**A Geek Daddy received the featured product for free to review**
Who hasn't walked through the electronics section of a store and marveled at the crispness and clarity of the images being shown on the televisions being displayed. I don't know what they do but it seems you can never replicate that magic on your TV set at home. You can though get a perfect view that will bring to mind the marvelous imagery from those model televisions while you drive using the new BooEnn Light Sensor Smart Glasses.
I had a long 200 mile round trip trek for work on a bright sunny day which was the perfect opportunity to test out BooEnn's Light Sensor Smart Glasses. These glasses provided crisp visibility with perfect shading for a view that could have easily been mistaken for a scene being watched on a high definition television if I wasn't steering a vehicle going 70 miles per hour along Interstate 69. The reason these glasses work so well is that they have state-of-the-art sunshine intensity sensors which control liquid-crystal display (LCD) lenses powered by a solar panel that instantly brightens or darkens the lenses based upon driving conditions. As I passed through the tunnels along one stretch of freeway running across Detroit's northern suburbs these glasses transformed from shaded to totally clear in the blink of the eye. As I exited the tunnels emerging back into the sunlight the light-modulating properties of the LCD lenses instantly provided just the right amount of shading to give me the perfect view of the road in front of me. Leaving Metro Detroit and traversing across wide open rural Michigan landscapes during my trip to the state capital of Lansing, I found that with no glare and just the right level of shading these glasses provided me with some of the best visibility while driving I'd ever experienced. Often times I get eye fatigue, especially on bright days, when making this trek but I didn't experience that during this trip.
The question you'll have to ask yourself is how much you value form over function? While these glasses function great, I have to admit their form is lacking. They really aren't that attractive to wear unless you want to envision yourself as donning a super hero mask while driving down the road. That being said, while being odd looking, these smart glasses aren't bulky, heavy or uncomfortable to wear. I found the BooEnn Light Sensor Smart Glasses very comfortable to have on actually. It just felt a bit odd seeing myself driving in them when I caught a glimpse of myself in my rear view mirror and got a few weird looks from people pulled up next to me at stop lights. Weighing their performance versus appearance, I've kept them in my car to use again because I valued the benefit of the enhance visibility and reduced eye fatigue these smart glasses provided. In my opinion, in this circumstance function trumps form when evaluating the value of this product. Hopefully as the Solar LCD technology develops BooEnn can make these Smart Glasses a bit smaller and more stylish. If you spend a lot of time in a vehicle driving, especially in conditions where you're dealing with brightness, glare and light pollution, you'll absolutely want to check out the BooEnn Light Sensor Smart Glasses.
BooEnn Light Sensor Smart Glasses are now available through INDIEGOGO.
My daughter loves to solve puzzles and tinker with things so it seems a career path in engineering or science might be something to keep in mind as she progresses through school. While many STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) fields provide interesting and financially lucrative career opportunities these jobs also are dominated pretty exclusively by males which has to be an issue of concern for the father of a little girl who doesn't want to see her future limited from pursuing any endeavor she may choose. According to research from the National Girls Collaborative Project (NGCP), women make up 47% of the overall workforce in the United States but only 28% of females have jobs involving science and engineering. Researchers looking into this huge workforce differentiation have had the insight that boys tend to have more activities and play time as children that relate to STEM so they tend to consider these fields more interesting and fun than girls do. Therefore parents and educators are being called out to become more engaged in encouraging girls to have fun with STEM at an early age so they may have more of an interest in growing up to become a future computer programmer, scientist, or astronomer.
As a parent of a young daughter myself, I was thrilled to discover the Nancy B Science Club from Educational Insights that makes STEM topics fun by encouraging girls to engage in exploring and learning through a variety of cool scientific gadgets. Nancy B Science Club products include among other things a black light illuminator kit for science sleuthing activities, binoculars with a built in compass for exploring parks and nature trails, a microscope to examine the intricate detail of things in the world around us, a Stir-It-Up Chemistry Lab to experiment on how things react and a MoonScope to gaze into outer space. These science club products are actually designed by "Nancy B" who is a science product designer, former science teacher, and an all-around science enthusiast who want to inspire girls to share her passion for science, technology, engineering and math.
My daughter was so excited when I brought home a Nancy B's Science Club MoonScope for us to check out the upcoming super moon eclipse. This is a very rare phenomenon taking place from approximately 10:11 to 10:47pm E.T. on Sunday, September 27, 2015 where you will see a giant red moon. That night's full moon will appear about 14% larger than normal creating a "super moon" effect because it will at the closest point (known as its perigee) in its orbit of the Earth. It will also appear blood red in color during the total lunar eclipse; which is when the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon. Our planet blocks most of the sun light from illuminating the moon at this time, but some light does reflect through the Earth's atmosphere giving the moon a red tin similar to the effect you see in the sky during an evening sunset. How great is that to start off the Halloween season with a Blood Moon to have a teachable moment with your children and get them excited about science!
So we put together the Nancy B's Science Club MoonScope and tested out calibrating and focusing the lenses to make sure it was ready to go so we wouldn't have to be monkeying around getting it ready when wanting to view the big event in the night sky. It's instructions recommend putting it together during the day and testing it out on some objects like trees to make sure it works properly and to learn how to focus the lenses without it being dark out. Everything worked great and we're ready to go for Sunday night!
The MoonScope, which has received The National Parenting Center's Seal of Approval, does a remarkable job of providing a clear view by magnifying the night sky by 18x to 90x through transferable 20mm and 4mm all-glass eyepieces. The MoonScope requires 2 AA batteries to power a red light at the base of its tripod that isn't used for the function of the telescope but rather provides a way for kids to reference the included activity journal without hurting their night vision. I found the MoonScope, which was a 2014 nominee for Best Educational Toy of the Year by the Toy Industry Association and received a Silver Honor from the Parents Choice Foundation, easy to assemble and most importantly my daughter found it easy to use when she tried it out.
The only thing that took her a bit of getting used to was looking through one eye to see through the MoonScope's eyepieces, which I have to admit I'm not very good at either. Make sure to take advantage of the pre-aligned finderscope next to the eyepiece on the MoonScope to line up your targets as it can be difficult to find things just by using the telescopic lenses. The finderscope even has a glow-in-the-dark ring on it to help you target things in the night sky which we thought was pretty neat. Also you will want to have a table or something sturdy to place the MoonScope on because its tripods aren't very tall making it challenging at times to get the right angle for a view if you don't have something to prop it on.
So we checked everything out during the daylight, gave it a test run the other night, and we are ready to go for viewing the Super Blood Moon! Don't miss out because the last time there was a blood red super moon was when I was a third grader in 1982 - in fact since 1900 it has only happened 5 times (1910, 1928, 1946, 1964 & 1982) - and it won't occur again until 2033. You don't want to wait another 18 years for another chance to get a glimpse of this special astronomical event.
If you don't have a MoonScope of your own to view the Super Moon Eclipse with, NASA will have a live feed from 8:00 pm through 11:30 pm ET streaming views of the eclipse from the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles, California, Adler Planetarium in Chicago, and Fernbank Observatory in Atlanta, Georgia among other locations across the United States. NASA solar physicist Mitzi Adams will discuss the eclipse and answer questions from people on Twitter using the hashtag #askNASA during the broadcast.
** Disclaimer: A Geek Daddy received a complimentary Nancy B's Science Club MoonScope to review. The opinions in this post about the product are my own and a positive review was not mandated for this blog to receive the product. **
Who doesn't like getting something delivered in the mail to their house? Admit it; there is a thrill to getting something delivered from your postal carrier that isn't a bill or junk mail but rather something fun or interesting you can enjoy...and when it comes to kids that thrill level of getting something special in the mail is escalated a thousand percent! So if you are looking for something a little unique or different to give to a special child in your life you may want to check out a subscription service that recently caught my attention called SPACE SCOUTS that promotes creativity and imagination through sending space themed boxed filled with arts and crafts projects and other fun treats each month.
Join space scouts Roxy and Jett as they explore the galaxy engaging children with fun learning activities, hands-on discovery, and exciting challenges through this monthly subscription club. Each month explores a new aspect of outer space -- astronomy, science and space exploration are just a few of the topics explored by the Space Scouts to help launch children's interest in science and technology. A package will arrive each month filled with learning activities plus magnets, stickers, and toys to enjoy.
The subscription program is designed so that each month's package builds upon what you have already received in previous mailings. Pricing starts out at $11.95 + $3 shipping per month with additional discounted plans for multi-month purchases. SPACE SCOUTS is recommended for kids age 6+.
A GEEK DADDY blog readers receive a 20% discount on their initial purchase of any SPACE SCOUT subscription plan by using promo code USFAMILY20.
For more information, visit www.atcssc.com/space-scouts DISCLAIMER: A Geek Daddy Blog was introduced to this product through its participation in the US FAMILY GUIDE Blogger Program. A Geek Daddy blog was not provided any financial compensation for this post but is being provided a complimentary two month subscription to the Space Scouts to review. A positive review is not required of our blog to participate in this promotion. A Geek Daddy blog had not received the product to review yet at the time this post was published.
