Thanks to MomSelect and Hexbug Nano, we got to spend today playing with Hexbug Nano robot bugs with a bunch of Emma and Johnny’s friends – and their parents! We were sent a huge box full of bugs for my kids and all their friends, as well as TONS of track – enough for everyone to take home pieces to build habitats for their new bugs! Check out these swag bags:
Emma wrote each child’s name on their bag, and drew a Hexbug Nano on each bag as well. Cinderella helped:
Everyone played with bug stickers, and some decided to introduce their bugs to our toy cars:
And this little girl was smart enough to play with the entire set-up all on her own while everybody else was busy with stickers:
The idea behind the bugs is very clever – they move through vibration, and can go really fast with new batteries. I think it would be cool to have bugs with solar panels on their backs so you didn’t have to change the batteries.
We pulled out our blocks for some creative track addons:
We also tried building tracks with the blocks, but the bugs could push them out of the way and escape. Maybe Lego DUPLO bricks would work better?
Amazingly, Lily slept through the entire party – but she more than made up for it afterwards!
These little bugs are tons of fun, and everybody who came had a blast! The girls were way more into the bugs than the boys, possibly because they are (mostly) older than the boys we invited? All the parents thought they were neat, too! The bugs were carried throughout our entire house – I was pretty amazed that we managed to connect them to their proper owners when it was time to go home! One mom commented that she would prefer for them to look like toy trains – and that it would be cool if they attached to one another with magnets. Everyone was impressed by how well the tracks went together and stayed together – you can pick up the tracks and move them to another room without them falling apart!
MaryAnne is a craft loving educator, musician, photographer, and writer who lives in Silicon Valley with her husband Mike and their four children.
This is a blast! Jamie and I saw these bugs in a toy store when we were away in August and thought they looked fun. So cool that you got this awesome package in the mail to review!!
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@Natalie – I find these less annoying than the zhu-zhu pets – the only noise they make is the whirring of the motor! It was really fun to share with our friends.
How neat! I have to say though – we got one of those zhu-zhu pets as a present, and I couldn’t “pass it on” fast enough – those things can be mighty annoying. Still – a cool idea for a toy, and how nice it is that you had enough to share with friends.
.-= Natalie´s last blog ..Back Together =-.
@Ticia – These are pretty similar, but I like them better because they just make a buzzing noise and don’t emit squeals and other random noises. Although, they are also smaller and so prone to getting lost…
I saw something similar to this in a storte the other day and thought my youngest grandson would get a huge kick out of them. Thanks for your post it reminded me about them. Also thanks for visiting us at waddleeahchaa.com. It was nice to hear that other people have an Aunt Jennifer too and how your family treasures your aunt’s talents like we treasure ours! :) joyce
.-= joyce:waddleeahchaa.com´s last blog ..Project Time GIVEAWAY- The Winner =-.
They look kind of like those hamster things that are so poular. I didn’t know the hexbugs had tracks as well, I’d seen just the bugs around for a while.
And wasn’t that nice of Cinderella to be so helpful?
.-= Ticia´s last blog ..Science Sunday- Kid led experiment =-.
The tracks look interesting, and it’s great everyone had such a fun time!
.-= Elisa | blissfulE´s last blog ..kiddo quotes =-.
What funny little toys–I googled them and they look very high-tech.
@Catherine – They are pretty fun! The ones we have are the most basic ones – just a little vibrating motor – but still high-tech, and a lot of fun!
@Elisa – the tracks are very neat! I especially like that they stay put together so a child can pick them up and move them somewhere new without them coming apart.