Solar System Puzzle/E1625 (hape.com) Review
DISCLOSURE – THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER’S OWN.
Reviewed by Dottie Rood
This 93-piece toy came in a very attractive box, it was a very interesting shape and had a beautiful illustration of the planets on the front. It made you want to open it to see what was inside, very eye catching!
And inside the pack was:
A 75-piece wooden jigsaw puzzle. Solid wood planets pieces (that spin when put on the completed puzzle). Glowing LED sun (that did need a battery that unfortunately was not enclosed and as it’s not a standard size was a little difficult to find (CR2025) however the children were impressed when they saw it). A poster with all the planet names on and some interesting facts.
The features of this puzzle are:
A GLOWING SUN: LED light in the centre of the puzzle.
EIGHT PLANETS: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune—-these are positioned on top of the puzzle and ‘spin’.
EDUCATIONAL PUZZLE: Double-sided poster with lots of astronomy facts. You can learn the names and positions of the planets.
NON-TOXIC AND CHILD SAFE: Durable child safe paint and sturdy wooden pieces (that Hape ensure will last no matter how many times the puzzle is completed).
AGE RECOMMENDATION: Unique toy which is perfect for 5 years and upwards (we all agreed with this recommendation although my son felt perhaps a bit older if the child was doing the puzzle on their own, they did it as a family (Mum, Dad, and two daughters, one nearly five and one six and a half) which they really enjoyed.
Diameter is: 18cm. Height is: 0.3cm.
Who are Hape?
Hape were founded in 1986 in Germany by Peter Hanstein and his sister promising ‘Eco-friendly toys. They are now all over the world and have over 40 subsidiaries in many different countries.
“Play is at the heart of everything we do. Our goal is to instil life skills as early as possible. Of course, playing with our toys won’t do this on its own, but with the right toys and play tips, we can lay the best possible foundations for a child’s development and growth”.
Hape set up design studios around the world and focused on developing engaging toys that children enjoy. They worked with some of the top educators and psychologists to identify six key skills that will help children to flourish.
1 Creativity.
2 Confidence.
3 Strength.
4 Curiosity.
5 Kindness.
6 Integrity.
Their designs are based on extensive research, seeing how children play and using constructive feedback. This information is used to constantly improve and refine their designs so that all their toys have at least one specific learning benefit. (The benefits of the Solar puzzle are Social skills, Problem solving, Language skills and Exploring & discovery.) They use planet friendly plastics and are committed to making toys environmentally friendly. They also have their own bamboo forest. Their learning benefits are: Fine motor skills. Social skills. Problem solving. Language skills. Emotional development. Physical development. Creative development. Maths & number skills. Exploring & discovery. “Everything you want for children to develop in the best possible way. Love, Play, Learn!”
As a family we all enjoyed this puzzle and one grandson in particular, who loves learning about the planets, was very interested in the ‘facts’ about each one. The spinning planets were a good addition enjoyed by them all. The only negative comment was the unnecessary use of plastic as each ‘wooden’ planet had its own little bag however if this was ‘planet friendly’ maybe this is not really an issue?
I would recommend this toy and other Hape toys as the quality was really good and the ‘ethos’ of what they are doing in regard to children’s development is very easy to follow.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £19.99
This product can be purchased from: HAPE toy store UK Hape Toys
https://uk.hape.com plus Amazon etc