OWI OWI-MSK672 HAPPY HOPPING FROG JR SCIENCE SERIES

by OWI

Product Features

• Amphibian lovers of all ages will go wild for this Happy Hopping Frog
• Experiment with alternate energy with this versatile kit
• Quick to assemble and requires no soldering

Product Details

• Shipping Weight: 6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• ASIN: B000QE1YAU
• Manufacturer recommended age: 8 years and up
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #386,626 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
• Average Customer Review: 1.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)

Product Description

Alternative Energy Amphibian -- Amphibian lovers of all ages will go wild for this Happy Hopping Frog! This solar powered pet is the perfect build-it-yourself kit for young experimenters. Just put the pieces together and take the little frog outside to watch him hop under the sunlight. The plastic creature uses his hind legs and rubber feet to hippity-hop in the sun. Kids will love his googly eyes and adults will love making this lesson in solar power fun and innovative! This funny amphibian teaches all about solar power and allows children to build their fine motor skills putting him together. Teach your students about the importance of sunscreen by rubbing a little on the frog's head... will he still jump in the sun? The possibilities are endless for learning about solar power with the Happy Hopping Frog. The Owi Happy Hopping Frog Mini Solar Robot Kit is a little green amphibian friend that leaps with a joyful sense of freedom. Using its hind legs and rubber feet, the Happy Hopping Frog jiggles its eyes as a dog would wag its tail acknowledging its love and appreciation to its owner. The tailless, leaping mini solar kit is activated by the power of the sun's rays; no batteries required. Happy Hopping Frog is easy to assemble and demonstrates alternative energy principles.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars frog won't hop, January 5, 2009

By 

Walter T. Pollard (South Orange, NJ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:1.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:1.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: OWI OWI-MSK672 HAPPY HOPPING FROG JR SCIENCE SERIES (Toy)

[FWIW, I filed this same review on another vendor's product page for this item.]

I recently purchased this kit. The instructions were clear enough and assembly wasn't overly difficult, but I found that after it was assembled it wouldn't work. The frog is supposed to work by having the solar-powered motor wind up (and release) its spring-driven rear legs. The motor works OK, as do the gears that go between the motor and the cam that winds up the legs. Unfortunately, however, the gears are connected to the cam by a smooth round rod, and the friction between that rod and the cam isn't enough to move the legs - the rod rotates, but the cam doesn't move. I tried to fix this by putting a drop of superglue in the cam and then reattaching it to the rod, but must have used a little too much, gluing the cam to the body. The rear legs rotate on a hexagonal rod that prevents the sort of slippage I described - it's too bad they didn't do something similar for connecting the gears to the cam.

Anyway, I wouldn't recommend this kit to anyone. I did get a small solar cell and pager motor out of it that should be usable for some other project, but still resent that I was suckered into paying for a piece of junk like this kit. I'm honestly curious whether anyone has ever gotten it to work.