KITS & MODELS

Painters need paints, right? This set of (24) acrylic paints from Zenacolor® includes cobalt blue, French ultramarine, Prussian blue, cerulean blue, crimson red, scarlet red, vermillion, orange, beige, ocher, primary yellow, lemon yellow, Titanium white, lamp black, gray, raw umber, burnt umber, raw sienna, burnt sienna, violet, hooker's green (hey, we don’t name the colors), veridian green, sap green and emerald green. Tubes are 12ml each, and come in a nice 9” x 7-1/2” storage box.

About 30-40 highly polished stones, all shiny, translucent, or brightly colored, ranging from 3/4" long to 1/8" long. Great for mosaics, jewelry, or aquariums.

Pop one of these roughly 1-1/4" dia stones into the toe of a sock, smash it with a hammer, and be the first person ever to see your real-as-Nature-makes-it geode!! Ninety percent of them have the familiar beautiful white crystals inside. Formed by volcanic action, they are found all over the world, but ours are from Mexico. There is no way to tell from the outside if they have crystal centers, but we will send you two just to raise your odds, and we haven't had a dud yet in our stores!! Much much more fun and satisfaction than buying one already cracked.

Decidedly clever little gizmo reminiscent of our ever popular tornado tube. It consists of a plastic sleeve into which one screws two empty 2-liter soda bottles. Inserted into the connecting tube are clear plastic "straws", one extending toward the bottom of each bottle. Fill one bottle 3/4" full of water, colored if you like, invert the duo, and watch water spew from the top end of the top "straw". It is all because of the vacuum created as the water drains from one bottle to the other and is a great physics demo item. It looks as though the water defies gravity. Instructions/description are on the package.

Zivko the Robot is back in stock! Our best selling STEM kit ever! Just call her (or him--it’s unclear and we don’t like to ask) “Zivko” because “the Robot” is her last name. Using just a screwdriver and side cutters, you build Zivko from this 107-piece S.T.E.M. kit. Set the mode for “Follow Me” or “Explore,” and Zivko will, yes, track you, or evade obstacles, respectively, via an infrared sensor and micro-controller programming. Interactive LEDs and sounds abound. Measures approx 5" x 5-1/2" x 6-1/2" when assembled with all (6) legs. You add (4) “AAA”s for power, which is the least you can do for someone this cute. Ages 10+.

Back in the days when technology was a good guy, and cereal boxes came with real toys, kids got diving submarines that they charged with baking powder and played with in the bath tub. Now kids can have the same fun again. We have found a (gray!) submarine, about 4-1/2" long, that can dive and surface up to a dozen times with a single charge of the baking powder that you get to supply. Comes with instructions and made in the USA.

Just the one, actually, but it’s been sliced in half so the pair is perfectly symmetrical and mighty pretty. Although ammonites have been extinct for 65,000,000 years, we’ve got their approx 1” dia fossils for you. Our each is a book-matched pair of polished ammonites fossils of a single critter halved and polished to a bright symmetrical shininess. The colors vary from light tan to dark brown and we’ll pick because we have impeccable ammonitical color-shade taste. And yes, they’re just screaming to become cuff-links or earrings.

Lovely to look at, delightful to make jewelry out of or placed as shiny companions of small plants. Our (20) piece set of polished gemstones can include: Carnelian, Chrysocolla, Aventurine, Hematite, Lapis, Amazonite, Pyrite, Citrine, Amethyst, Tige Eye, Garnet, Mookaite, Indian Agate, Botswana Agate, White Howlite, Rock Quartz, Apricot Agate, Rose Quartz, Leopardskin Jasper, Blue Lace Agate, Turritella Agate, Yellow Aventurine, Dalmation Jasper or Orange Calcite. All approx 5/8" across.

Our best and prettiest-ever slices of polished agate, showing concentric rings of natural and dyed colors. The slices range from 3" to 4-1/2" across and from 1/8" to 3/16" thick. We've seen samples from milky white to blue, purple, red, yellow and brown. No two alike, by definition. We'll choose. Think scientific specimens, framed art, coasters, trivets, paperweights, or skipping stones for rich kids who don't want to search the beach for flat stones.

These here selenite wands are quite the specimens. You know selenite? It’s a variety of gypsum, and it’s mighty purdy and crystal-ish. You’ll get a wand of it, somewhere in the 5” to 8” long range, and maybe about a 1/2” on each side. Add a Laser Pointer and have some naturally ocurring fiber optic fun! Whatever else you do with it (besides look at it up close in amazement), is up to you. But you’ll always be able to say, “Want to see my selenite wand?”

Everything you need to build a little DC motor is included in this kit (except sandpaper, screwdriver, scissors and, of course, an AA battery). The instructions are simple and explain the theory as well as assembly. Fun and educational for ages 12 and up.

Rock hammer with one squared chipping face and one pointy picking face, ideal for prospectors, rock hounds, construction and more. A single piece of forged and polished steel with a molded rubber grip makes this a solid and reliable tool that will last. 10-1/2" long x 6-1/2" across the 20 oz. head, 1-3/4 lbs. total. Well made. Good buy. Good bye!

Yes, we have The Amazing Live Sea Monkey® aquarium kit, just like the ones from the comic books. The (9) piece ocean zoo includes brine shrimp eggs, growth food, water purifier, plus an official plastic feeding spoon, 32-page handbook, life insurance policy, growth guarantee, and the plastic aquarium with built-in magnifiers for viewing your little friends, and a vented cover. We'll pick the aquarium color that best matches your decor. Great gift for those budding young marine biologists. Ages 6+.

Electronics fans, musicians and budding Sci-Fi sound engineers will love this little starter electronics kit for making a mini version of a theremin, the venerable capacitance-based instrument that’s synonymous with eerie sounds. This one skips the volume antenna, but has a quantization mode as well as a continuous swoop via the pitch antenna. You add a 9V battery and some minimal soldering skills. Includes all parts, including IC sockets. Measures 2” square, and includes excellent instructions. You might want to get a little project box for it. Made in the USA for Madlab/Velleman.Ages 10+.

Love is not just for valentines day. Tell somebody you love them by giving them a rose quartz crystal. These self-love and healing stones are unpolished and are approx 1-2" in size. 

Cases for mounting butterflies, bugs, rocks, fossils or any other three dimensional collectibles. Known as Riker mounts, these are sturdy cardboard boxes 7/8" deep, with glass glued into the front cover for viewing. They are filled with a fairly firm, white, expanded, synthetic, cotton–like material. The cushiony filler holds the three–dimensional viewee in place without pins or glue. Very handy for the proud trophy hunter. Our smaller is 8” x 12” and the larger 12” x 16–1/2”.

Cool kit to introduce the beginner (age 10+) to the fabulous world of electronics. You will learn the basics of putting together circuits through over 50 projects building actual devices like an alarm, a radio, a metal detector and much more. The simple but complete instructions explain voltage, current resistance etc. This kit from Elenco is a giant "breadboard" with wires that can be connected to form the circuits as explained in the instructions…and all without soldering! A fabulous educational item at a fabulous surplus price!! For ages 10+.

Before robots take over completely, it might be a good idea to learn a little about how they work. Start with this Elenco® Joysticks Robotic Arm Kit. After building it, you’ll understand mechanical basics and be able to watch the inner parts working in tandem (mechanical rods, planetary gears and transmission) as you control the arm’s (4) axes in (8) different directions simultaneously and easily with (2) joysticks. Pick up objects of different sizes and shapes with the convertible (2)- and (4)-claw grippers. Fully constructed, the machine measures approx 20” long x 10-1/2” high x 6-1/2” wide. Requires (2) “D” batteries, not included, but we’ve got them for you. Ages 10+