Last week we reviewed several Uncle Milton National Geographic Outdoor Explorer toys (see review here.) While my son definitely enjoyed the toys he played with last week, I was especially looking forward to this week's batch since we could play outside - at night. With a slightly cooler temp, and even cooler toys, we headed outside into the semi-darkness of our back yard (I'm not that adventurous to let my son play in the pitch dark.)
First on the agenda was the Expedition Sky Flare. Not quite sure what to expect since I associate flares with flames, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the "flare" was a battery-operated red LED light. Whew! Even though the age range is 8+, this was safe for my 5-year old in that regards. With my assistance, my son attached the flare to the launcher, and similar to a sling-shot, the flare was sent up into the night sky. OK, not really all that far, and nowhere near it's 50-ft. capability, but it was cool all the same. My son quickly got the hang of it, with my supervision of course. We had fun seeing who was able to get the flare closest to our sand bucket "target", which is one of the suggested activities in the Activity Guide that it comes.
Next up was the High Sierra Eco-Explorer, which consists of a bug viewer, magnifier, a multi-use tool for digging, a sand sifter, and a belt clip. The searchlight can be hand held like a flashlight, or used as a headlamp. My husband took our son on an after-dinner adventure looking for whatever critters might come out at night, and were able to find some ants and get them into the viewer for closer inspection. Our son was excited to have caught something, and enjoyed watching the ants through the viewer, crawling over little rocks and leaves he had put in there.
First on the agenda was the Expedition Sky Flare. Not quite sure what to expect since I associate flares with flames, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the "flare" was a battery-operated red LED light. Whew! Even though the age range is 8+, this was safe for my 5-year old in that regards. With my assistance, my son attached the flare to the launcher, and similar to a sling-shot, the flare was sent up into the night sky. OK, not really all that far, and nowhere near it's 50-ft. capability, but it was cool all the same. My son quickly got the hang of it, with my supervision of course. We had fun seeing who was able to get the flare closest to our sand bucket "target", which is one of the suggested activities in the Activity Guide that it comes.
Next up was the High Sierra Eco-Explorer, which consists of a bug viewer, magnifier, a multi-use tool for digging, a sand sifter, and a belt clip. The searchlight can be hand held like a flashlight, or used as a headlamp. My husband took our son on an after-dinner adventure looking for whatever critters might come out at night, and were able to find some ants and get them into the viewer for closer inspection. Our son was excited to have caught something, and enjoyed watching the ants through the viewer, crawling over little rocks and leaves he had put in there.
Another very cool-looking part of the National Geographic Outdoor Explorer Toy collection are the Expedition Shoe Lights, which snap onto shoes and light the way in front of you as you walk. Unfortunately, this was not part of our toy package, because they looked really neat!
Stay tuned next week for another toy adventure...
We were provided with Uncle Milton toys in exchange for a review, however the opinions are 100% mine and my family's.
