Tiny Planets

I remember first seeing Bing and Bong on the program called "Tiny Planets" when Maestro was quite young. I believe it was viewing on the ABC channel here. He liked watching the program because of the fun adventures. I liked the presentation of problem solving to a young audience. We also had access to the dvd at the library.

The two main characters, called Bing and Bong, set out on cosmic adventures on their gadget-loaded plush sofa. There's always something awaiting their help, all along the lines of social responsibility, taking care of our planet and learning about the mysteries of space.

I recently learnt that there is a Tiny Planets site set up for parents to let their children access all these fun learning activities, as well as to view the tv programs.  What's more, the site is AD FREE.

The site content has won two BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts)awards – Interactive Best Entertainment Website and Best Children’s Interactive. This series was co-created with Sesame Workshop and emphasizes science education and early learning goals, such as social and emotional development, language and literacy, problem-solving and reasoning, knowledge and understanding of our world,and creative development. Tiny Planets has been a favorite in nearly 100 TV territories around the world, and it’s the only television program to be endorsed by Montessori Centre International.

When you first access the Tiny Planets site, you'll need to set up your cadet accounts for each child, then your parent account.  I actually found it easiest to start by:

• Going to the "Parents" page and do all the signing up/logging in there.
• At the top of that page, on the right-hand side, is where a cadet can be created for each child.  You can't just make up your own cadet name.  Rather, you keep clicking through "Try Again" until you find one your child likes.
• With your cadet names and passwords written down, go to the Parent's Account page. Log in and then add your cadets to your account.

Done! You can let your children enjoy the site. Much of it is for free, or you can access other parts of the site for a small fee by purchasing KEYs* for each child.

On Tiny Planets TV you can watch any of the Tiny Planets television episodes.

In My Tiny Planets, children adopt a planet of their own, name it, and take care of it.  They grow plants in their planet biodome, releasing oxygen to keep their planet healthy. They choose landscapes, skies, buildings and scenery, making their planet ever more beautiful.  And, when flying in space, they play Trash Blasters to rid the universe of junk.  And, how do you log out of My Tiny Planets? By clicking off the light switch, of course!

On Tiny Planets Fun your child can take a few moments to enjoy brainy puzzle games (like fractions, sound and seek, and symmetry), as well as colouring books and comics.

On Tiny Planets Books you’ll find interactive story books for younger children featuring Bing and Bong, their endearing friends the locals and the flockers, and all the planets in the Universe of Tiny Planets.

Tiny Planets Learning is the site for parents, homeschoolers, and educators. Here you’ll find lesson plans that include educational activities and science experiments to do at home.

Tiny Planets Labs is a playground for things to come! When new games are created, they put them on the labs site to test them out. Let them know what you think! This was our favourite part of the site!!

Tiny Planets Blog is where parents and cadets go to to find parenting tips, science experiments, space history, astronomy facts as well as MTP tips and tricks. Take a moment to explore our ever-growing catalog of facts and fun. You can access the blog from all of the planets. Just click on the arrow that says “What’s New.”


*To buy KEYs, you’ll need go via your parent account, then purchase KEYs per child's account.

A guide to KEYs costing are as follows:

- 10 KEYs for $2.08AUD

- 25 KEYs for $4.20AUD

- 85 KEYs for $10.95AUD

Mariposa is still young enough to enjoy this site, especially liking the games and watching tv episodes. She navigated around the site quite easily once I logged in from my parent account each time. The greatest difficulty was our download speed. You do need good broadband access, otherwise this is all going to be too frustrating. Thankfully, we can use the library for free access, especially as the holidays are ahead of us and we will have time to play with this more.

NB - I received full use of this product from TOS for the purpose of review. There is no other compensation and the opinions are my own. Thank you to TOS and Tiny Planets for the use of this product. If you'd like to read further reviews on this product, please click HERE.