Interactive Solar System
© 1999 KB Toys
One of a series of similarly designed products, this toy teaches about the solar system. Measuring about 12 x 18 inches, the toy features a flat screen with planet pictures that light up. Buttons along the bottom let children select a planet and hear about its size, moons, temperature, distance from the sun and so on. Children can use the toy for open-ended exploration or they can play a question and answer quiz game, with true/false or multiple choice answers. This game serves up over 1,000 questions. The toy does have an automatic turn-off feature, but is missing volume control and a headphone jack. Although we really like the other toys in the product line, this particular model has choppy, robotic-like speech, which gets annoying. Still, the toy would be a nice addition to classrooms studying space, or to kids who are intrigued by the planets.
$24.99, Smart Toy
Teaches: science, solar system, astronomy