This strontium ferrite sheet is stronger than your average fridge magnet, and considerably bigger. Measures 7-3/8" sq x over 1/16" thick, with (2) adjacent corners trimmed off. Rubberized finish, black on one side, writable white on the other. Can be easily cut with a scissors.

These 3-1/4" dia magnifying glasses on 5” handles are a big step up from the traditional Holmesean versions. Acrylic 1.5X lenses are surrounded by a trio of super-bright white COB LEDs for improved clue detection. (Holmes would have killed for COB lights.) They run on (2) “AA”s, thoughtfully included. We’ll pick one in a color that will complement your deerstalker.

Looking for a very, very, very long refrigerator magnet? At 15 ft, this 3/8" wide x 1/16" thick magnetic strip should just about go up one side, across the top, and down the other side. It's flexible, but can be broken if bent back against itself -- which means that small children can make craft magnets without having to cut the strip or themselves! We love it when a plan comes together!

Nothing says fun science like stuff blowing up or falling down. Ask any middle-schooler. Get them started with one of these excellent books: Massively Epic Engineering Disasters, a 241-page hard-cover book devoted to (20) mishaps through the ages, plus (33) experiments based on the principles that caused them; or Potentially Catastrophic Science, 306 pages with (50) experiments ranging from pre-history to the present. Taken together, they cover everything from collapsing cathedrals and sunken boats to sonic booms and batteries.

Why does it do that? Develop an elemental understanding of magnetism, electromagnetism, electrochemistry, radio, thermodynamics, light and optics. Simon Quellen Field's 228-page paperback, Gonzo Gizmos, Projects & Devices to Channel your Inner Geek explains processes, equipment and scientific terms -- and then, for starters, tells you things like how to make a rotary steam engine in 15 minutes from a soda can, a candle and a few scraps of rubber tubing. It's the favorite of our resident geeks -- but not for kids unless they're working with an adult. That would be a mature adult. An insured, mature adult.

You can start with our single aluminum tuning fork, 2-tined and 7-1/2" long. It vibrates at 256 hz, and is labeled "C". Or you can order the set that has (8) forks and a mallet with a rubber-tipped plastic head. The forks are labeled low-C to high-C and come in a fitted, latched wooden box. Unfortunately, C.J., who has perfect pitch, tells us that his pitch is more perfect than most of the tuning forks. He also says you can file the tips, tuning them to an electronic keyboard until they're perfect - and we think there's a certain cachet to telling people you tuned the forks yourself. But they are perfect, if you're using them for things like teaching principles of sound or driving the chihuahua crazy.

Forget what 2 + 5 equals. If you want your kid to grow up to be an astronomer, best get this set of (36) constellation flash cards from Astronomy Magazine. Measure 4” x 6” with actual photographs of the stars on the student side, and the answers plus a bunch-o-facts about each star on the back, because what are you, an astromony professor?

Genuine, original, accept-no-substitutes brand-name Sharpie®s for when you really mean it and want a permanent marker. You pick the fine point red, blue or black, or the blue with a 3/16” bullet tip.

This magnetic sheet isn't large enough to make a magnetic bed, but it's just right for making a bulletin board, hanging on to a rounded surface, or clinging to a car door with its glossy magnetic side. It's a flexible, very dark brown rubber-like material, easily cut with scissors. A 2-ft piece is cut for you from the 2-ft wide x .011" thick material.

Shiny! This plated rare-earth magnet is 3/4" dia x 1/8" thick and has a 6-lb pull. Ignore the 12-lb rating on the box--that's why you're getting this so cheap, and 6-lb is plenty of pull for one person anyway.

This 96pp, full-color, heavily illustrated book, "The Usborne Internet-Linked Book of Astronomy & Space," is written with a quick-link to the publisher's website, where there are updated links to internet sites that correspond to specific pages of the text. Sections include the solar system, stars, constellations, telescopes, photography and a plethora of astronomical facts and lists. From Usborne Publishing.

Beats us, frankly, but this black plastic cover, 1-3/4” x 1-1/2” x 1/4” (not unlike a tiny toilet seat cover) is hiding a really nice 1” dia x 1/8” (think: quarter size) plated neodymium magnet, with at least a 5-lb pull, inside. The mystery is that the cover won’t open unless you break it. The magnet grabs fine in the case or out of it. Tap it on its side with a hammer to crack open the case and reveal nothing but magnet.

So the poster is really brand new. The animals on it are (1) to (190) million years old, and if that doesn't qualify as pre-history, may we stumble over a glyptodon in the dark. Invicta Plastics Ltd. of Leicester, England, printed this 23" x 16-1/2" poster with a colorful diorama to promote their authentic scale models of prehistoric animals. A time line across the bottom lists dates and data for a dozen of them, from the plesiosaur to the woolly mammoth, and compares their sizes to that of a pair of five-year-old children. Post it on the fridge to spark supper discussions, or in the classroom as a source of extra-credit questions for science quizzes.

Begin their microscopic education here, with this 40-640X student microscope from Levenhuk®. Featuring an adjustable eyepiece, variable white LED illuminator, and adjustable iris. Comes with a cover; (5) blank and (5) prepared slides; pipette; brine shrimp, yeast, sea salt and glue samples; forceps; a microtome; 58-page user guide; and a 23-page manual. Includes (2) “AA” batteries and a lifetime warranty through the manufacturer.

Beautiful refrigerator magnets, all set to be imbedded in your child's best ever creation for refrigerator work. Six file card holding power, 3/4" dia x 3/16" thick ceramic with beveled edges to minimize chipping. They don't come much better than that!!

Pat got visibly excited when these came in, and so will you. From Helix®, these are slightly larger versions of the wedge-shaped erasers you stick on top of pencils, but these have...(you better sit down for this)...pencil sharpeners embedded inside of them! It's the pencil twofer, or "double Helix." Make perfect, crisp, mistakes and get rid of them immediately. We'll send a half-dozen in stylish white, blue, black and traditional eraser red.

Wonderful little book jammed with elaborate colored drawings that tells the beginner a little about everything to do with a microscope. And all in a mere 48 pages! From data on the history and types of microscopes, to introductions and samples and how to prepare them, (from tissues and insects to crystals) to ideas for experiments and lists of simple equipment needs, and how to build them at home, this book is a veritable cornucopia of information. If you are thinking of getting a microscope, we strongly recommend "The World of the Microscope" as a great stimulus for the novice user. It won't answer heavy duty scientific questions. But it will keep the beginner busy, challenged and entertained for days and weeks! By Chris Oxlade and Corrine Stockley. Paperback, 7-3/4" x 9-3/4". One of the Usborne science and experiments series of books.

But a foot’s a foot, right? These student rulers are wood, 12” long x 1/16” thick with inches, marked in 1/16” increments, on the side with the metal inset and mm’s on the opposite. Drilled for 3-hole binders, but the little buggers will lose them anyway, hence the supply-budget price.