now that the kids are much more responsible about cleaning up, we've removed the tape.

Fun and Educational!
This toy was purchased for my 4 yr old daughter and 2 yr old son.They both absolutely LOVE putting it together and within 1 day learned The Pledge of Allegiance.It is so amazing to see my daughter recognize some of the states before putting it together!

This really is a wonderful educational toy and I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in teaching their children a little about geography. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Learning    2. Geography    3. Electronic Learning Aids (ELA)    4. Electronic    5. Alphabet   

Features

• Hours of hands-on experiments designed by a team of Harvard graduates, scientists, educators, and parents.
• Award-winning winning science kits designed for children between the ages of 5 and 12.
• Each set contains a 8 1/2" x 11" instruction booklet with dual instructions, one for adults and one for young scientists.
• Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products, National Parenting Seal of Approval, Teacher's Choice Award
• National Parenting Publications Honors Award, Learning Research Institute Outstanding Resource Award

Reviews (1)

Young Scientist Kit
Doing science doesn't get any easier than this!As a homeschooling mom I was looking for a way to make science interesting and educational at the same time.This kit does both.It was also a tremendous help to have supplies included in the kit. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Learning    2. Science    3. Chemistry    4. Activity   

Reviews (3)

12" Raised Relief Explorer Globe
It's amazing how much a child learns by having access.We are an American family living in Germany and felt my 5 year old would have a greater understanding of where we live and where our extended family lives.

There should be one in every house!
What a great, inexpensive globe.It's fascinating to watch a child spin a globe - even if they don't seem like they are learning anything, at least they are getting a general idea of the immense size of our world!Since getting this globe, my 5 year old son has learned about the continents and the oceans, found Australia on his own and pointed out that Antarctica is bigger than the USA.It seems that the globe gets loose from it's stand somewhat easily, but it is easily tightened.All in all, a great buy with terrific educational value.

poorly designed stand
The globe itself is ok and has a lot of educational value for kids starting out in geography, but the stand is so poorly designed that when you rotate the globe on its axis, the stand easily detaches from the globe.The whole point is to be able to rotate it, so in effect it's not very usable if you have to keep fixing the stand again and again.A heavier stand that would not move when rotating the globe would probably work better.The attaching mechanism needs redesign too -- right now it's just a screw in the base. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Activity    2. Learning    3. Geography    4. Science   

Reviews (39)

IT'S AN ANT FARM
What the heck is the Amozon featured reviewer talking about. IT'S AN ANT FARM!We better keep an eye on her students.Anyway, it is a drag that there is no queen.My grandson was pretty disappointed.It is probably better to not order the ants at all, left up a rock in sandy loam and grap as many workers and eggs that you can.Chances are that you will not get a queen but if you get young enough eggs the workers will grow a new one.

Ants exemplify lifeskills!
I had this ant farm as a child and LOVED it. It was very educational and entertaining. The ants created their own little community, along with connecting "highways" (tunnels), a graveyard (they carried the dead ants to one little area of the farm and buried them), and even a food "cellar" (they stored all their extra food in one little area at the bottom of the farm). My ants lived for several months and only died when my mother was cleaning house and tried to move it. The tunnels all collapsed and the ants were killed. I am currently a 4th grade teacher and purchasing this for my classroom. I am going to use it to teach habitats and communitites, but most importantly lifeskills. Ants exemplify so many lifeskills...patience, cooperation, perseverance, endurance, caring, effort, problem solving, etc. WOW!! So much we can learn from one tiny creature.

All ants dead in 2 weeks.
Took like 2 months to get the ants.Two weeks for them to die. We have 2 ants alive.After two weeks. I don't know....We followed the instructions... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Activity    2. Learning    3. Science    4. Bugs    5. Games   

Editorial Review

Dinosaur devotees will be roaring over this radio-controlledTyrannosaurus Rex as he growls and roars, moves his head, thrashes histail, and even blinks his beady yellow eyes. He can also turnrealistically and walk forward a few steps on a hard surface, growlingand roaring at the same time, if you choose. T-Rex is 11 inches tall and21 inches from nose to tail, with textured, flexible brown rubber skinthat bends and moves. The controller is shaped like a stone with twobone-shaped joysticks to control the dinosaur's walking and turning.Buttons on the side of the controller make T-Rex move his head and frontfeet, snap his jaws, roar, and blink his eyes. The controller slidesopen in the middle for use, and you have to be careful not to pinch yourfingers when you snap it shut. T-Rex requires a total of six AAbatteries, two for the controller and four inside the dinosaur, and thebattery compartment inside the T-Rex is rather difficult to access.Despite these small drawbacks, this dino is one cool dude that willthrill any kid in the midst of the inevitable dinosaur phase. -- Marcie Bovetz ... Read more

Reviews (64)

Disappointed on Christmas
The only toy our 5 year old wanted was a t-rex with batteries. How disappointing when we turned it on and nothing happened. We sent "Roarie" back to the "North Pole" aka amazon, for replacement. when the new one arrived, Joy was immediately replaced by tears when the new one stopped functioning after less than 2 minutes! This toy is fragile to say the most.

HORRIBLE TOY!!!
CONSUMER BEWARE!My five-year old son received this for Christmas.It was great while it worked, a whole two days!What a huge upset!I didn't see any educational value to it, except the education of disappointment from a fragile toy. We didn't have any trouble putting batteries in.Although the feel and look of the dinosaur is real and unique, a stuffed animal would have been more educational and less disappointing!I guess it will become a figurine on a shelf!I'm late in writing this review, because I just wouldn't give up hope, until now!

Fantasticasaurus!
This was a Christmas gift for my just about 4yo son who is very much intrigued with dinosaurs, his favorite being T-Rex!I was very impressed, as was he, at it's "realness".Very life like when it gets "ROARING" and stomping around!Great gift for a dino lover..just keep batteries handy. There is a switch on the dinosaur that you must turn "off" and you must close up the hand held remote as well....try explaining that to a 4yo! ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Tyrannosaurus Rex    2. Dinosaurs    3. Moving    4. Electronic    5. Preschool    6. Learning    7. Science    8. Vehicles   

Reviews (2)

great idea, but...
The Get-Up Roaring Dinosaur looks like a pretty cool toy, and my 3 year old nephew fell in love with it when he first put it on; however, the fun was short lived.He immediately took on his adorable, little dinosaur persona and he loved the great sound effects, but the costume was simply too hot for him to wear for long, especially while tromping around.Also, the sound effects didn't always fit his imagined scenario.After just a few minutes, the whole thing ended up another discarded, temporary toy.Although he still likes to pretend he's a dinosaur, he does so sans costume.

This may work as a great halloween costume, but it will not be the source of hours of fun for energetic 3-6 year olds.On the other hand, I'd like to know when they come out with an adult-sized version!

One of the most inventive toys on the market
This toy is really one of the coolest I've seen. Unfortunately these Get-ups were not around when I was little but I get excited just watching my little brother and my little cousins play in their Get-ups for hours. Depending on which animal the child chooses they can slip into furry slippers and a stuffed-animal-like head piece that makes realistic noises in relation to the childs movement. Each tilt of the head makes a completely different kind of roar or snarle (the slippers make sound too!). But the animal sounds are extremely realistic which allows kids to really explore their imagination while wearing this interactive costume. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Learning    2. Animals    3. Wacky    4. Activity    5. Dinosaurs    6. Pretend Play    7. Costumes   

Reviews (4)

fun game - with some reservations!
my three year old got this for christmas and loves the sound effects and fun designs - but he gets frustrated by the joystick. it is difficult to "fly" to the right spot when prompted by the "find the" questions and requires better motor skills than most three year olds have - i often have to help him guide the joystick onto the right animal or place. my five year old can navigate without difficulty. however she becomes bored after 5 mins as there is a limited number of questions and games - which is fine for a three year old but not enough info for the five and above age range. in all - i'd say great concept and a fun way for kids to learn about the world but the makers should either simplify the joystickfor younger kids or expand the knowledge for older kids.

best gift ever!!!
My son received this for his fourth birthday.Loves it, loves it, loves it!He has since developed an interest in, and knowledge of geography!!He will turn five next week, and still plays with his "Earth".My three year old daughter has recently gotten the hang of it, as well.I would recommend this one to anyone.

so-so
my 3- and 4- yr olds liked this globe quite a bit before they became discouraged with the difficulty in understanding the voice commands and with the tracker pole not going all the way up to the top.now they refer to it as "the globe we liked but doesn't work".i'd spend a little more (the kids seem to love the concept) and get one that functions more smoothly (it is difficult to stop, start, and generally maneuver). ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Learning    2. Geography    3. Electronic Learning Aids (ELA)    4. Electronic    5. Math    6. Preschool   

Reviews (14)

Kid-approved "sneaky education"
This puzzle is my 2 1/2 year old son's absolute favorite.He does it on his own, and is starting to know the state names.He will do it over and over and over again, and thinks it's great fun.I think it's a great way to help him learn!It's kind of nice when a learning tool has to be pried out of my child's hands....

If I had one complaint, it would be that Alaska is on the bottom left corner of the puzzle; it would have been nice if they'd made the puzzle larger so they could stick Alaska in roughly the right place.Not a big deal, though.

A GREAT educational toy!
My 3 year old son spotted this puzzle while we went browsing in the store.He wanted it SO badly even though it was rated for older children.Within 3 days of playing with this puzzle, he quickly mastered all 50 states, knew exactly where they all go at a moment's notice.Then in a few days, he is able to clearly identify and pronounce each state accurately.He can read a little bit, and I had to show him North and South so he could place the Dakotas in their places.We had moved to Arizona from California a few months earlier, so he understood that his "small house" was in CA and that we now live in AZ.Two weeks after playing this puzzle, we went to California to visit our old friends and favorite places.Upon returning home, he demonstrated he really understood the map even more and even knows Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean and several cities. Because he has 2 other USA maps, he has said several times that "Michigan is a mistake!They forgot to cut out Upper Peninsula (Upper Michigann)"!!!!I was originally from Michigan and know that Michigan has 2 parts.What I'd like to see in this puzzle is 50 individual pieces, even though they may be small and that their cutouts reflect more accurate shapes (maybe make the states a bit bigger!).My parents still have the wooden puzzle from late 1960's with all 50 pieces.Now, where can I find wooden maps of other places:Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia, showing pictures of the countries, along with capital cities and other information?My son is already learning a few countries in Europe and is so eager and so ready to absorb more information in geography!We play the USA map puzzle practically every evening before he goes to bed!He's already map-literate far ahead of his peers and even amazed his summer camp teacher!Who says a 3 year old can't learn geography?!;-)

A good start
I would have liked more information to be included on the puzzle.Each piece is cut out in the shape of the state and has the state capital printed underneath.I think they could have taken this a step further adding key information about that state such as it's nickname, state flower or other educational information.It is a good way to get very young children to learn their state capitals and the shape and geography of the U.S. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Puzzles    2. Learning    3. Geography    4. Preschool    5. Jigsaw Puzzles    6. Easy Puzzles    7. Wood    8. Pegged    9. Activity    10. 100-999 Pieces   

Editorial Review

Treasure seekers, begin your quest for valuables armed with thislightweight metal detector. This silver-and-red metal detector extendsfrom 24.5 inches to 39 inches long and features a sensor ring that foldsand swivels for easy storage. Insert a 9-volt battery (not included),adjust the unit for your height, and sweep over the ground to detectforgotten treasures. Coins, keys, and even rings register with a beepand a flashing red light. Whether it's the thrill of discovery or thepromise of riches soon to be discovered, this metal detector is sure toplease. --Tami Horiuchi ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Awesome Metal Detector for the price!
When we got this metal detector through the mail it was in perfect condition and worked perfectly! We got it for our son for his 7th birthday. Whether it's nuts, bolts, or even tin foil this detector really find just about anything. It detects about 5" in depth. It was great for our little treasure hunter! He loves it and is thrilled finding his treasures! Thanks amazon and toys-r-us!!! 5 stars all the way!!!!!

Excellent for Starters!
We got this metal detector through this website. It came without any damage and works perfectly. We got it for our sons 7th birthday and he loves it. Whether it's nuts, bolts, drill bits or tin foil he still calls it treasure because he found it. So far we figured out that it detects about 5" in depth, believe it or not. I have even used it and I even love it!LOL! This is a great investment for a child that is really curious about treasure and adventure. Great for the price!!! Highly recomended for children between 5 through 12. Five Stars all the way!!! Thanks toys-r-us and amazon!!!!

It broke soon after Santa delivered it...
My son was so thrilled with this present on Christmas morning, "All of my dreams came true!!" and it worked pretty well, for about an hour.The unit wasn't mishandled, it simply stopped working (it was a constant "beeeeep" as if it were detecting metal everywhere).Too bad we had to ship it back to the north pole. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Learning    2. Science    3. Gadgets    4. Geology   

Reviews (18)

Soooooooo COOL!
This looks so cool that Im gonna order some as soon as I get enough money for it!!!!!!I love this!!

Not a bad product
We got this over two years ago for my daughter when she was 6 months old.We were looking for a mobile that wasn't "traditional."She still loves it and so does her baby sis.Yes, there isn't a sun, but if you look at the proportions, you would need a beach ball for the sun!We hung the planets from differ lengths of fishing line.Our only problem was Jupiter was too low and we kept hitting it.That was easy to fix.Don't forget to put the star stickers on the star tacks.If a tack fall out of the ceiling, you can use a flashlight at night to locate it quickly!

Excellent choice
My son recently finished a study of the solar system in his preschool class and was very excited about what he had learned. I searched for several items that I could purchase to both educated him further and that would add a decorative touch to his room. This item did both.I was rather put off by most reviews on the ease, or in most cases lack of ease, of installation.It took me 10 minutes to string up the planets, afix the fish line to the little star tacks and place them in my ceiling. . . a breeze.If the planets are near a light source they glow brightly and into the night. Infact we awoke this morning and they were still faintly glowing. Impressive.As for the stickers, well they are what they are...tiny. I used them on some left over spiderweb from halloween to create the milky way around the planets and the paper mache sun we created and they work fine.I didn't even need a tweezer. Great product!


Tip for installation - tie the string to the planet first in a knot, then tie a loop knot at the other end. Take that and slip it around the nail of the tack and tighten.The star head will keep the knot from sliding off the nail and it will be secure to hold the planets up. If you actually try to tie the fish line around/across the star head it will take hours and will make for a frustrating installation... ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Learning    2. Science    3. Arts and Crafts    4. Craft Kits    5. Astronomy    6. Activity    7. Space   

Features

• Hours of hands-on experiments designed by a team of Harvard graduates, scientists, educators, and parents.
• Award-winning winning science kits designed for children between the ages of 5 and 12.
• Each set contains a 8 1/2" x 11" instruction booklet with dual instructions, one for adults and one for young scientists.
• Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products, National Parenting Seal of Approval, Teacher's Choice Award
• National Parenting Publications Honors Award, Learning Research Institute Outstanding Resource Award

Subjects:  1. Learning    2. Science    3. Activity   

Editorial Review

Nothing nurtures a child's interest in the natural world like first hand experience.This lightweight, ventilated plastic environment allows your children to observe the fascinating world of insects on their own terms. Once captured and placed in their new "home", bugs are encouraged to explore their new plastic environment which includes a waterfall, vegetation, play hut and a small hill. A moveable magnifier and insect chart encourages budding entomologists to be scientific in their investigations. The entire clear plastic dome opens completely for easy release and cleaning.--Deb Oroszlan ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Learning    2. Bugs   

Reviews (1)

Loads of fun!
My three kids (7, 6, 5) and I have had a great time with this toy, safely capturing and identifying all kinds of bugs, then letting them go. The magnifying glass feature lets everyone get a really great view of the insect and all its detail, which makes it easy to identify with a field guide handy. I even use it regularly to get bugs out of the house. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Learning    2. Bugs