According to an article I read, a xylophone (from the Greek words ξύλον -- xylon, "wood" + φωνή --phonē, "sound, voice",meaning "wooden sound") is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden (not steel) bars struck by mallets. Each bar is an idiophone tuned to a pitch of a musical scale.

So technically speaking as this Early LEarning Centre has metal bars instead of wooden bars it is not really a xylophone but we will over look that and just look at it as a nice musical instrument. This is actually classified as a bath toy and one that can be used in the water but we actually use it in and out of the bath and it's just as fun either way.

The xylophone comes with 6 musical notes/bars that are on 6 different foam sections. The sections all come apart from one another and fit back together like puzzle pieces. This makes it quite fun to put together and take apart and if you like you can attach them not in order so have differing notes next to each other. The foam is quite spongy and the nice thing is that it floats in the water so this is a great toy for using in the bath. Each different foam is a different colour starting with orange which is the smallest and highest note and then yellow, red, green, blue and purple. This is a good way to introduce and teach colours as well.

The note is written on the metal bar as well so you know what note you are playing. This is a nice inclusion and a good way to teach about notes also. This is good when it comes to playing the tunes that are provided with this xylophone. There are 5 song sheets which are written on a musical score but also include the colour of the bar and the note of the bar that you have to hit in order to play the note. This is good for kids and also adults who are not very musical. The song sheets stick to the side of the bath which is nice as you can place them there are then play the tunes in the bath.

The xylophone also comes with two sticks in order to hit the metal bars. These sticks are quite sturdy and when struck, the bar provides a really nice clear note. This xylophone costs £10 from the Early Learning Centre and in my opinion is a really nice musical toy.