Best Fun Learning Toys for Christmas

Red LEDs can be turned on or off for maximum surveillance or for stealth. View larger.

Soft rubber ensures a secure and comfortable fit. View larger.

What We Think Fun Factor: Durability: (what this means) The Good: Experience the thrill of real night vision technology. The Bad: The display screen will leave you wanting more. In a Nutshell: A fun and entertaining toy that will keep older kids entertained for hours. At a Glance Ages: 8 and up Requires: 5 AAA batteries

EyeClops Night Vision goggles come equipped with a hinged, flip-up eye-piece that can be opened when the goggles are turned off, or closed when the goggles are in use. Your child can choose between the maximum surveillance mode which emits a barely-visible ring of red LEDs around the eyepiece so they can see up to 50 feet in absolute darkness, or go for the stealth mode to remain completely invisible while they explore the dark landscape immediately around them. A small switch on the side of the goggle head-set allows them to switch from a black-and-white to a green screen display.

Enhance Your Nighttime Stealth Operations
The futuristic design of the durable plastic head-piece adds to the fun of these exciting night vision goggles. Soft rubber molding around the goggles and adjustable straps across the top and sides makes them comfortable and easy to wear.

While the EyeClops Night Vision goggles provide a crisp, clear image of dark landscapes, they should always be used under adult supervision. Because the display screen is small and provides limited peripheral vision, these goggles should only be used in environments that are free of potential tripping hazards. As a nice safety feature, the goggles' handy flip-up eye-piece over the left eye provides immediate access to normal vision if your child becomes disoriented or needs to take a break from viewing through the small display screen located in the right eye-piece.

Durable and lightweight, these fun goggles work so well that you might just find yourself borrowing them from your child so you can have your turn enjoying some super stealth, covert nighttime missions of you own!

What's in the Box
EyeClops headpiece with goggles, battery pack and adjustable straps.

What We Think Fun Factor: Durability: (what this means) The Good: Look at familiar objects in a whole new way; review images on a TV or computer The Bad: Learning to focus the eye takes practice In a Nutshell: Unique video microscope provides creepy close-ups and informal science lessons At a Glance Ages: 8 and older Requires: 5 AA batteries; TV and/or computer for full effect

A belt clip battery pack makes it easy to take the BioniCam anywhere. View larger.

Even old blue jeans look cool viewed through the BioniCam. View Larger.

A zoom dial offers either 100x, 200x or 400x magnification. To focus an image, twist the I.R.I.S. lens attachment until you achieve the results you're looking for. Getting a crisp image takes a little patience at first, especially at the highest magnification. But with practice and with the help of the easy-to-read focusing gauge, you'll be focusing the lens in no time.

Photos and Video Without Complicated Setup
With no software to upload and minimal set-up, the BioniCam makes sharing discoveries easy. Plug the USB memory stick directly into your computer for quick access to images, then save and edit them or post them to your blog. Alternately, you can use the included video cable to display images on your TV. When you are plugged into the TV, the LCD screen turns off, but you still retain all the functionality of the BioniCam. This makes reviewing huge enlargements in real time a fun group activity.

Contagious Fun for the Whole Family
The hand-held magnification "eye" is fun to hold and makes it easy for your child to explore the microscopic world without complicated scientific instruments. Viewing the magnified images on your computer or TV screen in full, vivid color encourages kids to take learning into their own hands and provides numerous opportunities for parents and children to play fun and educational games together.

The excitement of seeing objects in your child's everyday world magnified to up to 400 times is sure to be a hit with whole family. Fortunately, the lightweight, durable plastic unit fits comfortably into both small and large hands. And if you need some help getting started, the easy-to-read instruction booklet offers lots of tips for finding items that hide interesting textures, from pine needles to sponges and insects.

On the lowest setting, the LEDs occasionally prove too bright for viewing lighter-colored objects, and these images may remain unclear on large viewing screens. On the higher magnification settings, however, this did not seem to be a problem, as textures and colors came through flawlessly. And while the battery pack makes it easy to explore indoors and out, the LCD screen can be tough to read in direct sunlight.

Overall, these are minor concerns that should do nothing to prevent this fun, educational toy from being big hit with all kinds of kids.

What's in the Box
BioniCam, I.R.I.S. lens attachment, removable USB drive, and video cable.