Educational Insights GeoSafari Jr. Talking Microscope Featuring Bindi Irwin: Microscope for Kids, STEM & Science Toy, Interactive Learning, Ages 3+

Perfect blend of education and fun. We purchased one and saw the joy of our children. And now is a go-to gift idea. Lots to learn and do with this one item. The buttons are easy to use (large). The cards are easy to use (slide in and out). Lightweight. Batteries do last in this toy. We couldn't be happier with this product.

This little microscope was every educational and had many different slides to learn from. The pictures from the slides were super clear and focused. I was highly impressed. With each slide the microscope would tell (in detail) information on what they were looking at.

PROS:1. First and foremost, the kid loves it, loves it, loves it. It's really the only talking toy I have found that has held this rambunctious 4-yr-old's attention independently for large chunks of time.2. Appropriately sturdy and simple enough for 4-5 yr-old to manipulate without close supervision.3. Good variety of slides - from insects to plants to such things as salt and blood cells.4. Enough slides to keep occupied for a while but eventually the child will need to repeat, and that review and gaining of familiarity is when real incremental learning can take place. IMO, it's exactly the right number of starter slides.5. Bindi, Bindi, Bindi!!! As the voice of the toy, her high young tone has an excited childlike quality, so my child completely took to this as 'playing with a fun friend' rather than being asked to sit still or learn something. Do I want to listen to her pitch for an hour? - maybe not so much, but it was genius for them to use her. Very effective for the kiddos.CONS:1. The slides have a flat side and a grooved side and must go under the "microscope" magnifier flat side down or the notches don't fit in their slots to activate the sound. But you can't SEE the difference in one side vs. the other - you can only feel it. This can be difficult for a young child to perform and produces frustration when they're putting the slide in the right place but they can't get their pal Bindi to talk. I don't think this would be a problem for a 6-7 year old, but in the 4-5 age range, it's an issue.

My son enjoyed looking at the slides, but I wish there were more variety in what we are looking at, instead of three of the same on each slide. Bindis voice is a delightful addition to this toy.

Our grandson likes to look at the slides. It is so ething different and educational.

Bought as a gift and was very fun to be able to look at everything. Easy to use and adjust sights. Easy to store due to small size and lightweight.

This is in excellent condition, like in mint condition—I bought this as used and I couldn’t tell if there was even a minor defect.

We bought two of these for Christmas for our children so they could each have their own.One Microscope worked great. The slides were really cool and it did a good job of explaining what was on the slide and even asked questions to see if your kids are paying attention.The 2nd microscope was defective and didn’t read the slides correctly. For example it would tell the kids that a slide of a tooth was a honey bee and would then proceed to talk about honeybees while they were looking at a human tooth. The same slide would read correctly in the first microscope so we knew it wasn’t the slides.So we returned one of them. I would have given it 5 stars anyways... because the 1st microscope was awesome and no product is ever 100 percent all the time. We can expect a replacement every now and then and that’s ok to me. I am just letting everyone know one was defective Incase you see a lot of reviews saying the same thing... then you know it’s a common problem and maybe but such a great toy.The reason I personally think it’s worth 3 stars instead of 5 at this point, is because this awesome Microscope becomes a nightmare if you have 2 or more kids. It is impossible for them to both sit at the table together and each have their own microscope (which I wanted them to do so they wouldn’t loose any slides or break the microscope). It’s impossible because you can’t mute the Microscopes. They only have two volumes. Loud and regular. There isn’t even a “low” volume so that you and your kids can tune out one microscope and try to listen to the other. It is absolutely chaotic. It’s impossible to get them to sync what their saying. Even if you handed your kids the same slide to do at the same time it’s too hard to get them to start simultaneously. Too make matters worse ... if your child doesn’t do what the microscope prompts them to do... such as push the “fact button” or “choose a different slide” then the microscope keeps talking and repeating itself after a few seconds. It never remains silent long enough for everyone just to listen to one microscope. It is chaotic. Even if you only had one kid or you wanted your kids to share one microscope it would be great if you could mute it. Sometimes it is nice just to look at the pictures without the audio going on and on. Especially because it won’t stay silent and repeats itself over and over. Having a young child I do think that the repeat is helpful for prompting them ... so I understand why it does it.... however for parents or older kids it would be nice to have a mute button for sanity or maximum enjoyment. You cannot turn the light on the microscope, without the audio coming on.Incase your wondering- The Manuel tells you what each button does on the microscope. There are three buttons (1,2,3) for multiple choice questions and answers. A magnifying button for “facts” or information about the slide. A volume button that is two levels- (loud and regular only). And an on/off button which turns the light on to see the slides and starts the audio.