National Geographic Oceans 6-in-1 Laser Pegs, building-light fun

We’ve seen Laser Pegs in the store before.  It’s the building block toy that lights up.  What is unique about most of the sets is that, in addition to lighting up, it can build more than one model.  Some of the kits do 4 creations while others can do up to 57 different things.  We put together the National Geographic Oceans 6-in-1 Laser Pegs and it’s appropriate for 5 and up, with a little assistance.

First off, because this set can build multiple animals don’t panic when you have leftover bricks.  At the end of our Manta Ray there were about 15 leftover for the Tiger Shark, Clown Fish, Deep Sea Explorer, Hammerhead Shark and Lantern Fish.

With Laser Pegs it’s especially important to lay out all of the bricks individually.  All of the bricks are clear, so you won’t be sorting them by color.  Once they’re laid out just follow the steps and it’s a simple process for your 5 year old to snap them together.

Our 5 year old loves puzzles and is warming up to building block toys.  This is easier than some of the other building block toys he’s done so it’ll be something that he can do with limited help from us.

Because the pieces are clear and more similar than their young minds might be able to discern, it’s possible you’ll need to help them get the correct bricks.  Other than gentle steering of the bricks, the only assistance you’ll need to give them is the always tricky, turning the model over maneuver.

Once the model is finished just plug it into the base and push the button.  There are 3 settings for the lights, constant, blinking and blinking faster.  In some cases parents will need to hold the power base while younger children hold the model. Kids may want to look at all of the angles of the model, move the wings/flaps up and down or just make it fly in a limited area.

We were pleasantly surprised by Laser Pegs.  They held together during play (except for the tail) and were age appropriate to put together.  The price point, approximately $20 is nice too considering that you can build 6 different creatures with it. The drawbacks are consistent with other building toys in that if you lose a piece then the model is forever broken.  In this case only 1 model out of 6 could be compromised, but that’s still frustrating.