July 2011 New Specialty Toys — Water Activities

Anchors Away Water Play Pirate Ship
From: LITTLE TIKES INC.

Other products from LITTLE TIKES INC.

Age Range: 3 to 6
Gender: Boys And Girls

Category:

Water Activities
Outdoor Fun
Preschool

The Anchors Away Pirate Ship is made of durable plastic construction and features two fun characters, a squirting shark and a constant running water fountain. Kids can keep the water moving by pumping or pouring the water into the crows nest; the spinners cause a current in the ship which moves floating objects around. Kids can aim and squirt water from the water cannon to see the steering wheel spin, and the anchor raises and lowers by cranking the handle.
— As of 6/6/2011 this product had 3.2 out of 5 stars from 39 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: Interactive; keeps kids engaged. Cons: Numerous reports of the plank and the cannon squirter breaking; expensive; water flow in fountain isn't strong enough to make the wheels spin smoothly.

This water table helps children develop "put and take" and early motor skills. They can: drop balls down spiral, watching them go round and round and down into the lazy river; turn the Ferris wheel to scoop up and drops off balls; fill the cup and pour into the funnel to power twin water wheels; and turn the spinner that powers the "lazy river."
— As of 05/24/2011 this product had 4.6 out of 5 stars from 7 reviews on Amazon.com. Cons: Assembly is somewhat difficult; one customer received a box with missing pieces, but the company replaced them when she called.
— In a May 2012 survey, Barbara Fineblum, owner of Barstons Child's Play in Baltimore, Md., told TDmonthly that they "just sell Little Tikes" in the furniture/play house category.

Slick Sand will not get wet. Slick sand is saturated with silicon vapors. Silicon is a very slippery substance and these vapors reverse the way Slick Sand interacts with water. When kids pour water on it, the water will stay on top and flow, instead of wetting the sand and sinking down as happens with ordinary play sand. Paired with the fun experiments, the science behind Slick Sand is explained. Kids will be introduced or further versed to terms and concepts like hydrophobe, hydrophile, conservation of mass, the biological composition of sand, and surface tension. Non-toxic. Slick Sand Includes: 1lb each of Red, Yellow, Blue, Green & Purple Slick Sand; Instructions and Information on Slick Sand.