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.

From France comes this fun mechanical plastic bird that really flies by flapping its wings. It is about 8" long and has a wingspan of 16" tip to tip. Snap the wings in place, wind up the rubberband drive and toss it gently into the air on its maiden flight. It flies up to fifty yards with a satisfying fluttering sound. Comes with a spare rubberband drive mechanism.

The original Joy Buzzer was called the Joke Buzzer (1932 U.S. patent #1845735, Soren Adams) and it replaced the more dangerous Zapper, which is lost to time, more's the pity. Our standard wind-up model is a 1-3/8" dia circle of perennial vibrating fun, with a 7/8" dia finger loop. (Watch for the solar-powered joy buzzer, still under development.)

We just learned that. You’d think we’d have known. Now we do. They’re sort of like round dreidels, with a hollowed-out middle around the stem, which causes them to turn themselves upside down while they’re spinning. Great lesson in center-of-mass instruction for physics teachers. Includes an explanatory booklet with activities and discussion topics. You’ll get (3) wooden tops at 7/8”, 1-1/4” and 1-1/2” dia.

This puzzle’s in our pocket, and yes, we’re excited to see it. You will be, too, because it will help you finally memorize the symbols for all of the lanthanides and actinides. Imagine a very detailed, full-color periodic table composed of (150) pieces, each of which would just about cover the thumbnail of an adult copywriter. Assembled, it’ll measure approx 6" x 4". Also comes with a 4-1/2" x 3-1/8" periodic table chart, and it all travels nicely in a clear 6” x 1” tube with a screwcap.

Our each is tub of glitter putty, born at the confluence of silly putty and Ziggy Stardust, with (3) distinct layers of glittery gloop, which Paul, our VP for Gloop Nomenclatura, assures us are heliotrope, apple green and public swimming pool blue. Also smells like Dippity Do, but don’t put it in your hair. You’ll get 4-1/2 ounces, which is more than your mother would like you to have.

Newtonian demonstrator for science teachers. Mindless play for the rest of us. These are shiny, nicely balanced, high-performance examples of the classic Newton's Cradle - a ball on one end of a row of (5) suspended, barely touching balls swings into the others, and the ball at the opposite end reacts to the collision. The 11/16" dia balls in the small version (all-metal frame 6-1/2" high x 4" x 4-1/4") will collide about 30 times. The 7/8" dia balls in the large version (metal frame 5-1/4" high x 4" x 6", with a wooden base) will collide about 100 times. Awesome. Even more awesome that we paid someone to count the bounces just for you! (Unpacking note: Less awesome if you just yank it out by the suspension lines and pull a couple of balls loose. Be gentle.)

Introducing the Aeromax 2000. This update of the classic parachute toy has mesh under the canopy instead of lines, so it's tangle-free. Big 20" chute floats the little 3-1/2" tall trooper gently to the ground. In assorted colors, which we'll pick because we have really good color sense.

This whimsical pack of (30) postcards measures, unsurprisingly, post-card size 5-3/4" x 3-15/16", with non-duplicating images of gravy and bacon, Nikola Tesla, narwhals, spontaneous human combustion, boxing kangaroos, infinity and taxidermy, among many others of that ilk. Those ilks. Whatever--just buy 'em and stop asking so many questions. Blurbs on the back.

It’s a proven stress reliever, banana knotting, and you can participate with our mega-squishy stress banana. Measures 6” long but will stretch to a couple feet. Filled with stress-relieving gel beads, and will take a good long time to return to its original banana shape, which just adds to your relief.

If you're devoted to explosions, and who isn't, you'll love the new expanded 2nd edition of William Gurstelle's Backyard Ballistics, now 25% longer, with 25% more ka-boomery. Still the go-to reference work for building rockets, cannons (carbide and potato), flingers, fire kites, electromagnetic pipe guns, tennis ball mortars, cleaner-bag balloons, ballistic pendula and petards. You simply can't have more fun with common household materials. The soft-cover, 210pp compendium includes detailed and illustrated instructions, parts lists and sensible ways not to be hoist on your own petard. Be careful out there.

It's a toy! It's a scientific demonstration! Drop the 1" ball with a straw attached and watch the outer rocket straw launch. The farther you drop it, the higher the launch, which is the fun version of Newton's Third Law of Motion.  And we give you (2) rocket straws on account of we know you're going to lose one.

You want to see a kid’s eyes light up, hand him or her a spotting scope. They’ll know exactly what to do with it, and they’ll thank you forever. Ours is made of tin that looks like brass at both ends with the center body having a wood or map design on it. This 10 x 36 scope extends, pirate-style, from 7-1/4" to 9-3/4" with acrylic lenses. And yes, it’s a working toy. Don’t take it on the high seas--give it to a kid or work it into a costume.

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.

Interesting wire contraption that we played with as a child. A series of (4) tiers of overlapping and intertwined brass wire semicircular hoops are anchored at the open end to a pair of full circles. The whole can be shaped into a tube, double balls, a flower petal, etc, depending upon what areas are opened, which closed. A variety of colored beads on the hoops add a decorative touch. Fun, intriguing and decorative all at the same time.

Titled "The Field and Forest Handy Book," this volume has been justifiably in print since 1906. Written by Daniel C. "Uncle Dan" Beard, the founder of the Sons of Daniel Boone and one of the founders of the BSA, it's a compendium of eternally relevant woodland lore, from building cabins, sleds, boats, and bridges to camping in swamps. The only part we skipped was on how to cook a muskrat. (We know a place that delivers.) Loaded with illustrations. In soft cover from David Godine's Nonpareil Books, 428 pages.

Great balls of air! The mighty AIRZOOKA is back--and as cool as ever! Looking like a plastic bucket with a handle and a flip-up gun sight, it blasts a puff of air up to 50 feet. Blow out candles from across the room (and avoid spitting on birthday cakes), spook the cat, disperse bugs, take target practice at styrofoam cups or buy a pair and play air-tag. Measures roughly 11” tall x 11” dia in bright green or ninja-ish black plastic (We'll pick from what's currently available.) and is, frankly, much more fun than you would imagine. Ages 6+.

If you remember that poster, you’re really old. Today’s generation just grabs the Decide-O-Matic, which lets it decide for them. Like the Magic 8-Ball, but with more options and more fun via a pendulum and magnet. Select a Decision Disc--fortune teller, truth or dare, movie “flix mix,” pizza picker or playlist shuffle--then set the pendulum swinging and watch it lurch from choice to choice before settling on the one that relieves you of the burden of decision-making. Includes a blank disc to add your own custom quandaries.