The world is a wonderful place now I know you're in it. xx
The world is a wonderful place now I know you're in it. xx
Member since:28.04.2004
Reviews:65
Members who trust:42
Of all the toy's and games I have bought for my kids, the Leap Frog Explorer Globe has to rank amongst the top five in terms of educational value and play longitivity. I purchased the globe over a year ago to help my 6 year old daughter with her geography knowledge. At the time the globe was on offer at 59.99 GBP from Amazon, I thought long and hard about parting with this amount of money but because I got a great deal on the price and it was a Christmas present I ordered it. Normal retail price was 99.99 GBP!
The globe itself is the size of a basketball which rotates on a sturdy stand with rubber feet so it feels very secure on any surface, attached is the stylus pointer which you use to tap the globe for information. When first switched on an American accent announces 'Welcome to the LeapfrogExplorer Globe!' Some interactive toys have an incoherent or annoying interactive voice but not so with this; it is clear and concise and we have had no problems understanding it. The look of the globe is fantastic and the layout of the countries are excellent considering they have squeezed every country in, even San Marino and Equatorial Guinea have a mention! Countries are a mixture of pastel shades which is a great idea as my daughter can remember where the country is, from its colour. All capital cities are highlighted and on larger countries other major towns and cities.
The interactive part of globe is the key feature and everything comes to life when you use the pen to probe for further information, there are ten information categories including:
AREA - Gives the total area of a selected country in miles and kilometres. HIGH POINTS - Give the highest point in meters and feet. MONEY - Gives currency of a country. MUSIC - A combination of national anthems and traditional music, for example the UK has Green sleeves. DISTANCE - Allows you to find out the distance from one country to another. COMPARE - Again by touching two countries you can compare the population and area, e.g.; Brazil is 8 times bigger than Saudi Arabia, a child can easily understand these comparisons. TIME - By setting the correct time you can find the time of any country. NAME & CAPITAL of a country. POPULATION of a country
The other aspect of the globe is Eureka! Which is an addictive game for up to 4 players on 3 different levels of difficulty - Tourist, Frequent flyer and Globetrotter, there are six different games encompassing what you have learned:
Countries, Country capitals, Continents, Free for all, And two wholly American games to find the different states and state capitals!
45 seconds are allowed in each of the four rounds to find as many countries as you can - The American voice is accompanied by a tune that speeds up gradually towards the end to cause complete frenzy to the player or total frustration if the country cannot be found. An encouraging bell sound lets you know if correct or an annoying buzzer if incorrect. The anonymous American voice gives words of encouragement at half time such as 'awesome' or 'fantastic'. End of rounds are signalled with a bell, just to add to the tension.
I must mention the music section again as this was one of the aspects of the globe all the children who have played with it have enjoyed most. All countries have their own type of folk music and music which is familiar with that country, it has enlightened the children to different types of music which I don't think they would have came across in everyday life and encouraged lots of questions about what goes on in those countries. As well as dancing round the living room like an idiot doing the Tango to show the kids how people dance in those countries... Oh what fun!!
I must admit that my friends and I have spend many a night playing on this along with visitors who come to the house and leave two hours later, totally worn out and addicted. But back to the kids! My daughter loves it, and it's definitely one toy that I do not regret buying as she has learned a lot geographically as well as it being the most played with item in the whole house, everyone from age 5 to 75 has loved it.
As I mentioned previously this is quite a costly toy but in my mind well worth the money, at present there is another offer on Amazon at 79.99 GBP otherwise most retailers such as The Early Learning Centre and Toys R Us will charge the normal 99.99 GBP. Leapfrog recommend ages 7 upwards for this game however my daughter was nearly 6 at the time I bought it and found no problems navigating and learning from the globe.
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