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.

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.

These pretty, and pretty small, polished semiprecious stones include sodalite, tiger eye, quartz crystal, aventurine, amethyst, red jasper, fluorite, and rose quartz, plus a bonus assortment. You’ll get approx 1/2 oz of each in small corked bottles, 7/8” dia x 1-1/2” tall. The semiprecious pebbles are roughly 1/8” to 3/8” long.

Actually, it's a set of (36) different little polished gemstones and minerals from around the world, all identical sizes (1/2" x 3/8" x 1/8" thick), mounted and identified by name and origin on an 8" x 10" card. Super nice at a super price, for teachers, designers or jewelry makers. The set includes amazonite, amethyst, aventurine, black obsidian, blue lace agate, buttermilk jasper, carnelian, Dalmatian dacite, dumortierite, fancy jasper, fluorite, gold stone, hematite, howlite, jadeite, lapis, leopard skin jasper, mahogany,obsidian, moss agate, nephrite, Picasso jasper, orange calcite, picture jasper, rainbow jasper, rose quartz, rhodonite, rock crystal, rhyolite, red jasper, snowflake obsidian, sodalite, serpentine, tiger eye stone, turquoise and unakite.

Grow your own velociraptor? No, silly, this Dinosaur Plant is so-called because it’s 200 million years old. (OK, not this one, but ones just like it.) Looks like a ball of dead weeds, but add a little water and it will uncurl, turn green and start to grow again in a few hours, even after being dormant for months. You’ll get one plant and some genuine lava-rock gravel.

Lovely to look at, delightful to make jewelry out of. Our (25) piece set of polished gemstones includes: amethyst; howlite; tiger eye; hematite; amazonite; carnelian; sodalite; turqurenite; plain and rose quartz; rhodonite; unakite; snowflake obsidian; orange calcite; lemon jade; four varieties of jasper (serpentine; red, brecciated, picture and blue dalmation); and more. All approx 5/8" across.

Zivko the Robot. 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+.

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.

You supply the pot, we'll supply a dozen Venus Fly Trap seeds and a little sack of soil in a 4-3/8" x 2" dia plastic growing tube, plus an instruction sheet on the care and feeding of everyone's favorite meat-eating foliage. Gestation is about (14) weeks, so order early if you're planning a birthday surprise for someone.

Crystals are for pointing toward you or away from you, depending on what you believe or want, or for polishing, or just for looking at. You get a 3-pack of quartz point crystals, approx 1" to 2-1/2" long, ready for psychic healing, jewelry, or plain old-fashioned lapidarian fascination. Your hunks of point crystal might have an actual point, might not: nature's like that.

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.

Maybe. Could also be a stegosaurus, triceratops or something else--that’s part of the fun of paleontological parenthood. Just submerge the 4-1/2” tall ersatz dinosaur egg into cool water and wait 48-72 hours while it cracks like a real egg and the baby dino grows to a be a foot long. If your mother won’t let you skip your bath for a few days (they’re like that, mothers, no scientific discipline), just use any container bigger than a 12” dinosaur.

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!

The budding home scientist and horticulturist will both delight in the ease with which this self contained soil test kit brings discovery. The kit measures not only ph., but also Nitrogen, Phosphate and Potash content and contains material for 40 tests. Since these are the essential ingredients affecting plant nutrition, we see a science project in the making: experimental plant growth in soils with different amounts of acidity and/or nutrients. From Luster Leaf(tm), the kit is entirely self contained and includes complete instructions for use and explanations. Be careful, please, the kit does have chemicals and should not be used by young children without supervision.

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+.

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+.

Simple, yet clever 1" dia. by 3" long plastic device to demonstrate the vortex effect of a tornado. Partially fill with water one of the two half-gallon size plastic soda bottles which you supply. Screw the bottles into opposite ends of the tube which we supply. Tip so the full bottle is on top and give it a circular starting whirl. Presto! You have a vortex. Call it a tornado if you're a meteorologist, a Charybdis if you're a classicist, or a whirlpool if you're into oceanography. Lots of fun and a fine opportunity to attempt to explain the effects of the earth's rotation on water draining out of a bathtub. The phenomena are related we're told, but good luck!!

Don't panic. A meteorite is speeding toward you, but it will only hit your mailbox. These small hunks of genuine meteorites are approx 4,200 years old, and have been harvested from Chandon, Argentina. (We never miss the meteorite harvest in Chandon.) You have two choices. The large-ish ones weigh between 20-33 grams and measure approx 1-1/4" x 3/4" x 1/2", which is very dense. (Get a pair and make cuff-links for your favorite meteorologist!) The smaller ones weigh approx 3-4 grams per box, and you may get multiple pieces. In either case, carry one in your pocket and you'll never be hit by a large meteorite. (And if you are, we'll give you double your money back.)