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.)

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.

Us too, but then who doesn’t kazoo? These 5" long classic steel kazoos have 1-1/8” resonators, and come in (16) festive patterns. We’ll pick one because, really, who do you know who’s more festive than we are.

Start with our selection of punches from Paper Shapers®. We'll pick (5) different paper punches, with cutouts approx 3/8" to 1/2" across, from a staggering variety of shapes, including hammers, leaves, birds, state outlines, animals, fish, tools, geometric shapes and many others. The punches themselves are 2-1/2" x 1-1/4" ovals with a thumb press.

It could have been called an Alabama Buzzer after Alabama Vest, the man who invented it. Or a Clegghorn, after Thaddeus Von Clegg, the clock master who fabricated the first one. But the hand-crafted 4-3/4" long steel instrument was a simple amusement, and the 1840s were a simple time. So it's simply a kazoo.

It’s called Thinking Putty® because while you do whatever you want with it, your brain relaxes and opens up to all kinds of creative thinking. Need it? Yes. And you can also knead it. Or bounce it, bend it, tear it, stretch it, snap it, pop it. Pick from the 3.2 oz of dark green magnetic Strange Attractor putty with iron filings infused in it, plus a 1/2” cubed rare earth magnet; the 3.2 oz glimmering light green Foxfire putty that you can draw on with the included blacklight keychain light; or the Super Scarab, 3.2 oz. of color-shifting blue/purple/copper/red putty reminesent of Egyptian scarabs. Comes in a 4” dia x 1-3/8” tin.

Astronautical kids will love this pack of (12) little space-suited astronaut figures, a couple of them holding flags, and all at 2-5/8” tall. Yes, that would be the total number of ’nauts who walked on the moon, although (4) of these figures have removed their helmets, which would have been a big mistake in a real-life moon visit.

This well-made plastic siren/whistle, a touch over 3/4" in diameter and a similar touch under 2" long, has a perforated metal disk that rotates in response to a silent blast from the perpetrator's lungs. This creates a high-pitched, loud and certainly distinctive siren-sound that picks up pitch in relation to the air velocity, sustains it as long as your wind holds out, and winds down quickly thereafter. A fine way to signal your arrival or departure. Probably not loud enough to collect the clan at the beach, but loud enough to get their attention in the classroom! The size makes it hard, but not impossible, to swallow, so please use care in teaching youngsters to sound like a miniature air raid siren.

Yes, boys and girls, Fluxx, the card game with the rules that keep changing, now adds the Doctor (Who?) version, and they were made for each other. Includes, of course, plenty of time-travel and regenerations of the Doctor, K9, and Gallifreyan technology, but beware of Cybermen, Daleks, Weeping Angels and the Master. Includes the standard 100-card deck, and instructions for 2-6 players 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.

Shoot one of these little plastic arrow-helicopter-rotor gismos straight up with the included rubber band launcher and watch it soar as far as 300 feet! A fun outdoor toy that grows in sophistication as you learn how to adjust the arrowcopter for wind conditions and flight patterns: distance, return, circular descent etc. Our "each" contains a package of two (2). Recommended for kids over the age of 9.

You say you've got the blues? Good. Now find another unhappy friend and get this duo of 2-1/3-octave harmonicas. They're in the people's key--C--and they're blues harps so they won't do a full diatonic scale, but they don't need to. Lucite frames with metal reeds and trim, they come in plastic carrying cases so they won't drip residual spit in the pocket of your nice skinny black suit.

Hold the bottom onion-shaped bulb of this 4" glass toy in your hand and watch the liquid (green, red, blue or purple, we'll pick) magically bubble up into the top chamber and keep on bubbling like the dickens, as your grandmother used to say. The magic is ethyl alcohol and physics. WARNING! The glass if fragile and the liquid is nasty. If you drop the thing in the kitchen it will eat the finish off the tile and permanently stain the floor, so don't let the kids handle this item unsupervised.

Yes, your desktop is made of atoms (you, too) but this is a 7" dia chrome and black model of an atomic structure (Boronish, Paul says) that keeps on turning via the magic of electromagnetics, at least until the 9V battery you put in it wears out. Stands approx 9" tall on its base.  Ignore that "perpetual motion" on the box, unless you have a perpetual battery. Minimal assembly required, but a maximum person like you won't have a problem with it.

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.

Enough to decorate a big ceiling, or make a really special nightgown. These (60) flat, plastic stars measure 3/4" across and glow in the dark, not unlike the real thing. Includes a pack of tiny double-sided adhesive mounts.

Very much a classic magic trick set, but in a little 5-1/2” x 4” x 2-1/4” tin. Hardly seems possible, but it contains more than (25) tricks, including vase and ball, mystery computer, floating hearts, balls and cup, disappearing coin, nail box and a buncha card tricks. Includes a 32-page instruction booklet, too.

In the mood for a little light levitation? Try this magnet-based kit from KidzLabs® and make a pencil float in mid-air or tell your fortune, all through the captivating power of magnets. You can even build a mag-lev robot, and who doesn't want one of those? The (7) projects are based on the (7) plastic-coated, 1-5/16" dia bored disc magnets and assorted other parts. Projects include anti-gravity sculpture, floating spinner, magnetic compass, spring and weight scale, propelling machine and a mag-lev transporter.