Agates are the rock stars of the rock world. Let us pick a pretty one for you, why don't you? We'll select a hunk approx 3" dia, maybe about a third of a pound, that's been cut in half and polished to a high gloss so it's all smooth and beautiful with colorful layers inside. Our choice of colors.

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”.

Lego® goes crazy with this 100+ piece kit with everything you need to build (16) different contraptions (be pretty stupid if they made 16 of the same contraption) for your amusement. In the mix are gears, pulleys, belts and axles, which you could turn into a rocket racer, Lego® launcher, donkey cart or scissor grabber, among other things. Includes a 50-page spiral-bound graphically illustrated instruction booklet. And, yes, adding Lego® pieces of your own just ramps up the fun. For ages 7+.

Physics faculty alert: It's very small, but teaches a powerful lesson, this little diamagnetic-properties demo kit. You get (4) plated magnets, each 1/4" square x 3/32", and (2) 1/4" square pieces of graphite to float above them. The graphite may have slight chips along the edge but that won't affect the effect. Includes instructions/fact sheet.

Yes, now you can truthfully tell people this. Just get this combo 10" long 1931 Rolls-Royce Phantom slash AM radio and you’re in business. The power knob/volume control in the right-side spare tire is frozen, but if you’re handy you can fix it and then truthfully say “I just fixed the radio in my ’31 Rolls Phantom.” These radio-models are from the mid ’70s, so they might be a tad tarnished, bumperwise, but they’re still your chance to work on, and own, a Rolls.

Sometimes when you want something done right, you just have to do it yourself. That seems to be the case if you want a 40-foot cactus or a plant that feels your pain. You choose: the Giant Saguaro or Sensitivity Plant kits. You’ll get a 4” x 5” plastic terrarium, a seed packet, some pink gravel, a germination disc. And yes, it’s going to take some time and some re-plantings before your Carnegiea Gigantea (named for steel and railroad baron Andy Carnegie) is 40 feet tall and weighs 4,000 pounds, but that will teach you patience. The sensitivity plant will be sensitive much sooner.

Home robotics, bubeleh. Build a working hydraulic arm with this excellent 66-piece kit from Pathfinders' Simple Machine series. Structure is die-cut plywood and the kit includes tubing, (3) syringes and glue. You'll need a ruler and scissors. The finished arm will be approx 13-1/2" tall and will reach out over 16" and rotate 90° on an 8-5/8' x 6-7/8" base. Comes with a 12-page manual and uses water. Beautiful, too. For ages 8+.

Geology for those with short attention spans? The original Magic Rocks®, of course! Mix the solution in a jar of water, drop in the pebbles, and watch them grow into a forest of multi-color stalagmites. Growth starts in 10 minutes, is impressive in 30 minutes, and complete (up to 4" tall) in 2 hours. Extra credit if you can make it grow stalactites by gluing the pebbles to the bottom of a jar, then pouring the solution in and turning it upside down. Who knows? Maybe it will work. Comes with a set of marine decals to decorate the jar. Definitely not for use with living fish. For ages 10 and up.

From Brazil, rescued from the guts of quartz crystal antennae, these clear rock crystals are pebble sized (some maybe 3/8" long, most smaller). We're thinking classrooms and microscopes, small jewelry items, or, at these prices, a nice little bowl of crystals for the table. Each small box contains approx 2-1/4 oz of crystals. We'll send you (2) boxes, which will about fill a test tube if combined.

with our best selling electronics kit. Build 100 or more electronic projects from a Reflection Detector to a Simple Salt Water Alarm with Snap Circuits Jr. The Elenco kit, a Dr. Toy Winner, has a grid base and a selection of conductors, resistors, switches, integrated circuits and more, for a total of (30) color-coded snap-in parts. For ages 8 to 108, the easy-to-use components and well-designed instruction manual make this a perfect way to spend some quality time with a bright young child! AWARDS: The National Parenting Center-Seal of Approval, Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products, Dr Toy Best Educational Products. Ages 8+.

See our full line of Elenco Snap Circuits here! Click 

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.

Not life size, because we don’t a have a jar that big. These dinos average 2-1/4” long, and you’ll get (20) of them: (10) in red, green or blue plastic, plus (10) that glow in the dark, which is better than the real thing. Dinos include stegosaurus, pteranodon, brachiosaurus, styracosaurus, dilophosaurus, T-rex, parasaurolophous, allosaurus, ceratosaurus and acrocanthosaurus.

Including bubbles as big as your grandmother. You get 2 oz of fluid; (4) straws; a mouthpiece; cubical, pyramid, star and round frames, 108" of yarn (for the bubbe-sized bubble); a tray and instructions for (11) kinds of bubble activities. For ages 5 and up.

Create your own crystal garden and you'll never again have to run out to the store in the middle of the night for more crystals. Put the approx (2) ounces of rocks from this kit in a bowl, add white vinegar, put it in a warm place, and wait for the vinegar to evaporate. You'll have crystals in (2) days to (2) weeks. Add food coloring if you want to change your tasteful monochromatic crystals into a phantasmagoric garden of color. You provide the bowl, vinegar, food coloring and warm place. For ages 8+ with adult supervision.

Wood or wooden you like to never see another pun on wood or wooden? Too bad--we’re not even trying to quit. Meanwhile, you can select your favorite from our collection of wooden automatons that you crank to move, all made from laser-cut pieces that you peg or glue together. You pick: the wooden clapping monkey, approx 6" x 3" when assembled; the wooden wiggling fish, 10-1/4” x 8-1/4” x 4-3/8”; or the wooden drummer drumming, 6-3/4” x 4-1/4” x 2-3/4”. All come with instruction booklets, glue, sandpaper and wax, and are for ages 9+.

The entomologist’s friend. This folding insect cage, which is the same as our butterfly-net kit, is made of nylon-mesh, and measures 10” dia x 11” tall when popped open via the interior steel spring. A pair of hook-n-loop straps keeps it flat when not in use. Includes a basic teachers’ guide.

Sunprints (or cyanotypes, or photograms) are everyone's favorite photo-sensitivity experiment, from third-graders to graphic artists and fine artists. You pick: The Sunprinters are a dozen 3-15/16" square sheets of photosensitive paper, an acrylic backing sheet and instructions. The large Sunprint Kit has (15) sheets of 12" x 7-3/4" photosensitive paper plus a clear acrylic sheet of the same size. Great for classroom demonstrations, and can be used to make prints from photo negatives as well as interesting effects from opaque or translucent objects. All you add is sunshine and water.

We spit on plastic. And so will you when you see these laser-cut bright steel models from Fascinations®. Snap-together pieces. The models are small, but worthy of permanent display, and designed for the grown-ups to assemble and display, rather than the kids to play with. You pick the Metal Marvels™ 3-1/2” long x 2-3/4” wide space shuttle Atlantis. (They aren’t making any more big shuttles, Pilgrim.) Or the 4-1/2” tall x 1-3/4” wide at the base MetalWorks™ Eiffel Tower. Ages 14 up.