Forget that the 6-3/4" long body is festooned with Latin phrases and old maps. The stones/beads/glass inside the tube would make designing windows in cathedrals a snap. And hey, that's good work if you can get it. A nice gift for Rosetta window fans, and a must for that special bishop in your life.

There's optical science and high school physics, and then there's making pretty colors with this little 4-1/2" x about 1" acrylic prism. It makes the same rainbows that the beveled edges on the glass in the French doors to your grandmother's living room used to make on the floor in the afternoon while she was making supper. If you had a grandmother with French doors with beveled glass, who made you supper. If not, you'd better buy this prism or you won't have anything to remember after she's gone.

This reincarnation of the classic View-Master® is called (wait for it) the View-Master Classic®. As much fun as ever, and still battery-free. Comes with (3) reels with (21) 3-D images, including Age of Dinosaurs, Safari Adventure and Marine Life. Includes a case and, yes, it will accept all of the original film reels. For ages 3+.

Neon strip cardboard spectacles with diffraction gratings as the lenses. You can see the regular world, but all light sources and bright objects appear in multiple rainbow hued images. The effect is a little as though the whole world were a giant hologram. Great stocking stuffer or birthday party item for grade school ages.

You've seen everybody's favorite desk toy. The one that makes you swear you can pick up the coin that's right inside it. Too bad it's really a hologram you're looking at! Now you can own this petite version of the popular "illusion" toy. This one, 6" dia x 2" tall, with a 1-5/8" opening on the top, leaves more money in your wallet and more room on your desktop. And try to touch that little rubber frog that comes with it. It's either enchanting - or enchanted!

Rattlebacks are plastic semi-elliptical shapes, 3-7/8" long, that illustrate Newton's laws of motion, while mystifying kids. Set them down (the rattlebacks, not the kids) and their offset center of gravity makes them spin. Spin them in one direction and they stop and reverse themselves. You get a package of (10) in blue, along with a lesson plan and suggested activities.

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.

This 4-3/4" dia moon is so much more interesting than the real thing. This one has a 4-way dimmer, flash/strobe/fast and slow fade/steady-on modes, plus internal LEDs to make (15) colors in addition to traditional moonish white. It's also a great nightlight. Remote control comes with a battery but you'll need (3) "AAA" batteries to run the moon. Topographical, but the giant astronaut footprint suggests it's not quite to scale. Will sit up by itself or wall mount on a couple of finishing nails.

Yet another great Snap Circuits® kit, this one based on lighting and optics, with a bonus 3-dimensional circuit board. Includes (50) parts and over (150) projects. Special components include an infinity mirror; red, green, blue and white LEDs; 6-way gel wheel; photoresistor; and a diffusion lens. Parts compatible with all other Snap Circuits® kits, too.

These 5-5/8" wide cardboard solar viewing glasses filter out 99.999 percent of visible light, and 100 percent of harmful UV and IR light, which means they’re safe for direct solar viewing (and your sunglasses aren’t). A sharp, orange image of the sun will always be there because the lenses are scratch-resistant. You get (2) pairs because who wants to watch an eclipse alone? For you techie types who care, they’re rated for transmission under EN1836:2005 and AS/NZS 1338:1992. ISO 12312-2:2015. In other words, they're from a NASA approved manufacturer.