Crayola 3-D Chalk

It seems to me, toymakers are under a lot of pressure to “spice up” traditional toys—simple playthings now need to light up, morph into something else or create some kind of illusion or affect.  To this end, Crayola has come up with 3-D Sidewalk Chalk.  I have to admit, the idea is pretty interesting and we were totally suckered in by the pictures on the packaging displaying side-walk art literally leaping into the air as if by magic.   

The first lesson of 3-D chalk is that magic doesn’t come cheap; the smallest packages (several pieces of chalk and a pair of glasses) are around $4, while bigger packages that include stencils, a pair of glasses, chalk and paint, run for $10-12, depending on where you buy them.  Not terribly expensive, but anyone who’s used sidewalk chalk before knows how quickly it disapates.  The other trick here is that the sets only come with ONE pair of glasses, which can make sharing and negotiation tricky.  (And, if you’re the kind of mom who still has 3-D glasses in her purse from the movie you went to see three months ago, please note that they won’t work.  We tried.)

Now, all that being said, the chalk and the effect that’s made when you put the glasses on is really cool.  Admittedly, the drawings don’t LEAP out at you, but they do have a very cool three-dimensional affect.  We bought a package that came with stencils, which weren’t very effective on the road because of the bumpiness, but would probably work well on a smooth sidewalk or chalkboard.

We also experimented with regular chalk and the 3-D glasses and, lo and behold, found that you could get the same effect.  The 3-D chalk is more vivid in color, but any chalk seems to work.  Good to know when all that’s left of your fancy chalk is a pile of dust on your children’s clothes. 

So, while I don’t think it’s necessary to have a baby doll that turns into a building, or a comic book that also shoots lasers, I do think that 3-D chalk adds a fun perspective to a summer favorite.