New Glow-in-the-Dark Hexbug Review and Giveaway

Technology never ceases to amaze me.  I was gonna say that I couldn't even begin to imagine what life was like before all these amazing advances, but then I remembered that I was born 47 years ago...before all of these amazing advances. 

I was amazed again this week when we had our Glow-in-the-Dark Hexbug Party, thanks to MommyParties and Hexbug.  The makers of the original Hexbugs took it up a notch with their newest creatures and tracks that truly glow in the dark! 

(I know, not a very good image. I had to borrow it because my camera could not pick up the amazing glow in the dark features, because my camera is old and it sucks. But that it a post for another day. For now, just bask in the glow of this neon bug thingy.)

We received our kit a few weeks ago, which was chock full of Glow-in-the-Dark Hexbug Nanos and Habitat sets, as well as some wicked cool Halloween Mutant Zombie Nanos.

 
A new addition to the Hexbug family found its way into the box too...Hexbug Larvae.  I know...just the name makes me squeamish.  Larvae.  If you click on the link, you can watch it squirm.  I don't like to watch it squirm, but be my guest.  The boys love it.

They really got a kick out of the Mutant Zombie Nanos with the glowing exoskeleton.  They all immediately ran into the garage where it is pitch dark and let the little bugs run around.  Again...lame camera couldn't get any of the action.  They fun with the lights on too though, as evidenced here:

I love that the glow-in-the-dark feature has renewed their interest in these little robotic toys.  I do have to admit that one of the larvae already lost it's life to experimentation.  The power switch was broken, so they performed a surgical procedure, which unfortunately for the larvae was unsuccessful, but it was very enlightening and interesting for the two amatuer scientists.  If I had paid for that Hexbug, I might have been a little peeved that it broke after 5 minutes of use, but the other two seem fine.    

The Zombie Mutant Hexbugs are availble for a very limited time at Radio Shack and the Glow-in-the-Dark Nanos and Habitats are in retail stores like Walmart and Target.   If your kids are Hexbug junkies, then keep an eye out during the upcoming holiday season for more cutting edge Hexbug products!

Win a Glow-in-the-Dark Hexbug Nano and a Mutant Zombie Nano!  Just leave a comment and let me know which of the Hexbug creatures is your favorite.  Contest will end at 12 Midnight PST November 12th.  U.S. Residents only.  Winner will be chosen at random.      

***Disclosure:  I received a Hexbug Halloween Party Kit from MommyParties and Hexbug to facilitate this review.  As always, my honest opinions are my own.  ***  

Hexbug Winners!

Okay, let's announce the Hexbug Winners!! I gave Hope 2 entries, 1 for her comment and one for the facebook post, Danielle had 3 entries, for a total of 5 entries.

1. Miss Hope
2. Miss Hope
3. Danielle
4. Danielle
5. Danielle

So here's the draw:

Looks like Danielle is the winner!!  Woot!!  Congrats Danielle!  Thanks for stopping by!

We've Been Invaded! Hexbugs Review & Giveaway

Sometimes raising boys can be a little challenging, especially when you're a mom who isn't big on all the little creatures that boys seem to be attracted to.  We have been home to a number of lizards over the last few years, which means we have to keep crickets and mealworms for the lizards to eat.   I really HATE having these icky things in my house.   I've found the boys poking at beetles, grasshoppers and even a scorpion once, albeit from a distance, with a VERY long stick.  That one about gave me a heart attack!

A few weeks ago, we got a package from the UPS man FILLED with bugs!  Lucky for me, they are of a robotic/electronic nature, so they were very welcome inside our living room.  HEXBUGS are swarming the country and I gotta say, for little tiny toys, they are pretty interesting.

So what are they?  HEXBUG Nanos are these little robotic toys that look and act like bugs!  They use vibration to scurry around on their twelve little rubber legs and when they hit a wall or get stuck, they just redirect themselves  (in a freaked out, chaotic way like a real trapped bug would) until they find an escape point, then they're off again! They can even right themselves when they get flipped on their backs!  They really do look and act like real bugs.  Kind of freaky, but in a good way!

The HEXBUG Nanos come in test tubes, each with a unique code that kids can register online to track their collection.  Once online, they can play games and learn intersting scientific facts. I liked the fact that the manufacturer (Innovation First International) encourages learning as a part of the HEXBUG experience.  My oldest is really enjoying the website, my youngest seemed a little overwhelmed by it, but he's not the computer kid in the family, so either his brother or myself will have to help him navigate the website at some point.

According to the HEXBUG website, "the first prototypes of the Nano were inspired by the old vibrating football games...Thirty some iterations, a few years, and dozens of designs later the Nano was born. To give just a taste of how much development went into this product, we engineered and rapid prototyped over 150 variations of legs alone."   Which is why I'm not a scientist.  I have no patience for the fine tuning process I guess.  But people who are interested in what makes the HEXBUGS tick should check out the Design portion of the website.  It gives LOTS of information on what makes the HEXBUGS work.  The site also has instructions on how to change the batteries and other helpful info to keep your bugs working properly.  A "How to Care for Your New Hexbug" handbook, if you will.

Thanks to HEXBUGS and MomSelect, we had the chance to invite some of the boys' friends over to try out the HEXBUG Nanos on their Habitat set.  Boys and girls both loved the little creatures and spent 3 hours at our little bug party racing them in the habitat and all over the house. 

Along with using the habitat, we also played a few games with the HEXBUGS.  The kids favorite game was called Anthill.  We cut some holes in a box and assigned each hole points.  The HEXBUGS all got turned on and set on the floor then we quickly (and I mean quickly!  Those little dudes are fast!) turned the box over on top of them.  We could hear the bugs bouncing off the sides of the box looking for and escape, which made the kids laugh hysterically.  Eventually one of them would find a hole and emerge, winning the points assigned to the hole.  The HEXBUG with the most points after 3 rounds won the game. 

  

It was a fun day for the boys and their friends and the HEXBUGS and Habitat continue to be a source of entertainment for our boy filled neighborhood, as well as for Blackie Chan the Ninja Cat, who on occasion will appear out of nowhere to pounce on one of the unsuspecting robotic creatures.  His fun is shortlived though.  As soon as he realizes he can't bite through them, he bats them across the room and walks away.  

Wanna win a HEXBUG Nano of your own?  I have 2  Nano test tubes to give away to one lucky reader!!   You know the drill, right?  Leave a comment and you'll be entered to win!  For extra enteries you can

• Post the contest on Facebook
• Tweet the contest on Twitter
• Blog about the contest
• Link the contest to a Mr Linky somewhere on the internet
• Follow my blog!  

Let me know in a separate comment what you've done so I can make sure you get credit for each effort! Contest will end on September 30th 2010 at 12 midnight PST.  U.S. residents only (sorry, shipping costs!).