Review: Glowing 3D Planets by Great Explorations
Learning the Planets
My sons are still only young, and maybe too young to understand the solar system. However, I recently picked up the Glowing 3D Planets by Great Explorations to begin their education into Space Science. Space science is a great STEM concept to teach to young kids, and these 3D Planets are a great way to get them thinking about our solar system.
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Overview of the 3D Planet Set
Glowing 3D Planets by Great Explorations comes in a small box. The largest of the planets is around 4cm in diameter. Each planet is made of hard plastic and has a small mounting hole at the top. The pack includes all eight planets and Pluto, a dwarf planet. It does not include our moon or the sun.
The planets are designed to be hung in a kids room, and make a great addition to the already popular Glowing Stars found in plenty of kids rooms. These planets claim to have a lifetime glow guarantee and are powered by 'Glowminite', whatever that means.
Here are the Glowing 3D Planets setup in order on a shelf I made for my sons.
What's in the Box?
The box has all you need to get these hung up in a kids bedroom. However, you may want to upgrade the adhesive. Here is what you will see when you open the Glowing 3D Planets by Great Explorations:
9 Planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto.
Solar System Guide: There is a black and white card showing the planets and includes distances from the sun.
Clear String: Similar to thin fishing line, they include 25 feet (7.6m) of clear string.
White Adhesive Tack: A small amount of white adhesive tack is also included.
Our Review/Opinion
This is not a bad toy and is educational for kids. But there are a few downsides to this product that we didn't like:
Expensive: We bought this on sale, and it was still a little overpriced. I think it generally sells for around $26-$29AUD. For a piece of string and some pained balls, it could be cheaper.
Colours are Not Accurate: I don't expect perfection, but the colours of some of the planets seemed a little weird and made it hard to put in order. If you are struggling with the order, here is our guide: Glowing 3D Planets Order.
Sizes are Not Proportionate: Good enough, yes. But it could be better for the price.
Quality Low: I had to punch out a couple of the holes to put the string through as they were blocked by lousy manufacturing. Easy fix though.
Not Enough Adhesive: The amount of adhesive is borderline.
Overall, this is a good educational product, that either needs to be of better quality, or at a lower price point. It could also do with some instructions or colour guide for parents who are not solar system experts. We gave the Glowing 3D Planets by Great Explorations 3 out of 5.
Read Next
Correct Order of Planets: Glowing 3D Planets
You just bought the Glowing 3D Planets pack by Great Explorations and you need to know the order. Look no further, as we have the correct order of planets right here.
