This is a promotional post for Encyclop?dia Britannica?, in partnership with Tek N?k Toys, Inc.? All opinions are my own.?

I was lucky enough to receive a touchTAB for review this week. It is an interactive learning system from Encyclopedia Britannica. I remember having a set of encyclopedia books as a child – to have an interactive version would have been amazing!

The set came with the main touchTAB unit plus three “cartridges”: Magnificent Mammals of Australia, Africa and North America. I also received three bonus cartridges from the Incredible Earth range: Continents, Natural Disasters and Natural Landforms.

Other cartridge packs available include Days of the Dinosaur, Exploring Space and Amazing Ocean Life. ?The touchTAB itself is pretty light, so it would be easy to slip this into a kid’s bag and would be perfect for travelling.

The interchangeable cartridges slide into the top of the touchTAB and are like different chapters. The touchTAB needs three AAA batteries but is a stand alone unit, so no internet is required. And an important feature as far as I am concerned is a simple one – a volume control switch! SO many electronic gadgets omit this necessary option. The touchTAB will also prompt an “are you there?” reminder after 30 seconds of inactivity, and then switch itself off if there is another 30 seconds of inactivity. Invaluable for children that get easily distracted!

Each cartridge offers over 200 facts and questions, and can be operated in Exploration Mode or Challenge Mode. When a cartridge is inserted, the default is Exploration Mode and there are various sensors over the “screen” that will speak a variety of facts when touched.

?Now it should be mentioned that we are a dedicated Kindle family. My son is now 2.5 years and has been playing with apps on my Kindle since he was just under one year old. So I was interested to see how he’d find the touchTAB – would it be too low-tech for him?

Note: The recommended age for the touchTAB is 5 years +, so I ensured that my son was supervised at all times.?

My son was VERY intrigued by the touchTAB, and immediately started to work out where to press to get the facts.

He particularly liked the mammal facts as some of them included animal noises, like the roar of a lion or growl of a bear.

He wanted to help change over the cartridges…

…and of course, he worked out where the on/off and volume switches were.

So he got more enjoyment of it than I thought he would, but the facts went largely over his head, as expected. So I decided to see what a nearly-six year old thought of it.

Miss C was VERY intrigued by the touchTAB. She listened to some facts on her chosen cartridge but was eager to get on with the challenges. Challenge Mode can be selected by pressing the trophy icon, and tests the user on how many of the facts they can remember. Once all the questions are answered correctly, the user moves up a level and gets a new set of facts.

Miss C’s feedback was:??”I like the challenges and information”. She seemed to really enjoy simply?listening to the facts and then changing the cartridge to another theme. Her mom commented that she liked it as a less stimulating alternative to the iPad – the touchTAB is ?good ‘quiet time’ activity.

I think that in general this product has great scope for kids that love learning. The Challenge feature certainly is an incentive to listen to all the facts and try and retain the information. The touchTAB is very light and portable, although an outlet for some headphones would be an improvement.

The touchTAB is currently retailing at $39.99 at places like Target.com, with packs of three cartridges available for $14.99 each.

?GIVEAWAY!!

One lucky reader will win a touchTAB from Encyclopedia Britannica Kids!

?HOW TO WIN!!

MAIN ENTRY: Leave a comment telling us who you would like to win this touchTAB for.

EXTRA ENTRIES:? To receive these extra opportunities for entries, you must fulfill the first REQUIRED entry above. Please note the changes to the entries and frequency, entries that don?t follow rules may be disregarded/ignored/deleted.

• LIKE Cocktails with Mom on Facebook or FOLLOW me on Pinterest.? ( 1 entry each)
• SHARE and LIKE this giveaway on your social networks such as Facebook , Google +, Pinterest, Stumble Upon or Other (let me know where you shared)
  
• COMMENT on any of my Non Giveaway Posts (1 per day)?let us know where to find it
• FOLLOW me on Bloglovin.
• SUBSCRIBE to my email subscription? (no reader) (2 entries)
• PIN this Post ( 2 entries)
• ENTER any of my other current Giveaways? leave a comment for each
• FOLLOW CWM and on twitter. Tweet about this giveaway (You can do this 2x daily! Must be at least 2 hrs apart)(1 entry each) Use the tweet below or create your own.

Learning should be fun.? Enter to #win an Encyclopedia Britannica Kids touchTAB for your kid http://bit.ly/1gvN6iG @MomCocktails #giveaway ends 10/06

• BLOG about this giveaway with a link back to here. 5 entries (MUST include at least 30 words!? please include the link directly post and not to your front page)
• Repin one of my kid crafts posts.? 1 entry for each repin
• Leave a comment on this post for 2 extras entries

Rules:
Open to US only
Winner will be chosen by random
Giveaway ends 10/06/13 at 11:59 CST
Winner will be emailed and must respond within 48 hours or another winner will be selected.
Your entries must follow the rules or they won?t be eligible for prizes.

Disclosure: Georgina received a product sample to facilitate this review, but have not been paid to review the product.? Opinions are 100% hers.