I am the first to admit that I am rubbish at geography, in an attempt to educate the children more than me, we have various maps dotted throughout the house, a world map in the study, a UK map at the top of the stairs and even a couple of Lord of The Rings maps too!
When I was offered an Oregon Scientific Smartglobe Myth to review, I knew that the children would be very keen, the fact that it was also a 2 in 1 day and night globe with audio stories, made this so much more than just a way to learn about the world.
With 88 star constellations at night, 12 constellation myths and 10 classic fairy tales, the children spent much longer than I had expected playing with the globe and listening to the stories.
When you open the box it contains the SmartGlobe which stands about 30cm tall, already on the stand, so no assembly required, the instructions and a USB lead. It comes supplied with 3x AA batteries which haven’t stopped working yet and so lovely to see as there’s nothing worse than receiving a gift and not having the correct batteries available! It can be powered by the batteries, but we have mostly used the USB lead to power it.
It is extremely easy to use and Viggo aged 5, was able to operate it without any assistance from me, which means any of the children will be able to switch it on and operate whichever mode they wish, or just use it for geography homework!
Another added bonus to this product is the Augmented Reality function, you can download and install the smart globe app on your smart device (the app is available on both apple iOS and android) and you can see various landmarks and dinosaurs, which gives another interesting dimension to the globe.
The globe is priced at £39.99, and is available from Amazon, you can find out more information on the Oregon Scientific website, I think that the globe represents great value for money and would make an excellent Christmas present for a family member, not only is it educational, but lots of fun too.