West Las Vegas kids get chance to test toys

Erica D. Johnson

Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2002 | 11:10 a.m.

Christmas came two months early for some West Las Vegas children who were selected to play with more than $1,500 worth of new toys so that they could rate them for quality, durability and, most importantly, fun.

Their opinions were part of an annual national ranking of most popular toys, called The Great American Toy Test, published just before the critical Christmas shopping season begins Friday.

"Our intent was to get this information out before people go out to do their Christmas shopping," said Michael Geezer, KLAS Channel 8 reporter, who helped organize the local rankings.

About 200 children at the Variety Day School in West Las Vegas, 990 D St. between Washington and Owens avenues, played with toys from 96 national manufacturers and ranked them from Oct. 29 to Nov. 5. Most of the toys were geared for kids ages 1 to 5.

The Variety School, a nonprofit program for children of low-income families, was one of two local programs that participated in the Great American Toy Test, in which kids in latch-key programs and day care centers nationwide rated toys from various manufacturers.

Students in the Safekey program at the Matt Kelly Elementary School also participated.

About 300 toys were split among the two programs, Geezer said. About 6,800 toys were entered in the test nationwide.

Adults and children judged toys from every price range and ability level, assessing qualities such as durability, ease of assembly, maintenance, educational value and short-term and long-term interest.

While the opinions of the Variety students counted, they apparently didn't jibe with those in the 43 other cities where playthings were tested. Neither favorite mentioned by Variety students on Monday turned up on the test's national list of best toys, or even next-to-best.

The Betty Spaghetti doll, a bendable plastic doll with hot pink hair made of long plastic strings, was a favorite among the school's kindergarten girls.

"Betty Spaghetti is my favorite because she's so cute," said 5-year-old Jaalah Lewis, as she played with the doll Monday. "I play with her every day. I love to play with her and braid her hair. I act like she's going to school."

The Variety boys were drawn to an action figure of Optimus Prime Transformer, a cartoon character who transforms from a tractor-trailer into a robot.

Five-year-old Tyree Matthews rated the Optimus Prime Transformer high on his list of favorite toys.

"I like the Transformer because he's different than other Transformers," he said. "He has a hot shot red alert and a smoke screen. He turns into a truck with six wheels."

The Great American Toy Tests' top 18, the toys that received favorable scores of 89 percent or above, didn't include either of those. Those two toys weren't on the list of recommended toys, either.

But some toys that rated highly nationally, such as the Barbie Dance Party and the Rescue Net Super-Blast Fire Truck, also received high ratings from Las Vegas youngsters, Geezer said.

Educational games such as the Pretend Shopping Cart, which teaches numbers by allowing kids to scan grocery items in a plastic shopping cart, ranked high among Variety teachers and students, and it was among recommended educational toys on the test's national list.

The Leaping Frogs game, in which players earn points by bouncing frog-shaped bean bags off a screen, and the Kawasaki Power Wheels Super Shock motor bike were also popular and made the list of recommended toys.

But Blo Pens, a game in which kids create water paint designs by blowing air through plastic straws, rated low among teachers. It didn't show up among recommended toys nationally either.

"The game can be a health hazard with large groups of kids," said Sister Julie Castattas, a kindergarten teacher. "You have to disinfect the straws after each use."

KLAS Channel 8 sponsored the local program and will begin a six-part series tonight. Geezer delivered the toys and collected the toy ratings.

The results were sent to KTVU, a television station in Oakland, Calif., which compiled the national results, Geezer said.

One nice plus: The schools were able to keep the toys they rated after the test.

Geezer said KLAS officials chose the programs they felt most needed the new toys.

"We tried to find the programs that were in low-income areas," Geezer said. "Knowing that we were giving a deserving program some new toys was the best part."