Making New Discoveries!

Making New Discoveries-

Discovery Channel Microscope Review

Christmas has come early at our house this year- we have been sent a Discovery Channel 150x Microscope to test and have been having loads of fun investigating with it.

It is really easy to set up and focus and comes with two pre-loaded slides so you can get straight on and start discovering. We have been looking at wings on the pre-loaded slides and have been having fun using the tools to collect our own specimens- it includes tweezers, vials, a magnifying glass and a magnifying petri dish so we have collected and cut up leaves and flowers to examine and have looked at nails and hair under the microscope which come out really well.

The microscope can be set up to three different levels of magnification and is also lit up. It is for age 8+ and it is ideal for any child around 7 upwards who likes science or enjoys studying nature but it is straight forward enough that Lottie who is 4 has been able to go ahead and use it without too much help and whilst we wouldn't recommend bashing this type of equipment around we can also tell you that Lottie took the microscope in to school and shared it with her Reception class who all had a look and it came home none the worse for it's outing!

We really liked this product and highly recommend it as a great Christmas gift. If you would like to find out more you can visit the Trends UK website here 

Nickelodeon STEM Product Range from The Entertainer and a Giveaway

The Nickelodeon STEM Product Range from The Entertainer and a chance to win a set from the range!

I was so excited to be contacted by The Entertainer to see if we would like to participate in their Twitter Party (later today from 4pm to 5pm- follow @entertainertoys and @whatlukedidnext) and I was even more excited to be sent and Exploding Booms set from the Nickelodeon STEM range to test. 

STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and the products within the range help children learn about these topics in a really fun way- you can make anything from soap bombs and fragrances to stink bombs, build circuits and perform experiments. It is an awesome range and ideal for children age 5 plus (with adult help) and around 8 plus with less supervision.

We tested the Exploding Booms set and found it really great. The instructions were straight forward to follow and the additional equipment needed was minimal - basically vinegar for a couple of the experiments and lemon juice for one so just normal household products.

We liked the exploded boom bags- these were straightforward and fun and easy to do without help- just blow them up and make them bang! We also made a volcano which was amazing- I loved the chemical reaction and thought the addition of colouring made it really cool. We had great fun with water bombs too. 

We still have several more experiments to carry out and I am especially looking forward to making the rocket which looks fab.

These sets are being sold exclusively in The Entertainer or online here and are currently just £10 making them perfect for Christmas.

Don't miss your chance to win a set from with the Nickelodeon STEM range kindly supplied by The Entertainer.

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Roald Dahl House of Twits App Review

Roald Dahl House of Twits App Review

As you may already know I am a huge Roald Dahl fan and I especially love The Twits even though Mr and Mrs Twit are truly vile!  (read my review of the book and see our Mr Twit beard here) so as you can imagine I was very excited to hear there was a new App available that you can play where you travel through The House of Twit.

I have been waiting and waiting to download this as I am only allowed to go on the internet and play games occasionally and then my Mum's tablet broke so I had to wait even longer. My Dad finally agreed I could put it on to his phone yesterday and I am loving playing it. I started last night and really wish he hadn't had to take his phone to work as I am looking forward to getting hold of Mr Twit.

So far I am on Level 7 and have been able to get my own back on Mrs Twit by poking her, waking her up and feeding her, tricking her by putting her in the cupboard and pouring water on her head and helping the monkeys- but then we had a power cut and I lost my internet connection so had to stop playing! I am hoping when Dad gets home tonight I will be able to carry on with the game and get a turn at making Mr Twit pay for his mean treatment of the monkeys- I think it is only 2 more levels until I unlock him! I am looking forward to level 8 where it goes into the bathroom- I hope I might be able to put Mrs Twit down the toilet and level 13 when I get to go to their bedroom and cause trouble!

                                                     
This app is so much fun and perfect for any Roald Dahl fans but also great for anyone that just wants a good game to play. Why not have a look yourself- watch the trailer here. You can buy the app here and at just £2.99 it is well worth it. I think this is ideal for children age 6-10 and will be showing it to my friends who will all love it too. It is a bit gruesome in places but Mr and Mrs Twit definitely deserve it!

A Great Day Out for LEGO Fans!

Brick 2015 A Great Day Out for LEGO Fans 

This weekend I was lucky enough to travel to The NEC in Birmingham for Brick 2015. I was expecting a lot of LEGO but I can't believe just how many bricks there were!

They are also holding a Brick Show at the ExCel Centre in London on 11th - 13th December so if you think this might be for you read on to find out what we got up to at this weekend's show.

When we arrived at the NEC we headed straight for the exhibition and got going with exploring all the activities. There were some amazing displays and models- we all had different favourites but there was a huge Titanic and a Colosseum that were both really awesome that we all loved and there were models of characters like Hagrid, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and R2D2 which I really wish I was able to build.

         

We joined in with making a huge mosaic- everyone had a base plate and a tiny section of a large picture to create which was then put together to form the whole thing. 

We made our house out of LEGO which was then added to a huge map of the UK and placed where we asked for it to go. As Lottie had made our house I made a floating building and asked the man to put it in the sea!

There was a chance to make racing cars and test them and race them on the ramps, which was good fun and we also attempted another Guinness World Record challenge- there were several different building challenges to complete.

We got to try the LEGO Dimensions computer game which is really really awesome and I would love to get at some point and the Avengers one which is coming out next year which was good too - although Lottie was cross that she couldn't make Captain America fly (he doesn't fly but she wouldn't believe me!)

Along with all the activities and all the amazing displays there were huge pits of LEGO each in a different colour which you could either sit in or grab a handful of bricks from and just build- it was fantastic- like a ball pool for big kids and grown ups! I think it would be my dream come true to have my very own LEGO pit, although Mum says we'd definitely need a bigger house then!

After that there was plenty of chance to add to our own LEGO collections with a huge Toys R Us selling just LEGO- there was so much to choose from! 

There were plenty of other sellers to buy from but I have picked out my favourite three stalls for you to keep an eye out for at the ExCel Show:

FAB-BRICKS.COM - we didn't get to see them at the show as they closed the queue off an hour before the end of the show so they could get everyone finished and we didn't arrive at their stand until then but they make personalised mini figures- you choose the hair, head, body, and legs and then they will engrave it for you. It looked amazing and both Lottie and I really wish we'd got them done so I would definitely recommend visiting them early on in your day.

Base Ace- 3D play platforms - My Mum had seen these online before we went and we were really excited to see what they were like- they are a brilliant idea and really good quality. The man showed us how you can have them upside down or add extension packs and lights and basically use them to come help play with your LEGO in any way you like. Lottie loved the treehouse type set but I really liked the one that reminded me if a rocket but I think you could use them all in so many different ways- I would love to create a fort or a space ship.

Mechabrick- the people there were really friendly and have created a game that has a large board and robots, weapons and people that move around but basically you use your existing LEGO and create models from you imagination which the robots then move round and blow up. It is also compatible with your base boards so the game can become as large as you like. It looks like a great way to enjoy LEGO with your friends and see where the game takes you. 

As you can see I now have a whole load of new ideas of what I would like to start saving up for!  

I would really recommend Brick 2015 as a great day out for any LEGO fan- there are plenty of chances to shop but there are also loads of chances to just play and enjoy LEGO alongside loads of other people who also love it.

Tickets for the show at the ExCel Centre can be ordered from here

A Note from Mum....

We had a great day out as the whole family- we all like LEGO (well except baby Sam who would just eat it but he was happy to sit in his pushchair and watch the world go by!) I felt there was plenty to do for children of Luke and Lottie's age groups and we easily filled the whole day and I also saw plenty of people with much older children who still seemed to be enjoying themselves- if anything I would have said we could have gone for longer as we didn't spend very long playing in the big LEGO pits or looking at some of the models. 

I have seen some people saying the tickets are pricey- they are right- it isn't a cheap day out. However, it is comparable with other Exhibitions we have been to and if your child enjoys LEGO then they will definitely get enough out of it to make it worthwhile. Our friends also went and they thoroughly enjoyed the day and again their son would have been happy to stay all night! It should also be a consideration that parking is £12- however this is the standard rate at the NEC for any show I have ever been to there and would be expected anywhere. The products being sold start from £1.50 upwards so you don't need to have a huge budget for treats to still enjoy the day but with Christmas fast approaching the December show will be a brilliant chance to get stocked up for it. 

We were lucky enough to be given tickets to the Brick 2015 Show and would like to take this opportunity to thank Poppyseed Media for their generosity. However all thoughts and opinions within this post are our own.