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Enviro-Mental - Martin Duffy The Hype: Using three children, they all get asked a question and when they get it right, (they are very easy!) they get to freely pick a number between 1 and 4. The number cards relate to the colour of the wheelie bin. They open the corresponding bin to find rubbish (what else!). The bin left for you contains rolls of money. The rubbish you remove from the bins gives you an ideal chance to talk about recycling and environmental issues - plastic etc. For birthday parties the three children each get a balloon (for you to make them a balloon animal) or a sweet – the remaining bin goes to the birthday child, who finds a magic trick or voucher for a free magic set inside. This is a variation of Fogel’s Four Colour Chance made child-friendly using cute props. Points to note: The children really can choose any numbers they like You are always left with the winning bin Can be repeated with different outcome Winning and losing prizes are limited only by what will fit in the bins Comes complete with 4 beautiful brightly coloured wheelie bins (15cm tall) Set of 16 colour number cards especially printed on plastic so they will last for ages! 2 sets of questions – one for environmental shows and one for birthday parties Full routine
My Take: I have reviewed products from Martin before and have always found them to be of exceptional quality. Enviro-Mental is certainly no exception. I was certainly pleased when I saw the quality of the props included. There are four miniature trash barrels complete with tiny working wheels). I really hate to use the term but I guess there is just no other way to say it. These are really cute. The kids will love them. And it really brings home the environmental theme. Each of the barrels is made from durable plastic that should last you many years. If they get dirty, it appears to be quite washable. However, it does not state if they are dishwasher safe so please wash by hand. You also receive sixteen specially printed cards. As Martin said, this routine is a variation of Fogels' Four Colour Chance which was published by supreme so obviously is no longer available. I feel it carries on from the tradition of Seven Keys to Baldpate or Bank Night.Each allow free choice but leaves the desired result with the proper person. The procedure looks just about as fair as it gets. Yet, there are zero sleights involved. This is almost 100% acting to sell the effect. If you are not a children's magician, not to worry. This can easily be adapted to adult themes. For instance, three of the barrels could contain a small bottle of water and the last a small bottle of an alcoholic beverage. As soon as I opened the box and read the directions, it got me thinking. This is only limited by your imagination.
You are given two performances for children. A birthday performance where the birthday child get money or a prize and the environmental program. In this one there are a series of environmental questions. If a child gets the answer right, he gets to pick a number from one to four. Each numbered card has a colour on it to coordinate with the trash barrels. Obviously you can come up with your own questions and presentations with this. Martin has been marketing a school program on Maths Magic quite successfully so he does have the talent for reaching kids. The props alone with this will catch their attention. His Jumbled Numbers Banner is a real winner, too. Conclusion: I am usually not that excited about kid magic (sorry guys). Most of the props can only be used in conjuction with a performance for children. However, the versatility of this really caught my attention and I plan on using it with adults. Due to the presentational value and the quality of the props, I would highly recommend this.
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