NEW STUFF

From Lascoton, this Creative Forts Glow kit allows kids ages 3+ to build indoor or outdoor forts, caves, rockets, domes, game structures and tunnels that glow in the dark. Parental interaction is encouraged. Where was this when we were kids? Never mind, we’re getting one anyway—let the neighbors talk! We’ll marvel at…uh, make that…your kids will marvel at the many possibilities this STEM kit offers. Comes with (130) durable plastic pieces, including (44) 2” double-layer ball joints and (86) 15” long flexible rods. Set has passed the toy CPC & ASTM safety certification and load-bearing test. If you need us, we’ll be in our castle.

Give kids a break from their screens with The Book of Ingeniously Daring Chemistry, a (241)-page hardcover edition with (24) experiments for young scientists. They’ll learn how to create hot ice, make a fossil or crystal, and conduct electricity with a pencil, among other things. Many of the greatest hits of chemistry are included—you know, hydrogen, helium, boron, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen—and there’s an illustration on just about every page. Author Sean Connolly is popular among the science kids and gives clear explanations along with the experiments so real learning can occur.

When we call this a monster paint kit, we mean it’s huge—not that it’s meant for painting Godzilla or the Hulk. Although you could. Plenty of green. It’s a (40)-pack of (2)-oz tubes of assorted tempera paints, which are water-based and great for kids. Comes with a nice 9” x 6-1/2” oval mixing palette with dimples and a thumb hole, (5) brushes and (1) foam spatula. Paint is non-toxic and includes (10) neon, (10) glitter, (8) vibrant, (7) metallic and (5) glow-in-the-dark colors. It’s time to get creative. This set makes it easy.

Don’t you just hate when you reach for your utility knife on a cold winter morning and the smooth metal handle is ice-cold? Or the blade is cashed and you have to put off trimming the new sock puppet’s yarn hair? No more! This breakaway knife in safety orange has a comfortable handle with a black rubber grip and a refillable cartridge with (5) blades. A new 3-7/8" blade pops up after the old blade is removed, and when those (5) are gone, standard blades fit.

Meet mini floppy! (AKA wacky waver) You know floppy. You see his larger family members all over the place, promoting sales and events of all kinds. Floppy measures a mini 12" tall, has a battery operated fan in the base, and operates on a single 9-volt battery that you supply. (Available here) Floppy is a great attention grabber and gets giggles from Grandma or the baby sitter. Get yours today!

Donut magnet you can take to town!! 74mmdia x 14mm thick with a 30mm hole. Verystrong and well pedigreed - in fact, its kin areactivating pacemakers. They are of a high permeabilityferrite material with a lovely light blueor white epoxy coating. Okay, we have thembecause there is the odd bubble, slight scratches orthe word MAGNET painted in the coating which ruled them outof the medical ball, but they're fine company nonetheless. Gooddisplay bases, paper clip traps, and super for classroom demos.

We have a really nice (40)-piece manual, carbon steel SAE Tap and Die set here, and we’d like you to get one, too, because it’ll make your life better. You’ll get (1) tap and (1) die each in (16) sizes ranging from 4-40 to 1/2-20. Set also includes an 1/8" pipe tap, screw pitch gauge, screwdriver, die handle, T-handle tap wrench, long handle adjustable tap wrench and a nice, hard-plastic carrying case. Get busy livin’ and get busy tap’n’dyin’.

Where you use this lightweight, machine-washable 100% cotton apron is up to you. Works great in the shop, garage or kitchen, in stylish black with (2) front pockets approx 7” x 6”, and an adjustable neck strap. Also has extra-long 37" waist ties for comfort and waist expansion due to improved cooking. Measures approx 32” x 20” overall. One size fits most.

This lamp is so classy it borders on being modern art. The light part is a white translucent acrylic strip (on one side of a metal ribbon approx 1/2” wide x 1/4” thick), that spirals up from a 5” dia mirrored metal base. The whole thing stands just under 14” tall. LEDs with a 3000K (warm white) color temperature provide the light and draw just 4W. Great for dorms or cool people’s desks. Cord plugs into a standard outlet, and a rocker switch controls on/off.

This (18)-piece Deluxe Wood Burning Kit from Plaid® heats up way hotter than Fahrenheit 451. This wood burner goes all the way up to 750F, hot enough to sear words and designs into genuine wood. Make holiday ornaments, coasters or wall art. Comes with the afore-mentioned wood burner and (6) tips, a stand, (3) practice wood rounds, (4) small wood rounds, (1) large wood round, (1) large plaque and a design template so you won’t have to guess. Finding your own wood once you burn through the included supply is half the fun.

Dinosaur skeletons are cool—any kid knows that—but glow-in-the-dark dinosaur skeletons are either rad, the bomb, off the chain or whatever one step above cool is these days. This kit allows kids to assemble (5) assorted GITD dino skeletons, approx 3” to 8”, including a T-rex, stegosaurus, brachiosaurus, triceratops and mammoth (and, yes, we realize that the mammoth isn't a dinosaur and was evolutionarily separated from the dinos by millions of years). Includes a large 7" x 5" card with skeleton photo and drawing on one side, and lots of info about the animal on the back. Assembly diagrams included. Age 6+. ! WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD–Small Parts. Not for children under 3 yrs.

Nothing says “I Love You” like a bunch of penguins nuzzling up to one another. Well, nothing except the actual words “I Love You.” We have (2) lovely ceramic (12)-oz mugs here. You pick. The reddish-orange mug is covered with (40) white, yellow and gray “I LOVE YOU” messages in different languages, including Braille, American Sign Language and semaphore (plus English on the inside bottom). The white-with-black-inside Penguin Party mug features heat-sensitive images of the loving birds, which are in their regular birthday suits when the mug liquid is cold, and dressed in splashy, colorful party clothes, like Hawaiian shirts, striped pants, zig-zag sweaters, brightly colored skirts and more, when it’s hot. Both mugs come in a nice gift box.

No doll house needed. But these extremely detailed, hand-crafted, hand-painted polyresin Miniature Room Settings work just fine in or next to a dollhouse if you have one (but we’re not sure what scale they are). We like to just display them on a shelf or tabletop, and then daydream for hours. You pick. The (9)-piece vintage bathroom set has a sink, table, tub, wall, vase on a stand, planter and other pieces, including a cardboard oriental rug that might be a little warped. The (13)-piece vintage patio set includes a couple sitting areas, one with a backdrop, the other gazebo-like, plus (2) chairs, a table, flower pot, rolling carts, curved fence sections, a fountain and a cardboard base that looks either grassy or rug-like depending on your imagination. Ages 6+. ! WARNING: CHOKING HAZARD–Small Parts. Not for children under 3 yrs.

You probably won’t leap from the bath and run naked shouting “Eureka!” once you understand fluid dynamics, but you can follow in Archimedes footsteps with this physics kit full of experiments and theory. Build (6) different models illustrating fluid dynamics concepts, including buoyancy, hydraulics and Archimedes’ principle. Part of the Discovering STEM series, kit includes a manual developed by working teachers and academics, (5) pages of experiments and a quiz. Suitable for ages 8 to 16+, and since it’s almost 20 bucks less than what Engino® normally sells it for, it won’t displace much bank account volume. Rubber ducky not included.

These shower curtains from Riverbend Designs aren’t exactly meteoric, but they’re definitely scientific and spacey! Made of quick-drying polyester, with (10) included hooks, these standard-size curtains, 71” x 71”, feature sharp, high-resolution designs of some of the universe’s coolest science and space images. All are machine- or hand-washable. You pick: the Atom with a dark blue background, orange nucleus and lighter blue orbiting electrons; the Nebula in shimmery purple and silver; or Saturn in many soothing shades of blue with subtle white highlights. Find yourself not needing a shower curtain? Each make great wall decorations becuase of their spectacular colors.

Pictures crooked? This Professional Picture Hanging Home Toolbox Kit has been “used by museums and art galleries since 1964,” according to the box. Before that, museums and galleries must have used a different kit. Either way, this is one’s nice, and it’ll hang up to (38) works of art, including the dogs playing poker. Comes with a compact, sturdy hammer/screwdriver-nesting multitool, plus a bunch of hangers and nails, including “blue steel!” For hanging objects of up to 100 lbs, so no juries—artwork and picture frames only.

Some kids are too young to know when and when not to draw to an inside straight, but at least you can introduce them important skills with this Little Astronauts (70)-card set. For 2-5 players, the game is designed to provide kids with experiences in turn-taking, counting and basic strategy. It also teaches number skills, coordination, social development and fun facts about the solar system. Each game takes about 10 minutes. Comes with instructions and a solar system fact poster. No wagering, please. Ages 4+

The Song of the Open Rails. Nothing sets a young person 's heart a-flutter like the mournful cry of a train whistle. A sound that promises adventure, mystery, freedom... Well, we cant offer you any of that, but this may be the next best thing. You've likely seen wooden train whistles like this before-roughly 6" long, with holes in the top you blow into to create a high pitched 'moving out' signal, but you've probably never seen them at such a good surplus price like this before. Allons!