Original Hoberman Sphere Plastic Expandable Toy, Rainbow

So far it's holding up to the punishment of a 4 1/2 year old, great 👍

I bought this for my grandkids after seeing other kids their age play with it. I had to pay to send it from the USA to New Zealand, but it was worth it. They love it.

Good for youth

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

I use this in my choir classes, to help teach tiny singers about crescendo and breath support. The visual seems to give the children (2nd-6th grade) instant understanding of concepts that are otherwise difficult to articulate. When I conduct and imitate the motion of the sphere's expansion, then the kids sing beautiful phrases. I frankly don't know about durability, because I don't let the kids touch it; it's lasting a long time but I don't allow anyone to touch it except me, and I pack it away carefully after the teaching day is over. It seems a bit expensive, but if a second grader can immediately visualize and comprehend breath support and crescendo because of this tool, then it was totally worth it.

One of my 3 year old son’s favorite toys. Keeps him busy for hours!

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

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.