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3D solar system kit Review

Our 7 year old grandson has developed an almost non-stop vocabulary about the solar system. Upon opening the 3D Solar System kit, he went on to put all of the planets together and paint them the same night. He applied the glow paint to them the next day and proceeded to hang the system in his bedroom from the ceiling.

We thought maybe this would be something he would do over a couple of days time period, but he was so enthralled with it he couldn't stop.

We are looking for another project that will hold his interest like this one did!
Anyone with suggestions?

3D solar system kit Feature

• Paint and paintbrush included

3D solar system kit Overview

Learn about the nine planets as you build your very own 29.5-inch hanging mobile of the Solar System! Snap together planets and then color them with the included paints -- including two that glow-in-the-dark! An educational poster provides facts about each of the nine worlds. Availability:: Usually ships within one business day.

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• Exploring the Solar System: A History with 22 Activities (For Kids series)

Customer Reviews

Awesome - R. Liburd - VI
I bought this solar system for my daughter's 3rd grade science project. It took about 2 hours to set up (I printed and glued the names for each planet, not included). It was quality time spent setting up with her. Enjoyed painting the planets. The only draw back the glow in the dark paint did not work for us. Never the less she got an 'A'!





Good Educational Value, but Don't Touch It - Bryan Carey - Houston, TX
The 3D Solar System Kit by Toysmith is a good educational/learning tool that introduces children to the world of astronomy. This planetary system includes spheres representing the eight planets and the sun, sized in relative order (not to scale). It hangs from the ceiling as a mobile unit and includes special glow in the dark paint for added fun.

This solar system kit comes completely unassembled and part of the enjoyment for youngsters is the application of the paint. There are two strips of paint included with several different colors. This allows kids the chance to explore their creative side. Some kids will choose to paint the planets according to their actual color, such as painting the planet Mars red. Others will mix and match and create all sorts of different color combinations. Kids will enjoy this part of the process almost as much as they will enjoy looking at the completed mobile itself.

Once the fun of painting is over, it will then be time to assemble the pieces together. This is easily the most frustrating part of the process and depending on the ages of your kids, you may very well have to complete this step for them. The reason this is so frustrating is because of the very small size of the hooks and the rectangular pieces that are anchored into the spheres. The tiny hooks and even tinier rectangular pieces have a small hole in the middle through which you have to thread the fishing line. This takes time and patience and you have to tie the ends securely enough that the line won't come loose. A single knot isn't good enough. You need to make two knots if you want the line to stay in place. The pieces are so tiny, many young children will be unable to complete the task and even many adults will grow frustrated. The manufacturer should rethink this aspect and, if nothing else, increase the size of these pieces, in order to make them easier to work with.

Another possible trouble spot with this solar system module is the fragility of the pieces. The mobile looks interesting hanging from the ceiling and its lightweight design means it will slowly turn, with the slightest amount of air. However, because the pieces are so light and fragile, you have to keep the mobile away from wind/air sources. The air movement from a fan, for example, could be enough to make the planetary bodies come apart and/or cause the nylon string to become untied. Even the air movement from a heat duct could be enough to cause problems. It's best to place the mobile far out of the reach of small children. If little ones can easily touch the mobile, the constant handling will cause the pieces to fall apart.

Taken as a whole, the 3D Solar System Kit by Toysmith is still good educational toy for kids that introduces them to the world of astronomy. Assembling the tiny pieces can really try your patience and the fragile nature of this mobile solar system limits its quality. However, it still has enough positive points to earn a slight recommendation.






Tedious to string together - Lloyd Christmas - Canada
Pros:
Quite educational.
Glow in the dark works good (not great).
Art is nice.

Cons:
For me, it came with one missing painting template.

When put together, the mobile is very likely going to be lopsided in weight.

Before you even start to string the planets and sun to the mobile, there's no instruction to what you do with this long piece of thread, so I just assumed you cut it up into equal pieces and hope that you have enough for all the planets and the sun.

To string the planets to the mobile (pieces of plastic sticks), you must string thread to the small holes. The thread has a mind of its own and will not cooperate easily. I spent more time threading and tying the planets and sun to the mobile (which by the way, the knots kept undoing themselves) than my child painting the items.

Look at the "ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS". It has a diagram of the mobile, the planets, and the sun, and how it's supposed to be attached together. The planets at the end of the plastic sticks have loops to tie the thread around. However, the planets on the inside -- the middle of each plastic stick -- have nothing to attach to; the diagram makes it look like the thread is embedded into the plastic (which isn't the case of course). So here I assume you simply wrap the thread around the stick; the problem is that it's slippery and cumbersome to do. The diagram also shows the main string go up and outside of the diagram frame, out of view -- meaning there's no instruction nor advice on how and where to hang it.

Sure, you can innovate, but I'm expecting clear and intuitive instructions, not vague ones.

I strongly believe the makers knew about these flaws and didn't bother to address them. I think it's unfair to the consumer to leave him/her "out in the cold" concerning the above matters. Why not make a much easier way to attach the items to the mobile -- even if it would cost a bit more for the consumer?

If I knew I would have to spend so much time stringing the items to the mobile, I would've never purchased this product. I would give this item a better score, but the "threading" issue was quite frustrating, so it ruined any chance of a better score.







*** Product Information and Prices Stored: Sep 19, 2010 21:42:57