Customer Reviews

Crayola Color Explosion Glow Board

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(10)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

We purchased this item for our daughter for Christmas. It was slated (by my wife) to be the best gift under the tree. While it was well received by our 4 year old daughter, there are some disappointing issues worth noting.

As other reviwers have mentioned, the cleaning of the board is a major design flaw. Using a soft tissue requires pretty heavy handed rubbing (impossible for a young child) - and this technique also led to scratching of the plastic board. Yes thats right - soft tissue scratched the board. Using a moistened wipe just creates a smudged board. As you can see - neither method is ideal. The instructions offer no suggestions on cleaning techniques.

Markers are very dry. A simple man would assert that less dry markers would result in a nicer glow. I can tell after 1 day of use these markers will not be useable much longer.

See the graphics on the box showing the board's drawings "glow"? Don't hold your breath. You can get a decent effect with the lights out - but even then its not brilliant.

Overall - this is just a major disappointment. The commercials for this product make it look great - heck - thats why we bought it! But the end result is a toy that will likely be discarded sooner rather than later.

I recommend moon sand - our daughter hasn't put that stuff down since she opened it! :-)

My kids have had this toy for three days now, and they're still in love with it. However, there are some issues with the two plastic drawing surfaces--they are very difficult to clean and they scratch easily. Even extensive cleaning with baby wipes will still leave a lot of residue. The colors no longer stand out as much as a result.

My eight-year old received this for Christmas and is enjoying it. It comes with six markers and one picture that you can trace. It comes with two drawing surfaces: the main one and a clear plastic board that sits behind the main surface. You can take the plastic board out and snap it on front of the main surface and draw one version of a scene, then slide that board in back and create another version of that scene on the main board. When you turn the "glow" part on, it will "light up" the front scene, or the back scene, or both at the same time. There is also an option (our favorite) where it blinks back and forth between the two scenes which makes it look like the scene is in motion. The distance and overlapping scenes does create somewhat of a 3-D effect.

The scenes light up fine in a lighted room, but look more dramatic in the dark. Some disadvantages are that the markers are small in size (I'm wondering how long they will work well). The directions warn that they dry out "much" faster than regular markers if you leave the caps off. Also, they recommend storing them in a ziploc bag. Sometimes it is hard to see what you are drawing as the markers don't show up well unless the scene is being lit up.

Overall, I think it's a good product...fun and different. It offers a different dimension to their art and the glow effect is cool. We haven't had any problems cleaning the boards--no more than with any surface like that (dry erase, overhead projector, etc.) you just have to be fastidious to get all the residue off, but it's not a big deal).

Also, you can go to the Crayola site and print off more pictures to trace if you'd like (there are about 15 of them). They also have a spot there where you can design your own and print them off, but the selections are limited and the scenes kind of dumb. For example, there is a snowman there that turns into a skeleton--why the need to be macabre?

I am 24 years old and I received this as an xmas gift. It is so much fun for all ages! It was officially named "coolest gift ever" by everyone at the xmas party.
It is simple to use once you read the instructions, the glowing effect is amazing! I would recommend this for older children, as it may be hard for youngin's to understand the steps needed to make the animated picture effect, and a few drops on a tile floor might break this toy. As far as educational value, I suppose it teaches about light refraction, if you want to get into that with your kids. It cleans up great with a damp cloth. Also, make sure you have 3 AA batteries on hand, they do not come included.

My six year old son received this for his birthday in April. He's played with it quite often since then. Everyone in our family thinks it's so much fun and the effects are really cool. The main problem is cleaning it. I've tried several different things and none work as well as I'd like. I wish they'd give some better ideas about cleaning in the instructions.

Crayola Color Explosion Glow Board

I got the Crayola Glow Board for my five year old son and he loved it! For him the fun came from the unique effects he could make on the two panel drawing surface and then turn of the lights to see how they glow.

At first he was just drawing lines and shapes just to see the glowing effect when he turned out the lights. Then we found on Crayola.com that there were a bunch of print outs he could use to trace. They even have a program that lets him make his own two frame drawing on Crayola.com then print them out to trace on the Glow Board.

The best part for us was how much it keep him entered on a long road trip we recently did. Once it started to get e bit dark outside he was able to draw in the dark. He even made a sign that read "Are we there yet"!

I purchased this item for each of my sons as they love to draw with markers. My older son is creating masterpieces at 4 while his younger brother, even at 19 months, is having a blast. I draw with him and it's a fun way for us to practice colors and shapes.
Yes, you must have darkness for the pictures to glow, but what do you expect? It has to be dark for the lights to illuminate. I have not had any problem with the glow intensity of the markers. With the lights out they're brilliant and my boys love them. We especially like the underlying board, which allows you to draw a picture underneath the top board for a cool two dimensioanl effect.
I have used a soft wet cloth to clean and used a dry cloth to dry. I haven't had any issues yet and no scratches.
I can proudly say that this item keeps my two very active boys busy for a nice chunk of time and since they each have their own, NO FIGHTING! My only concern at this point is that if they continue to use the boards at this rate, the markers will dry out.
I definitely recommend this prodcut!

This toy was difficult to use. It was hard to insert the paper and figure out where exactly to color. The directions instruct you to color on the screen, yet it doesn't show up, nor does it clean up. I wouldn't recommend it. The illumination doesn't have the same effect as the cover of the box.

We bought this for our 8-year old daughter for a car trip out of state a month ago that would include some evening driving time. She was very excited to use it and the Dome lived up to her anticipation! I had read the other reviews after purchasing and will admit I was concerned.

Our experience:

All of our markers work perfectly (not dry at all) and seem to be staying same in a ziploc bag (also keeps them together more easily when not in use, although the board itself has ample snap-in storage room for all the markers + 4 extra you can buy).

The drawing surfaces are easy to interchange, snap in and out, and illuminate.

The complete board is lightweight enough to be comfortable for a long period on a lap in a car, and is easy to manipulate without dropping pieces.

The board has been very easy to clean. After reading other reviews, and knowing we would be in the car, I wet (and wrung out) an old lightweight washcloth and put in in a small ziploc bag. It was easy to wipe the board completely and without streaking. The washcloth (even when I used it) left no scratches on our screens. We used a paper (restaurant) napkin to gently dry the board and it left no scratches either. BONUS: the color did NOT transfer from the washcloth onto skin or clothing (I was SO pleased - thanks, Crayola!!). The washcloth rinsed clean almost as soon as it hit the water when we returned home and I washed it; yippee!

Our daughter REALLY LIKES this product. She has a great many (okay, read perhaps 'too many') arts and crafts supplies and 'devices'. She enjoys most of them very much. She was quite impressed (making me so, too) with this Crayola Board and was excited to reuse it.

I figured my 6 yr old would love this and she did for 2mo or so. I couldnt find any markers that go with it around here so once she wore the markers out the board became Useless. Within 3 mo of purchasing it was up in the closet not being used....