Meg’s Product Reviews: Orbeez Sensation Station

*This post is in no way sponsored, paid for or endorsed by Orbeez*

Orbeez, or water beads as some people refer to them, are one of the hottest sensory toys on the market right now. Having two kids under 10, I’m pretty familiar with Orbeez. Recently my daughter’s received the Orbeez Sensation Station. If you are considering purchasing this for child or someone else’s kid, you’ll want to read this post before purchasing the Orbeez Sensation Station.

Disclaimer: Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. I will receive commission for any purchase made through those links at no additional cost to you. Prices subject to change at any time.

A Great Sensory Toy

The Orbeez Sensation Station is a great sensory toy. Even if you’re not a fan of Orbeez, I think you’ll like this set. While it comes with 6 tools, it also comes with storage. The storage container also doubles as the play center for the Sensation Station. What I typically don’t like about toys like Orbeez and Kinect Sand is the fact that clean up is not easy. But that’s not the case with this set. You can leave the Orbeez right in play center, pop the lid on and store it as it is.

This set is a great sensory toy not only because of the play center, but because of the tools that come with it. Most of the time my kids just play with Orbeez with their hands. This set comes with tools that allow your child to scoop, dump, pop, crush and mold the Orbeez, too. My girls love the fact that they have more than one way to scoop and dump the Orbeez into the play center. They’ve found that they can make them come out fast and slow. My girls also discovered that they can make them “pop” or “jump” into the play center with some of the tools that are included.

Did I mention that the set comes with a few different colors of Orbeez, including glow-in-the-dark Orbeez? My oldest daughter has sensory processing issues, and so we love sensory toys like this set. She gets the physical sensory play by touching and playing with the Orbeez. She is also calmed and fascinated by all of the colors. It’s a win-win for her.

The Orbeez Sensation Station is Affordable

Cost always plays a big factor in the purchase of toys, especially in our household. I’m not going to lie, I think that Orbeez by themselves can be kind of pricey. When I was looking up the Orbeez Sensation Station on Amazon I was surprised to find that it’s actual pretty affordable. It normally sells for $25.99, but I’ve seen Amazon running quite a bit of specials on it lately. I’ve seen some sales prices as low as $12.99! Of course these prices and sales can change at any time, but I still think the $25.99 is a pretty good price point.

If you were to walk down the Playdoh/Kinect Sand/other similar items aisle at Walmart or Target you $12 or more anymore. Considering that you get the Orbeez, the play center/storage bin, and the 6 tools with this set….well that’s a pretty good deal!

The Clean Up Process

I know what you’re probably thinking….those Orbeez will get all over the floor and then they’ll be a pain to clean up. Yes and no. My girls have dropped several full-sized Orbeez on the floor. We work together to clean them up quickly. Any Orbeez that get too dirty go in the trash. I’ve used this toy as a way to teach my girls that they either clean it up or they don’t get to play with it. If by chance an Orbeez does escape and get lost, they shrink back to tiny size as they dry out.

The one part of this set that I’m not a huge fan of is the crushing of the Orbeez. We limit how often that they crush them, otherwise they’d probably not have any Orbeez left. The set says you can create fun sculptures with the crushed Orbeez, but my girls haven’t gotten to that point yet. They usually just crush them and want to put them in a Ziploc bag. Also, when my girls squish and crush them, they tend to make a bigger mess. Whatever doesn’t end up in the Ziploc bag ends up in the floor, and then we have to clean it up. Let me just say that it’s not as easy to clean up crushed Orbeez as it is to clean up the full size water beads…

I have no complaints about clean up other than the Orbeez falling on the floor. Otherwise they’re not sticky, slimy or oily. They don’t leave any residue that I’ve seen, and they haven’t stained anyone’s clothes. Both of those are big wins for me.

You Can Use Other Orbeez, Too

One great thing about a toy like the Orbeez Sensation Station is that you can use it over and over again. Once the original Orbeez are gone, you can use other Orbeez with it. That’s the same reason why I like Playdoh toys and kits so much. We all know that things like Orbeez, Playdoh and slime don’t last forever. But the toys that come with them can survive just about anything.

My 6 year old recently got 5 new containers of Orbeez for her birthday. Guess what she wanted to do with them immediately? That’s right, she wanted to use them in conjunction with the Orbeez Sensation Station.

My Overall Opinion of the Orbeez Sensation Station

Overall, I highly suggest the Orbeez Sensation Station. Whether you’re looking for a new sensory toy for your child, for a birthday present for another kid, or a Christmas present, the Orbeez Sensation Station is a great toy. Recommended for ages 5 and up, the Orbeez Sensation Station is also great because kids in quite a large age range will want to play with it. You might even find yourself wanting to get in on play time with the kids.

So do yourself and your kids a favor, go check out the Orbeez Sensation Station. Not a fan of Orbeez? What other sensory toys do you purchase for your kids? Let me know in the comments below!

-Meg

P.S.- An imporant thing to note…the box for the Orbeez Sensation Station says ages 5 and up for a good reason. Orbeez are not a good toy for babies and toddlers that are still putting random items into their mouths. They can be very dangerous for kids at that age. Orbeez expand with water and other fluid, so the potential harm that could come of a child if they swallowed an Orbeez bead is just not worth it. Please use your best judgement when buying a toy like this for any child. For more information, check out this article from Poison Control.