Could be lilliputian versions of Heidi Klum and Naomi Campbell, but they’re not. They’re dandy little 37-piece (mostly) steel model kits of two different racers, a biplane or a helicopter, from Steel Works. Finished models will be a couple of inches long, and a tiny tool for assembly is included. We’ll pick one that will be just right for you. Ages 8+.

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.

Return with us now to those golden days of yesteryear, when models were made of wood. You pick the successful Spirit of St. Louis airplane, 5-1/2” long with a 7-3/4” wingspan, or the less-successful model Titanic, 7-1/4” long. You’ll need to supply your own glue, sandpaper, paint and tiny iceberg or Charles Lindbergh.

The vegetable- or fruit-powered clock never gets old. You get (2) copper and (2) zinc electrodes, 4" x 1/8", a couple of pieces of wire and a little 1-1/8" dia LCD clock. You don't add any batteries, just bring a lemon, lime, grapefruit, potato, kiwi, strawberries (or some cola if you're not a healthy eater) and time is on your side.

Impressive, this 3-foot Lizard King. The 1:14 scale plastic model of a Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton has 51 bones that snap together, then snap apart easily for later use, which is more than you can say about the original. Measures 36" long, and comes with a display stand. Bones are nicely aged for paleontological verisimilitude. Very nice kit, with legs, as they say! For ages 8 and up.

You can’t beat a nice fossil for helping you forget about the present. Transcend the 21st century with a nice 3/4” chunk of dinosaur bone from the Colorado Rocky Mountains. Dates from the Mesozoic era, and it was broken when we found it, honest.

Take the (32) pieces in this motorized robot kit and you can make a 6-legged cricket, a gear-driven trailer, a two-legged rolling beastie or a grandfather. And all of them are as cute as robot buttons, especially the bobble-headed grampa. From OWI, the robot people. Sizes vary, but he’ll stand 10-1/2” tall. You add (1) “AA” battery for power. Solderless, but bring a screwdriver and side cutters.

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.

You say you haven’t got time to wander beaches and woods in search of interesting rocks to tumble? We feel your pain. Order up this rock-tumbler refill kit, and you’ll get approx a pound of assorted quartz, hematite and agate pieces (we got 30+ in our sample bag) without leaving your couch. Also included are 1/2-oz packs of coarse, medium, fine and polish-grade grit, plus a necklace, ring, key-chain and double earring clips for to hold your polished stones.

Electronic fun with just a hint of soldering from Madlab. You pick: the lie detector kit, with a PC board and components, or the LED logic game with diodes and transistors that pit your skill against moving a peg along (36) pads. You should be able to assemble either kit in under an hour with a little light soldering. You add a 9V battery to both. Soldering iron not included. But we have one, and it’s item #88242 for $6.95.

When is a toy not a toy? When you can have fun with a kid, and build a digital voice recorder at the same time. If the young Tom Edison had had one of these kits, your grandparents' lives would have been a lot easier. Elenco's Pro Model SC-750 is a Dr. Toy winner, from their Snap-Circuits" series. Has over (80) parts to snap (no soldering) into a grid and learn electronics while building an AM or FM radio, digital voice recorder, burglar alarm, doorbell, and electronic games, among over 750 experiments, including solar, electromagnetism, and computer-interfaced applications. For ages 8 up to adult, it includes a well-written, graphically illustrated instruction manual. AWARDS: The National Parenting Center-Seal of Approval, Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products, Dr Toy Best Educational Products.

This is the new, improved, bigger and better CHEM C1000 beginner chemistry set from Thames & Kosmos. Follow Professor Probenius, the world's most distinguished cartoon chemistry professor, through the 80-page manual while he provides safety advice and instructions for carrying out 125 diverse experiments. Build a fire extinguisher, make water flow uphill, identify chemicals, split water into hydrogen and oxygen and much more. Includes the simple lab equipment and supplies you need to experiment with air pressure, surface tension, acids and bases, indicators, electrochemical reactions and chromatography. You add some common household materials. A superior kit for ages 10 and up. Winner of the Gold Award® from Parents' Choice.

The problem with mobiles is that you have to wait to inherit the wind before they do anything interesting. Until now. This devilishly clever mobile has an 8” wide single prop plane with a solar cell up top mounted on a crossbar with a coin holder at the opposite end for ballast. The whole shebang is approx 18” long. Can be hung on the included 5” ball chain or set on top of an empty plastic pop bottle. In white plastic, which you could paint if you tend to paint things.

Triops: way cooler, bigger and more active than sea monkeys. They're dinosaur shrimp, leftovers from some 200 million years ago. Don't eat them; just grow them and enjoy this bizarre & ancient display of nature! In the kit you get a kidney-shaped tank 2-3/8" tall x 8-1/2"x 5-3/4", a very informative instruction booklet, and a packet full of triops eggs and food. In the starter pack/refill pack you get tripos eggs, food, conditioner and directions. Add the eggs to water and watch them go; they'll hatch in a day and reach 1" to 2" or more in a few weeks. Really easy to do, and really cool too.

For tyro electronics wizards: build your own dual white-LED strobe light. You'll need a 9V battery, solder and a soldering iron. Features a speed switch and rate control knob, and will oscillate between once and a seizure-inducing 60X per second. Draws 40mA.

It's small, as actual solar systems go, and you have to assemble it, but still…. You snap together this (not-to-scale) model of our solar system, paint it, and position the pieces. You get (6) colors plus a tube of glow-in-the-dark paint and a brush, the (8) planets (Pluto didn't make the cut, remember), and cardboard rings for Saturn. Sizes range from just under 1/2" for Mercury to the 1-7/16" sun. The finished model is articulated and stands approx 4" tall x 12" across on a 3-7/8" dia gray plastic base.

From the world of Collect 'Em All, these uber-cute little foam animal figures are 1" to 1-1/2" across with a little 3" hook-n-loop band on the back so they can be attached to fingers, flip-flops, shoelaces, backpacks, wherever kiddies think they belong. You'll get (4) different ones from the selection of frogs, pandas, monkeys, elephants, kittens, bats, fishes, penguins and toucans.

This 79-piece Roller Coaster construction kit features (40) challenges with (4) degrees of difficulty, and has, the manufacturer says, “more than 100,000 unique building possibilities,” which ought to tie up the little buggers for a while. Includes track and post pieces, and challenge cards. For ages 6+.