– by Joseph Caputo and Lauren Rugani
– by Joseph Caputo and Lauren Rugani
Looking to foster a love of science in your favorite 8-year-old? Why not try replacing his or her favorite magic kit with a chemistry set
– by Joseph Caputo and Lauren Rugani
– by Joseph Caputo and Lauren Rugani
Looking to foster a love of science in your favorite 8-year-old? Why not try replacing his or her favorite magic kit with a chemistry set? If that doesn’t work, there are a whole lot of options for science toys nowadays. You just have to know where to look.
One place you’ll have little luck is the mainstream toy store. When asked about their most popular products, a Cambridge KB Toys representative replied, “Aside from telescopes and microscopes, we don’t have a lot of science-related toys.”
Scientific Explorer Kits are a popular line with customers at Stellabella. There are over three dozen kits to choose from, ranging from the basic “My First Weather Kit” to “Disgusting Anatomy: Brain,” which helps kids make their own gelatinous brain out of strawberry-kiwi Jello.
Another Stellabella seller is Snap Circuits. Using a plastic grid and snap-pn wires, kids explore their inner electrician by connecting AA batteries to doorbells, sirens, and AM radios. The kits range in difficulty from a Jr. version, which contains 30 parts, to Extreme – enough parts to make 750 projects.
Over at Zoinks!, the Gross Science series from Curiosity Kits is an easy sell. With projects like “Snot Science” and “Everyday Ooze” that look at the science behind mucus and bad breath, not only do kids learn about the human body, but apparently hygiene. “They’re mostly geared towards boys,” says Roisin, a Zoinks! spokeswoman, “but girls like them too.”
Another interactive biology product is DK Publishing’s “Alive: The Living, Breathing Human Body Book.” While not quite a toy, it does use fiber optics, pop-ups and sound to illustrate anatomical concepts for kids in the 8 to 12 age group.
“It’s great to start children young so they understand how and why things work,” says Roisin. It can’t hurt, and you never know, toy-inspired curiosity may be the first step to a Ph.D.
Photo from Action Products International,