Busy Zoo Activity Center

The Parents Magazine Battat Busy Zoo activity cube is a fun-filled learning experience. The activities are simple enough for one-year-olds to understand and large enough for them to manipulate with ease. On top, they can move animals along tracks or twirl wooden shapes along looping wire. Choices around the four sides include rotating picture blocks until they form a picture of a variety of animals; turning any one of interconnecting gears to make them all spin; opening and closing a door and window. For the future, reversible alphabet blocks show a picture and its initial letter on one side, and the upper and lower case letter on the reverse. The various finger and hand manipulations will develop the muscles later used in learning to write.
The Busy Zoo Activity Center offers your child hours of educational fun, colorful and movable objects promote hand and eye coordination, recommended for children 12 months and older.

Busy Zoo Activity Center Reviews:

My son (now 10 months) has loved this toy since about 6 months. His grandmother taught him how to stand by holding on to the wires on top, and he’s been fascinated by the beads and wires ever since. Now he pushes the whole box and “walks” around with it. He has been less interested in the sides, but other babies who have visited have especially liked to play with the doors and spinning letters. I think the quality of the construction is quite good – I like how it is all wood (except for the wires) and not plastic. We haven’t had any issues with the paint. We also haven’t had any tipping over issues – at first when my son was pulling himself up it would tilt a little, but he quickly learned to compensate and balance better. I think it’s a great toy! A quick note on potential choking hazards… it seems to me that all the parts are well atached, so I’m not sure what could be a choking hazard unless the toy were broken.
I bought this product for my 8-month old son and he loves it still to this day. It’s bright, colorful, and has plenty to keep him interested. The babies in my playgroup ranging from 1 to 2 years also love it when they come over to play.
My son did tip it over twice when I first bought it for him because he used it to lean back and sit down (something a 1 year old would probably not do hence the recommended age). He realized it and stopped. It never would have gone over otherwise, and even when it did it wasn’t a fast motion, or anything I felt would hurt him.
I haven’t had any paint issues. Maybe take it out of the box and check the condition before buying? I like that all the pieces are screwed on including the small knobs on the doors.
I also bought mine from Target for around $50.
I purchased this item as a first birthday gift for my grandson. It seems to be his favorite! It is the perfect height and stable enough for him to sit or stand at while he plays. While he enjoys his other toys, this one requires no batteries and is “kid powered”!