Reviews of Copernicus - Radiometer

Customer Ratings:

A radiometer doesn't do anything useful, but it's really cool. You set it in the light and it spins. That's all. My cousin had one when I was a kid and I was always jealous. It struck me a fun stocking stuffer for my son who is an engineering student. It was a real hit. He immediately set about determining what kinds of light worked best: sunlight, incandescent, fluorescent, flashlight, candle light, heat from a blow dryer. I guess I'm going to have to get myself another one when he goes back to college next week.

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This is wonderful! I remember when I was a kid, and had one of these. It is not exactly fun to play with actively all the time, or something that you will be using every day to check lighting conditions, but it is definitely something to put on your window sill, or on a dresser or book shelf where it can be hit with the sun. I find it more of a decorative piece.

It is good to see these are still being made and sold! I bought two, and they both arrived VERY well packaged, in perfect condition, and work great! They also come with a little workbook with scientific experiments that can be done with them, and explanations of why it spins. Useful to teach with!

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Ever since I first came across one of these toys back in high school, I found it incredibly fascinating. For the longest time I thought it illustrated one of the very fundamental yet highly counterintuitive physics principles: light carries momentum. However, it turns out that this is not the mechanism that makes this toy work. The real physics behind it is a bit more mundane, although no less important. The colorings of vanes cause the air inside the bulb to be heated at different rates, which creates the pressure gradient that rotates the vanes. This is still a very important physical process, and this toy is a fun way of illustrating it.

The overall quality of this toy is fairly good. If not handled too roughly it will probably last forever. The best places to keep it are those that are in the open and receive a lot of light, like the work desk area or a window pane. The light bulb seems fragile and it should not be left in the areas where little kids or animals can easily reach it.

Honest reviews on Copernicus - Radiometer

I'm quite a fan of Radiometers...just the simple fact that they spin up when the sun comes out is enough to brighten up my day. I bought one as a junior high student after being enchanted by the simple elegance, and it's been going on ever since. Recently, I wanted to give a few radiometers as presents, but I couldn't find a local museum or science shop that carried them, so I turned to Amazon.

I choose the Copernicus Radiometer over the others primarily on price: I wanted a higher quality product and I was willing to spend a little more to get it. Unfortunately, the Copernicus Radiometer is not a high quality product. Compared to my original, the Copernicus displays poor workmanship and poor materials. My original Radiometer had an integrated glass base which not only looks better but is infinitely more robust than the cheap plastic base used by the Copernicus. Aesthetics aside, the plastic base is easily scratched and is simply glued to the bulb using a combination of glue and cement. Of the two Copernicus radiometers that I purchased, one of them basically fell apart the second I took it out of the box! Besides the base, the glass itself has a several flaws such as gas bubbles, foreign material, and a lack of evenness along the top. I thought maybe I got a dud but my second unit also had this issue. I should clarify that the sides of the bulbs look great and that the glass is only problematic on the tops of the bulbs. I posted pictures for reference.

Overall, the Copernicus Radiometer works, but lacks refinement. The biggest praise I can muster is that it's well packaged and can withstand the rigors of shipping and international travel as checked baggage. If this is your first Radiometer, I think the issues I described above (besides the thing spontaneously falling apart...a few dabs of hot glue did the trick) will not detract from the overall experience. You still do get a rather mysterious yet beautiful object.

Notes:

1) The physics behind how Radiometers work is more complex than the leaflet makes it appear to be. For example, the radiometer will actually spin backwards if you move it from a room-temperature environment to a very cold environment such as a freezer (sans light!)

2) Lasers work, but don't use a super-powerful one. You will DESTROY the vanes and you may foul the partial vacuum.

3) My rating is focused on the execution of this particular product and is not about radiometers in general.

4) It's much more than a toy!

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This is a windmill that runs on light. As ling as it is sunny the vanes will spin. A truely intreaguing piece of scientific equipment.

I broke mine and missed it so much I had to search for another.

Hape - Qube Play Set - Roaming Dinosaurs Review

Customer Ratings:

Most of dinosaurs toys out there have too much chemical fumes, and some are even contains BPA. After researching online for a while, this is one of a few dinosaurs toy I found that is safe. They do not have no toxic smell. It is cute and sturdy. My child loves it. I take one star off because it was made in china.

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The wooly mammoth and sabretooth cat are great, but not contemporaries to dinosaurs by about 100 million years. Love the set though!

Non-Slip Grip Silicone Skin Case for LeapFrog® LeapPad® Tablet Reviews

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List Price: $19.48
Sale Price: $12.90
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I didn't notice till too late that it said NOT for the leappad 2 but once they got here I was glad to see they still fit pretty well and they do the job so I'm happy them.

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I'm not sure how much protection it provides but it does make the leap pad easy to hold without slipping.

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Very nice. Went on the Leap Pad easily and it even still fits in the case I chose to buy for it. Material it is made out of is really nice and can easily be wiped off if needed. I would recommend this to anyone needing a cover for a Leap pad.

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Bought this for my two year old daughter's LeapPad. Two year old's aren't so careful with their "toys", so this has done it's job many a times and saved the device! :)

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It's not what we expected but all that matter is that my granddaughter Loves it. I thought it would protect better.

Best Fisher-Price Poppity Pop Train Deals

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Hi folks -

We bought this toy on a whim while out shopping at a dept store. It was inexpensive, less than six bucks, and it was so cute we decided to buy it for our 6-month old.

It is extremely cute, with a face painted onto the front surface. Bright vibrant primary colors typical of Fisher Price, sweet as can be. It makes a popping noise as it is pushed along and it absolutely delights my baby. When we push it toward him, he squeals with laughter and joy. It's actually pretty funny since it is not obvious what is amusing about this process but somehow he reacts as though you're about to attack him with tickles.

His favorite thing to do with this toy is to spin the little barrel that is on the top surface of the train behind the smokestack. There are little dimples in the spinnable barrel and he is really enjoying developing his dexterity of his index finger by putting his finger in the dimples and flicking.

A huge hit around here, highly recommend especially if you can find it for a reasonable price like we did.

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This is a tiny toy. Do not buy if you think it is big in comparison to the toddler model. The seller, however, is a perfect example of the kind of store we used to see in the old days you should buy all your toys from this seller. I made a somewhat negative review of this item back in December, and although I explained to the vendor via email that I was satisfied, they still sent me a refund check (which I will not be cashing). You can trust this vendor to take good care of you during and after the sale.

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I got this for my son after he enjoyed playing with my Godson's at a birthday party. My Godson is three months older than my son, so they pretty much play with the same toys. I would have thought he would be done with this toy now that he is two, but he loves trains soo much, that this is still a toy that gets played with. If your child loves cars, trains, or things that just make noise, this is a great gift. This is an inexpensive toy that lets them use their imagination.

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This toy is very great!

Even my 4mo son was very interested in it. He doesn't know how to play with such toys, but he is always happy to see his train and likes when I show it to him.

There are no sharp corners. Plastic is very good. It fall down from a high chair so many times and its fine!

Now my son is 5 months and in his playpen he tries to reach his train.

This train makes a rattle sound when his wheels are moving.

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My baby likes this train a lot....he loves to roll the small part over it and see the balls inside making noise...

Buy LeapFrog Poppin' Play Piano

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List Price: $24.99
Sale Price: $17.50
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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program

My 1 year old and 3 year old LOVE this toy. It's got 4 different song/music settings, so I'm not stuck listening to the same thing over and over! It also has 2 different volume settings, which is great! The keys are easy to push, but the balls don't jump as much as I thought they would, and that does frustrate my 1 year old a little bit. It's easy to carry and even when dropped (multiple times!) works great! Overall, it's a good toy and my kids really enjoy it!

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program My 19 month old child has not stopped playing with this toy since we received it from Amazon (Vine). He has a few other LeapFrog items, but he has never taken to one like he has this. He really enjoys music, and has been learning his colors, so this seemed like an easy choice.

There are 4 basic modes:

Number: Press a key, number "sung" (1-8, in the tone of a scale)

Color: The color of the key "sung"

Free Play: Each key becomes a different instrument

Song: The piano plays a song; kids can choose to accompany by pressing other keys

What my child loves: watching the balls go up. He likes the songs and has had a lot of fun just playing random keys. The switch to move from counting to colors to free play is easy for him to manipulate.

What I like: the tonality is pretty good for a kids' toy. And because it follows the scale, you can play some actual songs on it. I also like that it doesn't have anything to break off or keep stored with it, as many of the child xylophones do.

However, I find it a little loud. It comes with a volume switch, but even the "low" setting is loud. I also wish that it counted higher than 8 (he can already count to 8).That limits its educational value. It does start to get annoying when they push the same button over and over, especially in counting mode. "Eeeeiiiight! Eeeeiiiight! Eeeeeeight! Eeeeeeight! Eeeeeeight!" etc.

Remember the 90's Sampsonite commercial where they have a gorilla in a room with a suitcase? That's like my kid with toys. If he can break it, he will. He's already dropped it down the stairs once and so far it's holding up well, which has been true of all the LeapFrog toys we've used.

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program When my wife & I talk about toys, we come from the perspective of educators. That said, for early childhood development, nothing beats "old fashioned" toys.

Hands down, in every documented study, plain old wood blocks provide more stimulation, more fine motor skill development, more problem-solving, etc. Also keep in mind, electronic toys like this encourage kids to play alone they tend to work against socialization skills. Every child (as early as 6 months), should have wood blocks, flash cards, mega blocks or legos, lincoln logs, things like that. And, lots of board books around.

However, often times people want to buy "exciting" electronic toys for holidays and birthdays toys that talk, sing, light up, etc. No matter how educational they claim to be, toys like this "do the work" for your child, and are not as challenging. But it's obviously not going to kill your child to have a few of these around!

So if you're looking for electronic toys, we strongly recommend Leapfrog products. We've tested many, many toys and we own 3 different Leapfrog toys (including a Phonics Dinosaur toy that has been dropped, thrown, rolled down the stairs, and still looks and plays like new!).

I find the Leapfrog products are intuitive, durable, more educational than any other electronic toys (like Fisher Price, etc), and well thought out.

This Poppin Piano is exactly what I expected it to be. Many functions to keep your child engaged. Counting & color games. A regular piano mode (*every* child needs a piano of some sort, to learn music & also fine motor skills).

And like all other Leapfrog products, it's not too noisy, it's a smart power saver so it doesn't drain the batteries, and the noises & singing are nice and soft (not loud & shrill like many other electronic toys).

Leapfrog recommends this for 12-36 months. But our 7 month old is actually using it the "poppin" balls are fun to watch, and it's a great opportunity to learn cause & effect.

So if you're a parent, these kinds of toys are great for car rides, for short-attention-span moments, a kitchen activity (while you're busy cooking), etc. We don't recommend it as an "everyday" toy. We keep electronic toys locked up, and pull them out only occasionally. However, for the category of electronic toys, Leapfrog always gets best in class.

(PS If you're interested in more information about these studies, or about early childhood development, the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is free online to read back issues.)

Honest reviews on LeapFrog Poppin' Play Piano

HELP SHEET FOR Poppin'Play Piano (Leap Frog) Ages 1-3 years

This is one of the most versatile "deep" toys I've seen for toddlers! I had a blast figuring out all the possibilities. My early childhood teacher opinion is you'll get a lot of learning mileage out of this and the child will have fun.

I recommend you first let the child explore the toy for a week or two before trying to teach concepts. Then, make teaching sessions short, fun and successful. Quit before the child gets restless or frustrated with the activity.

I wrote this HELP SHEET so you and the child can get the most out of the toy over a three year period. The toy has a few "quirks" and hidden possibilities that took a lot of time to figure out.

FOUR MODES OF PLAY: (See the switch: Yellow oval over green background.)

1. Numbers: Press individual key and hesitate to hear each number word.

2. Colors: Press individual key and hesitate to hear each color word.

3. Choose an Instrument: (See *"NOTES FOR MODE 3" below to find out what each mode does AND how to change to a new instrument.)

4. Choose a Song: Press a key: Song plays and child can sing along, play along or both.

ACTIVITIES: AGE 1 +

1. Cause/effect: Push a key to make the ball pop up/come down. (It works when the unit is in ANY MODE.)

2. Cause/effect: Push a key to hear words, notes instrumental tunes, and songs. (SELECT MODES)

3. Listen: (color and number words, silly sounds, instrumental tunes, songs, and directions) (SELECT MODES)

4. Sing: Sing along to music and words. (MODE 4.)

5. Language Development: (ALL MODES: See "Language Development" below.)

ACTIVITIES: AGES 2 AND 3

1. Numerals: (Words only) No visual unless you count the keys. (MODE 1)

2. Colors: Learn/practice colors (words and visuals). Press each key and hesitate to hear the color word. (MODE 2)

3. Play keys along to a recorded instrumental tune (MODE 3)

4. Play just notes on the keyboard. (Free play music exploration and creativity) (MODE 3)

5. Sing along with a recorded song (MODE 4)

6. Play keys along to a recorded song (MODE 4)

7. Play and sing along to a recorded song (MODE 4)

8. Problem Solving/Exploration: Figure out how the instrument works and what can be done in different modes.

9. Language Development: (ALL MODES See "Language Development" below.)

*NOTES FOR MODE 3: (Playing Instruments) (Most Creative Mode)

1. Timing: Press a key. You'll hear a few notes followed by "Press a key to choose an instrument." Press a key again. A short tune will play in that instrument and announce the name of the instrument. Now any key pressed will sound like that instrument.

2. Change to a different instrument: Turn unit OFF and back ON, OR move oval MODE switch to another icon and then move it back to the "Double Note" Icon.

Key 1 Piano Tunes (Each key pressed plays a different part of the piano tune.)

Key 2 Piano Notes (Play notes manually.)

Key 3 Silly Sounds (Play notes manually.)

Key 4 Organ (Play notes manually.)

Key 5 Organ Tunes (Each key pressed will plays a different part of organ tune.)

Key 6 Harpsicord (Play notes by pressing each key manually.)

Key 7 Popping Sounds (Play notes by pressing each key manually.)

Key 8 Synthesizer (Play notes by pressing each key manually.)

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT:

1. Vocabulary: up/down; loud/soft; high/low; on/off; left/right; press; key; play; switch; music; number; color; sound; song; tune; piano; organ; synthesizer; harpsichord, sing

2. State what the child is doing: "You're making the balls go up and down." "You're making the red ball go up and down." "You're playing high notes to low notes."

3. Give a direction: "Press the 1 key." "Press the red key." "Show me the numeral 3." "Show me the color yellow." "Make the brown ball go up and down." "Press the keys and count with me." Older child: "Press the keys and count backwards."

BONUS INFORMATION:

1. Save the battery: Even in OFF mode, the balls will pop up and down when keys are pressed.

2. Take Along: This toy can be a great take along in the car if you don't mind the sounds!

Enjoy!

--Lynn (St. Louis)

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program My youngest child as of 2012 is 2. When I received this toy, I thought he would enjoy it at least. He played with it for about 10 to 15 minutes and was done. The toy is very basic. It is a small keyboard with the various colors. The color of the keys are matched with a small ball that goes up when the key is pressed. The toy has four different settings for colors, numbers, and two settings for music. My child does need to learn his colors better which is why I got the toy in the first place.

Overall, this toy perhaps would be better for an even younger child than 2. My little boy didn't play with the toy long and now the toy sits on top of the other toys in his toy room.

Buy AmScope 10X-20X-30X-40X Stereo Binocular Microscope Boom + Light

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List Price: $900.00
Sale Price: $245.00
Today's Bonus: 73% Off

The only real problem with this item is poor documentation (User's Manual falls short). A small spanner wrench was supplied, but have no idea where it might be used. Having said that , the microscope yields clear images of electronic circuit boards and components. The LED light source does a nice job and is easy to adjust the illumination angle. The lens system is very easy to change from one power to another. At 30X and 40X it is a bit tricky getting left and right binocular alignment for proper depth of field. Once I discovered the ability to slide the lens assembly left or right finding a good viewing position, then all was well!

So overall the microscope is very nice, but there is room for improving the user's manual.

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The Anscope purchased have been exactly what I needed and is a awesome product that will record to other that are in to mirco electronic repair or any kind mirco work.

Robot Diary Review

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The only reason that it didn't get 5 stars is for the overall size. Wish it was a little bigger.

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Ordered for my 4 year old Grandson because he wanted a book with a lock and I key on it. Pretty sure he liked it....Did a Little dance of JOY when it arrived.

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Bought this cute little diary for my son. He really likes it, and I like that it came with two keys so, I have one I can put up when he loses his.

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the diary seems nice but the lock broke quite easily for my 8 year old....keys got bent...etc etc. Doa number lock or soemthing.

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looked and looked for a 'boy' approriate journal for my Tween son, and FINALLY found this one

came with 2 keys, and a pretty good lock

he liked it

would recommend to others

Reviews of Wooden Counting and Shape Sorting Clock

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This product arrived on time and appeared as described. It was purchased as a gift for a 3yr. old. It held his attention and it was easy for the child to understand.

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Discount Glow Rocks Science Kit

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List Price: $39.95
Sale Price: $29.95
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I had no idea that rocks could glow under a UV light before we saw this kit. I must say, this is really neat science from Dr. Cool. I was very impressed with how the ultraviolent light (included) makes each rock glow in a different color. This product was a huge hit in our house.

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The Glow Rocks Kit comes with an activity booklet, an adventure guide, a UV lamp, and six glow rocks. We learn about why things glow, the different wavelengths of light, and how to identify seven types of minerals: hackmanite, sphaelerite, wernerite, willemite, common opal, fluorite, and calcite.

Impressive. The rocks fluoresce, all of them differently, and the children experimented. There were ten suggested experiments in all:

1) Look at the rocks under the UV lamp.

2) See how the rocks fluoresce in water.

3) See how the rocks fluoresce when the UV lamp is behind sunglasses.

4) See how the rocks fluoresce when different strength sunscreens are applied.

5) See how different toothpastes glow.

6) Look at different currencies of bills under the UV lamp.

7) Look at different stamps under the UV lamp.

8) Look at different driver's licenses and passports and ID cards under the UV lamp.

9) Test objects around the house to see if they glow.

10) Look at objects outdoors to see if they glow.

My children were not as able to focus on this kit as well as they did with the other kits, but they did enjoy it. Personally, I think the wonderful thing about this kit is when the children finish, the UV lamp will transform into my portable doggie urine detector!

This product was provided for review by Discover with Dr. Cool.

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This is a fun kit for the little scientist in your house. It is a little expensive as a kit but black lights are not cheap in general. What I liked about this kit: the rocks all glow, some more than others but they are good specimens (about an inch or more in size). The black light is small and portable making the possibility of finding other luminescent items a lot easier and fun. The light has a double feature of being a black light and a regular 'flashlight' which we used a lot to see the difference between the black light colors and the 'white light' colors without having to turn the overhead lights on and off.

My 8-year-old had fun walking around looking for other glowing items in her room including her own rock collection from the 'pick a bag of rocks' bins.

This is nicely packaged and makes a good gift idea. The kit is a little pricy but the benefit of it is up to you as the consumer to get more out of it with the bonus activities and research.

Best of all, this kit is Made in the USA.

Dr. Cool provided a complimentary kit for evaluation and an unbiased review.

Honest reviews on Glow Rocks Science Kit

I got this for my 8 year old daughter. She loves it, but honestly either the light is really weak, or the rocks don't glow much. I can hardly see them in the dark with the light shining on them. I might try a better black light to see if it helps.

The rocks certainly do not look like the illustration shown here. You can barely see any color.

She still likes it though.

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My 8 y/o daughter loves collecting rocks and minerals. This item was on her xmas wishlist last year and her uncle got it for her. The kit was everything we hoped it would be. All the rocks are a fair size (about 1"-2" each) and react to UV nicely. The black light still works a year later! My daughter still loves getting these rocks out and making them glow.

The kit costs a bit more money than others you might come across, but it's well worth it for the quality. I had gotten my daughter a different glowing rocks kit elsewhere, for half the price, and it was garbage. The rocks were tiny and most of them didn't react to UV at all.

Kidz Lab Dinosaur Excavation Dig Kits - Gift Pack set of 3 Review

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Bought this for my 4 yr old son who loves dinos. Its the first thing he grabed from under the tree Christmas morning and I could not get him away from them until they were all excavated and assembled. The clay that they come in has been baked so he had to get one of his toy hammers to get to the bones, but for him this made much more fun. I bought six of these and plan to buy many more.

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These are still the best dig kits I have found. My son also spends time playing with the 'fossils' after the fun part of digging.

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I first saw these with a friend and decided to get some for my son. These are really wonderful toys. My son fell in love with them. I gave them to him over a long period of time, usually as a reward. Then he would spend a good part of the day excavating. My advice though is that they should only be excavated outside because they can be pretty dusty. The child should also wear an apron and goggles if available. What I also did from time to time was to show my 5 year old how to sprinkle a little water that kept the dust down but it made his task easier and so her finished faster. I am not sure whether the soil they are encrusted in is real soil and it is not indicated on the box so I preferred to put a bit of water in case it is some cheap chinese stuff which could cause ailment in my child if breathed in but otherwise the concept is really nice and quite educative.

V Tech V Smile Finding Nemo Nemo's Ocean Discoveries Ages 4-6 Reviews

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Bought this for my 6 year old son who adores Nemo. He LOVES IT and its simple enough that he doesn't get super frustrated with it either. All in all a very good learning game. :)

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AmScope Binocular Reversed Stereo Microscope 5X-10X-15X-30X Reviews

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List Price: $780.00
Sale Price: $144.98
Today's Bonus: 81% Off

I use research-grade microscopes in my work and bought this economy model for home use for looking at bugs and pond-life. The microscope was delivered promptly and well packed. Overall I was quite impressed. The image was sharp and showed no noticeable color fringes or distortion as found in "toy" microscopes. The instruction booklet was generic and did not cover this particular model (although principles were the same). This model is described as "reverse stereo" which means the image is right side up and moves in the same direction as the object. Variable magnification was achieved by rotating the objective turret (1x and 3x) and changing eyepieces (5x and 10x). The latter needed a small crosshead screwdriver which was not supplied. Another tool was supplied with no description which might be for lifting the bulbs from their mounts. Both top and bottom bulbs (12V 10W) got very hot in use, so pond water samples would quickly warm up. There are no condenser lenses associated with the light sources so they illuminate an area much bigger than the observation area , but they are bright enough for viewing. The field of view seems smaller than other stereo microscopes that I have used (20 mm for 10X magnification) and the eyepieces have to be close together to get a satisfactory stereo image (may be a problem if you have a big nose!). The rubber eye guards provided were a little too big to get the proper eye to eyepiece distance and so further reduced the field of view they are not necessary. However, all these quibbles are minor compared with the basic quality of the image. It was a delight to watch Rotifers swimming between strands of Spirogyra in 3 dimensions. I would rate it 5 for value-for-money and 3 compared with top grade microscopes hence my overall 4 rating.

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Buy ALEX® Toys - Alex Jr. Baby Builder 1982

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List Price: $29.00
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We had gotten the award winning Alex Jr. popbeads for my son for his first birthday but he didn't really get into beyond shaking the container and dumping them out and putting them back in until my mother spent a few hours with him, teaching him to "pop" them apart and "snap" them together. After this they became a favorite in the toy rotation.

Although the container says 6m+ on it, we went ahead and got the next in the line (also award winning), the Alex Jr. Baby Builder, for our son who is alost 20 months for Christmas. It includes more popbeads but other pieces for making more elaborate creations as well.

It was an immediate success with both my son and my 21 m.o. nephew wanting to play with it all weekend!!! And all the adults were having fun making wacky creations with the colorful pieces.

We like this set better then the popbeads alone as there is so much more to do with it. Although I think my son's favorite part is still to shake the container when full (but with the lid off) and have the pieces rattle about loudly and evantually all fly out all over the place. He takes the shaking very seriously and is very intent on his purpose. Then it's all smiles and giggles.

Pulling apart the beads and putting them together (even with help) are definitely developing his fine motor skills and I think as he gets older he will be able to focus more on building creations with the other pieces whereas now he primarily just takes ours apart.

A couple items to note. I don't think a 6 m.o. baby would be able to pull apart the popbeads and definitely note put them to together (my son still needs a bit of help with that) muchless actually build something. I'd probably suggest for 15 or 18 months and up.

Curiously, the popbeads in this set seem to be sightly easier to put together then the ones in the set of popbeads alone. Not nearly as much help is needed from an adult he was almost doing it on his own on Christmas Day and I think soon will be.

The plastic these are made of feels on the cheaper side but so far they have held up to a lot of toddler abuse with only a few dents. I was concerned that my son would chew on them and break off and swallow an end but again so far no problems and my son puts everything in his mouth and has a full set of baby teeth. But I do think that if an adult wearing shoes stepped down on one it could be squashed.

Again these were an immediate success with my son and I think he'll enjoy for many more months. The colors are bright and cheerful and the shapes fun. I highly recommend for young todders (15m 24m, and maybe older)and may be getting a set for my nephew!

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This was a Christmas gift for my 6 month old. He had no idea how to 'build' with it, but that didn't stop him from enjoying it. The colorful blocks were so much fun to chew on, suck on, and toss around. My 2 1/2 year old loved it as well. He was old enough to put the blocks together and loved building chains. Six months later, this set was still played with daily by both boys. Unlike most toys that are boring after about a week, this toy continues to hold their attention what a great find!

Best Deals for ALEX® Toys - Alex Jr. Baby Builder 1982

I bought these for my 6 month-old after playing with them at a friend's house. They were an instant hit. At 8 months old now, he still gets excited when I bring out these blocks. He loves grabbing the blocks and pulling beads apart. The curved shapes are perfect for teething on. The orange lid piece is just as much fun as the blocks. My son also loves tipping over the jar and watching the pieces tumble out. The jar is fun to roll around and rattle, and it is useful for teaching kids how to put blocks away. This toy will grow with him, as he learns to attach pieces together. It's fun for parents too. Save money and buy this builder set, instead of buying the "pop beads" and "first snaps" separately. I'm considering buying a second set, so we can make longer chains.

Honest reviews on ALEX® Toys - Alex Jr. Baby Builder 1982

We have owned several toys by Alex, and they have always been high quality. Unfortunately, that is not the case with this toy. The plastic is much thinner and 'cheapy' feeling than I expected. Having said that...

These have better play value than standard pop-beads because there is more versatility in how they can be put together. Both our 15mo old and our almost 5 yr old enjoyed these (I also caught our 8 & 10yr old playing with them). These are perfect for a household that needs something a preschool-age child would enjoy and that is safe for a baby to get into.

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My 19 mo. daughter loves these! She like to take them out of the container and put them back in over and over again. She has started trying to put them together although she is much better at taking them apart. I like that there is a large number of them to keep her occupied. It is almost impossible to get them all back in the container so that the lid will close all the way so I just usually just set the lid on top.

Review of Elenco Snap Circuits XP

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They love it, and I've been having fun too. Teaching my kids about circuits this young is going to open so many doors for them. I wish I had this when I was a kid, it might have changed the course of my life. The kit is easy to use, my 4 year old and I do these.

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