Original Hoberman Sphere Plastic Expandable Toy, Rainbow

What fun! When I took it out of the box, I was skeptical about being a good toy but when the grandchildren visited my mind was instantly changed. The 4 yr. old boy was just as delighted with this as was his 2 y/o brother. I wish I hadn't presented it to them together because sharing was impossible and not a back and forth catch game I naively anticipated. This is a durable toy that will offer hours of entertainment.

The product seems well made and is interesting for adults from an engineering perspective. For children it's use is up to the individual. I bought this for an autistic relative and the toy promoted interaction between us that had us giggling. How big, how little could it get, make your own sounds while expanding it, pretend to get your arm stuck in it... Use your imagination and I think this is a good toy to promote interaction. I don't know what the age recommendation is but would keep it to older children

so much fun for our kiddos

Our son has been wanting one of these forever. The expansion is great the only negative is it feels cheap plastic but so far has held up for a 7 year old.

This product is awesome. Gave it to my grandson for his 5th Birthday and he loved it!!! Contiues to play with it daily and even took it to school for Sharing time.

Very well constructed Hoberman sphere. I use it in my science show and it works brilliantly.

I bought this as a late birthday present for my 4yr old brother. I was hoping he would love this sphere as I did as a child. His first reaction: scared to death. I have no clue why, but I'm sure he'll grow out of it. Its a lot of fun to look at and it's a nice decoration for the room. Some people say this has the ability to inspire people as it inspired me as a kid, but it really is a hit or miss, since being inspired by it is subjective and kids have all sorts of crazy things running through their minds. As for fun, well the sphere itself really isn't. Theres not much you can do with it before it contracts back into the compressed form. Any fun from this comes mostly from the child's imagination rather than physical fun. The toy is pretty durable, but I always feel like I'm going to break it or snap it, and I'd rather not risk that for testing. I personally think the sphere is a bit over priced, but I'd hate not to let a kid have at least one of these, since you never know how much they could be inspired by it. I give this toy an overall 4/5 stars since I give it a personal 5/5 from my childhood, but for my brother its more like a 3/5. Hopefully he can grow into it.

While the cost of this shepherd is a bit high, the durability, structure and hours of entertainment is worth it!

I saw this at a wedding held in a private school. The kids went wild for it so bought one for each of our 2 toddler grandsons. They loved it, their parents loved it and the adult cousins love it!! It made it through Christmas intact after being thrown in the air, rolled on wood floors, tossed back and forth and bounced on the floors and used as a house, a hat, a space helmut!!

Absolutely love this! It expands even bigger Than I expected. High quality built. Use it for calming, relaxation, breathing strategies with my students with special needs.

I use this for teaching little ones. When anxious they have to take a deep breath to blow it up. Calms them every time!!!

The kids just love it! There is so much that you can do with this sphere. Great for parties and for kids yoga. Will keep them entertained for hours. Surprisingly durable compared to most toys.

I bought this as a present for a young relative. The sphere itself is great and he loves it, but the box looks like it was dropped on its corner either from very high up or onto a cement floor. The shipping box was totally intact so it seems this happened at the warehouse. I'm disappointed but was able to use the shipping box as a replacement.