Disclaimer: This is a review for which I have been sent the Nick Baker’s Triop World at no personal cost. All opinions/thoughts expressed are unbiased and my own.
I will be honest and say I hadn’t planned a great deal to do with the children over the summer holidays. Not because I couldn’t be bothered but because they were going to spending a lot of time with their Grandparents. The most I had to plan for was passing on info about things they would probably not cope with very well. So when I was contacted to review the Nick Baker’s Triop World Kit from My Living World, I obviously jumped at the opportunity.
When the kit arrived they had very kindly included the Worm World Kit too, so when the autumn comes around and there are more worms to find in the garden we will be giving that a go too. In the meantime the children have been chomping at the bit to get started with the triops. What are triops? Well according to the very informative leaflet, which included information of how the little critters go to the loo, they are shield shrimp. They are tiny crustaceans that live in temporary ponds in the desert regions of the world. The eggs can survive some of the harshest weather conditions known to man, which is why they have survived for millions of years.
Now as Ells is looking to become a marine biologist, she took the lead with this kit as it is aimed at age 7+ and Cal is a little way off that. However he was more than happy to play the assistant role to his older sister with this one. His little face was glued to the tank as soon as it came out of the box.
These Triop World kits cost £12.99 which is pretty reasonable considering you get a minimum of two batches of eggs. The instructions are super informative, there’s a proper tank, pipet spoon, sand and of course the eggs.
Ells read through the instructions with Cal to ensure they had everything they needed before they started. You need to use bottled spring water for the critters, and make sure it is at room temperature before adding the eggs. My two watched the thermometer intently before adding the eggs. We have at least another 24-48 hours before we will be able to see if any triops have hatched, and I will likely be posting updates over on my Insta-Stories.
The best part of using a kit like this is teaching my kids patience, and also being able to do a little each week together with it. They keep checking the water throughout the day describing what they can see, which is great for their communication skills, as Aspie’s often struggle with using their words. It has also been a great educational avenue to teach Cal the difference between crustaceans having their skeletons on the outside while ours is on the inside. Conversations I honestly hadn’t anticipated to arise from just some shield shrimp and a bit of dirt in water.
For now the tank is empty, apart from the little bits of dirt that surrounded the eggs. Hopefully it will be teaming with new life very soon, and we can all learn a little more!
These kits are such good value for money and even if your children aren’t that into nature, try one with them! You will be amazed at some of the questions they come up with and how much they can learn whilst still having loads of fun!
Sophie
Note: As always all the opinions of the Nick Baker’s Triop World Kit are my own, and I have not been asked to provide click through links or otherwise. You can find these products by Google search or by heading to Interplayuk.com where all the My Living World Kits are available. This is not an affiliated or paid for link, it has been added only for your convenience.
