I bought this 3D Solar System on a whim. It was on sale, and I thought the glow in the dark aspect might help cure SmartyPants of his fear of the dark. It arrived in the mail two days later and SmartyPants was so excited to hang the planets up above his bed. Even my one year old was excited, chanting “Moon!” and “Ball!” over and over again. The kit comes with clear string and star shaped thumbtacks to push into the ceiling. It also comes with glow in the dark star stickers, but we chose not to put those on the ceiling. It’s nearly impossible to take off later!

The planets come with two labels each. We attached one label on the bottom of the planet, and one on the side. The labels peel off a pit over the months, and you’ll have to press them back down every few months.

My Son immediately started learning the names of each of the planets. I cut out a section of the back of the box that told a bit about each planet. For the next few weeks, he fell asleep every night with that piece of box clutched in his hand.

Since then, we’ve added to the planets. We added four more dwarf planets: Ceres, Haumea, Makemake, and Eris; and we added a comet, space shuttle and asteroid belt. SmartyPants has been begging me to add moons, but when Jupiter has 50+ moons, it’s going to be difficult.

Pros: Develops an interest in the Solar System. Everything you need to install is included. Durable, Educational, and Fun.

Cons: The stickers don’t stick well. Pluto could be confusing. It’s the only dwarf planet included, they should either take it out or add the other dwarf planets. The colors are a little off. Saturn is not that green, and neptune is more of a blue purple than a pink purple. There is no sun included, so you’ll have to get creative with arranging the planets. We put a yellow circle on the wall, but I’ve heard of others arranging the planets around a ceiling light. It’s a little expensive at full price ($20), but if you watch the price, you can buy this item for $15 or less sometimes.

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