Magick1's Full Review: Educational Insights Design and Drill Activity Cen...
Let me first start by saying that this Design and Drill Activity Center by Educational Insights has a tremendous amount to offer toddlers! This is something I came across last year and purchased as a gift for my toddler and we have been having fun ever since!
The Toy
There are 120 large plastic bolts in this package and they are of 5 different colors (24 bolts of each color): red, purple, blue, yellow and green.
There are 3 interchangeable bits to put on the handle that looks like a screwdriver handle. Or, the children can use these same bits and put the bits on the power drill that is included.
There is also a wrench included to do put the bolts in or take the bolts out by hand.
There are 10 different cards with pre-printed patterns on both sides of the card, giving you or your little ones 19 different ideas to get them started. These range from the copy the pattern to create your own picture idea from the cards to help get them and you, started. Of course, they can use their imagination and do any pattern that they choose!
The activity board that holds a lot of the bolts has 100 holes for them to create whatever patterns they choose. The activity board is about 5 ½ inches high, maybe about 12 ½ inches wide and about 12 inches deep (in order to drill in those bolts).
The box and manufacturer’s suggestions state that this is geared towards the grades Pre-K and the age of 3 +. I was able to see where someone recommended it for 3 – 8 year olds.
There is a one year warranty where they guarantee the original owner that the product will be free from defects in materials and workmanship for one year from the date of purchase.
If it's out of warranty, they will either service the unit or replace it with a reconditioned unit (at their option) upon receipt of the item and a check or money order for $20.00.
You can reach them at the following address:
Educational Insights
Customer Service Dept.
2206 Oakland Parkway
Columbia TN 38401-9901
1-800-995-4436 Monday through Friday from 8:30 am to 5:00 CST
service@edin.com
or their website is www.educationalinsights.com
(Be sure to double check this, as this information is original to the box that the toy came in and could have changed since this was printed.)
My Personal Experience
My biggest indicator of success is watching my child play with the toy. If it’s a winner, I will know by how much play-time it gets compared to other items.
When my child was 3 ½, the interest was due mostly to the noise from the drill. The bolts were fine to grab and the board was easy to put the bolts into especially with the screwdrivers. The drill was the most attractive item, but it was also a bit hard to get used to using.
The drill, as mentioned previously, allows you to interchange the bits from the screwdriver handle into the drill and use them either way. Using the drill itself is not too hard to get a hang of either. There is a bright switch on the top that is reverse, off and forward.
The only problem we had was teaching my child when to stop drilling when the bolt was either screwed into the activity board or if it was loose. You have a hard time teaching the “sound” to a little one because the drill is quite noisy. But, drilling in, you hear a distinct difference in the sound of the drill. After a while, the child will catch onto those sounds.
While breaking in the drill, there was quite a stink that sometimes will still come about if the drill is used too much and is possibly beginning to overheat. It’s not terribly stinky, but it’s noticeable. This is run by 3 AA batteries, it does not plug into a wall outlet!
Initially, the patterns were on the easy side with just a few bolts here and there. Now, the only patterns my child wants to do are the ones with 100 bolts put into the activity board. We haven’t ventured out to the using our own imagination stage yet to create fun pictures, but I would think this is our next adventure with this toy.
Drawbacks or Complaints
The smell of the drill when it starts getting over-used is a bit bad, but it won’t drive you out of the room as it does not smell extremely bad. If you stop using it, allow it to cool down, it’s not a big issue.
The NOISE is the really large complaint I have about this item. I feel the drill’s noise is very loud, and it’s not from a speaker that you can cover up or put something over it. This is the drill mechanism itself. It’s quite loud.
My concern is with a child being very close to the drill trying to get the bolts into the activity board, their little ears are right next to the drill. I just hope it does not do any damage. We encourage our child to use the manual tools as much as possible!
This does state is is conforming to the ASTM F 963. It is made in China.
Overall Impression
Other than the complaints mentioned above, I am exceptionally that I purchased this as I have had a lot of quality, creative time helping my child play, create a pattern and learn how to follow a plan through to completion and to see the end results.
It’s a great toy, fun to dig out and it gives us some great creative play time. If you are able to locate this activity center and have a toddler that would have a great time creating, this is one that you should check out and purchase. It’s tremendously fun!
~Thanks for spending time with me today!~
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 25.00 Type of Toy: Educational
Age Range of Child: 3 to 5 Years
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