Neon signs and kids seem like a good match, except for the whole neon gas part. Kids tend to like shiny, flashy things, so you know they’re going to love shiny, flashy pictures of their favorite movies. With Meon, you get the neon effect without the danger or price of actual neon.Meon uses safe, electroluminescent wire that plugs into the back of the Meon picture frame. Before you start, you slide a picture sheet into the photo frame, and punch out the holes in the sheet which allow you to thread the wire through the frame itself.
The process of punching out the holes and threading the wire through the front and back of the frame looks a little tedious from the demo video, so you might have to stick with your kids and make sure they see the project through to the end. If nothing else, it’ll be a good lesson in delayed gratification.
You can download extra picture sheets from the Meon website for free. Most of these are general fare related to holidays or pets. The paid sets feature officially licensed picture sheets based off Cars, Disney princesses, and the Star Wars series. These sets also come with little games that your kids can play after they’ve finished creating their ‘neon sign,’ including a fortune teller game and a memory game. The signs can also be used as a music visualizer, which is a pretty cool little addition for a neon-esque sign.
Meon is customizable, too. You can just use what the website offers, or what licensed pictures you can buy, or your child can just draw their own picture and slide it into the frame. Anything on a piece of paper is game, as long as it fits into the frame.
Meon is for sale in the form of the Meon Interactive Animation Studio, Meon Picture Maker, and Meon Mini Picture Maker. The Meon Interactive Animation Studio retails between $30 and $35, and comes with six licensed picture sheets, 11 feet of Meon wire, and a 15” frame. For the other two, those numbers are two and one picture sheets, seven feet and three feet of wire, and 12” and 7” frames, respectively. The Picture Makers sells for between $20 and $25, while the Mini version sells for between $10 and $13. Booster packs with more wire and more licensed picture sheets can be purchased for between $10 and $12. The wire is pretty thin and long, so you’ll want to keep this away from the younger ones – Skyrocket Toys recommends Meon for ages 5 and up. If your kids love all things shiny, Meon seems to be a surefire winner.
