Hexbug Nano In Home Party

Through MomSelect, I was lucky to have the opportunity to host a Hexbug Nano In Home Party. Now, if you are like me, you have never heard of these Hexbug Nano toys. They are these little bugs that come in test tubes. They are battery powered and scamper about when you turn them on. You can build a habitat for them and watch them scurry about. We received a habitat starter kit, as well as a Battle Bridge. Plus lots of habitat pieces and tracks to share with our guests. Our guest bags:
The kids and I built the track a few days before our party, on our dining room table. We were planning to have some younger guests at the parties and wanted the track up and out of the way. The habitat was super easy to assemble. The thing that was hardest for me was the ramp - I'm an engineer, so perhaps I shouldn't admit this, but I could tell it was a ramp to move between levels, but it didn't occur to me for a few minutes that it was supposed to be a spiral - once I realized that, it was way easier to assemble. I like that the Hex Cells come with their own built in "doors". After you assemble the track, in any unused "doorways" simply flip the orange pieces in place and the bugs can't exit through them. This is better than some other sets we have had where you have to insert other pieces for the doorway (one more thing to be lost, at least at our house).

My husband liked the compact size of the habitat. Some of the other toys we have that include habitats take up a lot more space (probably because the "animals" are bigger) and seem to be in the way. Those other sets also seem harder to put together. This set is really easy to connect the bridges and the Hex cells to set up the habitat and since it doesn't take much space and isn't in the way it is also easy to leave it set up.

We started with a small habitat and turned one bug on and set it loose. The kids of course, wanted more. We expanded the habitat and opened up three bugs to watch them scurry about in our multi-level habitat. The kids were really very excited about the Hexbugs. Every night it seems, when we get home from work and school, my daughter asks if we can watch the bugs. She even chooses them when we tell her that we only have time to watch the bugs or an episode - that I like.
So, Sunday, after we had our fill of Macaroni and Cheese, the kids found themselves in the dining room and the parents soon followed. The kids really enjoyed the bugs. They kept wanting them to fight on the battle bridge and would pick them up and set them all on the bridge to fight. The way we had our track set up, about 1/2 the time it seemed they would fall onto a track and even if they were upside down, would soon right themselves and scurry on. The other times, one of the kids would grab them and set them back up on the bridge. The one little boy, not quite 3, loved them. He would pick them up and hold them - the look on his face when the bug was vibrating in his hand was cute. We kept encouraging him to watch, not touch...but you know how it can be with little boys.

I have seen the Hex Nano Bugs at Target and was pleasantly surprised by their pricing - the starter set is only $17.99 (MSRP). The habitat set is $29.99 (MSRP) and comes with 3 Hex Cells, 7 bridges (track pieces) and 2 Hexbugs. They also have a case for storing your Hexbugs, which might be something I will pick up.

There is also a full online experience, that we have yet to check out. It looks intriguing to me. "The Hexbug Nano is built around an ancient, fabled society called Hands & Stars, dedicated to human progress through science." The site is built on this and geared to children 7 to 14. Based on the descriptions, it seems like it could be an educational experience including challenges and quizes. The website is www.handsandstars.com.

The kids were happy when they found out that they got to take some bugs and pieces to build a small habitat home with them. Then, we moved onto the Healthy Home Party (okay, not really, we talked about it while we watched the kids play with bugs...but it's easier to write one at a time!).