KITS & MODELS

Zivko the Robot. 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) “AA”s for power, which is the least you can do for someone this cute. Ages 10+.

Looking to upgrade and build a more advanced robot with more programming options? Try the Tobbie II!   https://www.sciplus.com/tobbie-ii-diy-coding-robot-kit-65185-p

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.

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.

It doesn't get much cooler in the robotic-arm-kit game. The assembled STEM educational arm is 15" tall x 9" long x approx 3-1/2" wide. It's 2-pronged hand opens to 1-3/4", lifts up to 3.5 oz (100g), swings 120 degrees at the wrist, pivots 300 degrees at the elbow, and sits on a base that swings 180 degrees up and down and rotates 270 degrees, like, well, an arm. Controlled by (5) 2-axis joy-sticks and powered by (4) D-Cell batteries that you provide. Includes a hand-mounted search light and over-torque and gear-breakage alarms, which is more than your arm has. Requires a diagonal cutter and Philips screwdriver for assembly of its 200+ pieces and is made for ages 12 and up.

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. Great gift for those budding young marine biologists. Ages 6+.

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.

Why yes, it is. There are three kinds of stunts, actually, in this box of (3) styro stunt gliders, complete with nose pieces and (3) sheets of stick-on numbers and aerial decorations. From Dabble Lab™, which says you'll learn engineering, basic physics and forces of flight. We say you'll have fun flinging them around the back yard.

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.

That’s the decade when happiness was a pack of warm Shrinky Dinks®. Well, climb into the way-back seat with us and get this DIY Shrinky Dinks® pin kit to make nifty pins to put on your jean jacket. You’ll get (4) 5” x 8” frosted white shrink sheets, (2) 5” x 8” crystal clear sheets, (4) traceable art sheets, a holographic glitter sticker sheet, (8) decal sheets, and (8) pin-backs. Tracing pics include a bike, butterfly, pizza, French fries, panda, boom box and a cassette tape. Includes easy instructions. To really take yourself back to those golden days of the 1970s, ask your mom for permission to use the oven.

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.

His name is Tobbie II, and although he stands only about 6-7/8” tall, he does sport (6) actual feet, which is why he has such an agile, 360-degree, free-rotation body. You build him yourself (easy-peasy if you’re over 10) and program him on your computer, tablet or smartphone. Comes out of the box pre-programmed with Assembly Checker and Program #1, so the fun starts right away. Use him as a light tracker or thermometer, or to play rock-paper-scissors or bowling, or as a notice board, calculator or compass, or as a pet who will follow you. He’ll do other things, too. Includes a 36-page manual, and all you add is a quartet of “AAA” batteries and some common hand tools.

Based on drawings from Da Vinci's Codex Atlanticus, this Pathfinders catapult kit uses a pair of bent wooden arms as springs to launch clay balls (included) over (4) meters at enemy fortifications (not included, go make your own enemies). The assembled model will be approx 9" tall on a 10" x 7-1/4" base. Made from pre-cut, untreated wood from sustainable forests, and built with pegs for added strength and verisimilitude. A 2013 Creative Child Magazine Top Toy of the Year Winner and a great resource for STEM activities. For ages 12 and up.

Scientifically speaking. This 8-1/2" x 11" science reference notebook is three-hole punched for inclusion in a binder. From McGraw-Hill, it's heavily illustrated and filled with facts, illustrations and definitions about biology, geology, astronomy, physics and much more. Science! Surplus factor: some may have been packed before the cover ink was dry, leaving a slight speckled pattern that has no effect on the science inside—we checked. And Science is our middle name.

Any Star Wars™ fans out there? Our newest Metal Earth model is of Kylo Ren’s Upsilon-class command shuttle. Yes, this is the one many of you have been waiting for since about 30 years after the Battle of Endor. It’s an epic, highly detailed, museum-quality, 3D steel sheet model, and it’ll be about 4” when finished. Then, all you’ll need is a prominent place to display it.

UGears® is the model company that specializes is wooden steampunk versions of otherwise simple objects, perfect for perfectionist painstakers who revel in constructing complicated kits. (You know who you are.) In this case, you pick: the (43) piece Steampunk Clock, a beautiful collection of gears, lacy ornament, flowers, stars and a moon that you make into an imitation clock approx 2" x 3" x 5" when done; or the Wheel Organizer, the world's most delightfully complicated desktop pencil and pen holder. The (51) parts include wheels, gears and slots that deliver the pencil of choice when you turn the big ship-like wheel. Finished model will be 4-1/3" x 3-1/2" x 3-2/3". No glue or special tools needed, and you can paint or stain them if you like.

It's a mug's game, but this package of (4) giant scratch-and-reveal Magic Unicorn and Magic Bird cards are all winners. And no, NBA fans—they’re not related to the two guys who revitalized the league in the 1980s. And yes, everyone else--all unicorns are indeed magic. Precut in the shapes of birds and unicorns, the cards are approx 4-5/8” x 6-1/2”. The Bird kit comes with (4) striped pipe-cleaner chenille stems (for making their legs, of course), and both kits come with a scratch stick and an illustration sheet to show you how to scratch lines and designs to reveal the hidden colors.

These (7) small gemstones--quartz crystal, amethyst, tiger’s eye, sodalite, aventurine, orange calcite and jasper--are approx 1/2” to 1” and will serve as either geologic specimens, jewelry-making supplies, or help in restoring your harmonious flow of energy depending on how you roll and what you’re into.

Our micro rocket packs a lot of fun into a small package, much like hockey's original Pocket Rocket, Henri Richard, the 5' 7" brother of Maurice "The Rocket" Richard. Unlike Henri, this rocket's powered by baking soda and vinegar (not included), and actually flies quite high. Bullet-shaped, it's just 2-3/8" tall x 13/16" dia and sits on a launch base 2-3/4" tall x 3/4" ID. For rocket scientists over 5 years of age.