The Sterling Police have just announced a major breakthrough in the case of the pirated video game MazTech Ultimate SK8 and need help breaking up the piracy ring. In this game, kids can join the Ectropy Secret Science Team, using science skills to help solve the mystery. "Secret Science Team is about taking what you learn about science and applying it to everyday situations ... it is more than science experiments, it is truly a science experience," Ectropy Science President Walter Thompson told TDmonthly.
Awards: 2010 Parents' Choice Approved

This tranquil kinetic sculpture features "magic" jellyfish that bob and swim through a stylish mini-aquarium. The product includes multi-colored LED lighting, a "magic fish" bag, "magic fish" food, two plastic containers, a spoon, a siphon, a magnifer and instructions. It measures 9.7” x 7.3” x 2.5.”

Where to buy:
NORTH WEST

This kinetic sculpture features an underwater volcano. The product includes motion Beads, multi-colored LED lights, an A/C Pump and a power adapter. It measures 9.7" x 7.3" x 2.5."

Where to buy:
NORTH WEST

Kids can wrangle backyard creepy-crawlies into this mini funhouse, catching crickets, ants and beetles with the handheld bug catcher, then watching how they behave in the 5” x 3.5” x 3” plastic playground. The Bug Playground comes with a 12-panel fully illustrated booklet written by insect expert David George Gordon.

This 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzle features an up-to-date element table in English, French, Spanish and German. All elements are shown with their atomic weight, number, name, symbol and electronic configuration. The 26.5" x 19.25" puzzle is made from recycled board, recycled paper and vegetable-based ink.

This 1000-piece jigsaw puzzle features over 20 dinosaurs and Pterosaurs, including T-Rex and archeopteryx. All specimens are beautifully illustrated and proportional in size. The 26.5" x 19.25" puzzle is made from recycled board, recycled paper, and vegetable-based ink.

This 100-piece children's jigsaw puzzle features almost 20 rockets, including Apollo 5 and the Space Shuttle. All models are beautifully illustrated with country and first launch date. The 13" x 19" puzzle is made from recycled board, recycled paper and vegetable-based ink.

This easy to use three-in-one (Microscope, Telescope, and Magnifier) is ideal for the budding Spy or Scientist. Get bright, sharp images without blurry edges around the viewing area with these high quality optical lenses. This unique, slick, lightweight multi-use instrument is also great for sports fans, spy enthusiasts, or bird and animal watchers.

Features:

Packed in a full color box, this kit is ideal for budding scientists, homeschoolers, hobbyists and school projects. Includes an experiment book and supplies to perform these and many more experiments in Temperature, Osmosis, Sound, Light, Gravity, Density, and more:

View bugs up close with this device. The viewer allows you to observe your bug from the top or from the bottom.

Ideal for the budding scientist, this slime lab allows kids to make some of the strangest, most anomalous slime they have ever encountered - weird slime that changes color with body heat, magnetic slime that slithers towards magnets, and even slime that glows eerily in the dark. Kids can learn the science behind these amazing hydrophilic polymers while mixing up gobs and gobs of slime.
— As of 05/12/2012 this product had 4.3 out of 5 stars from 15 reviews on Amazon.com. Cons: Too messy; supplies run out too quickly; does not come with containers for the slime.
— John Blair, owner of Science Safari in Cary, N.C., told TDmonthly in late Spring 2011 that he sells 3-4 kits from Scientific Explorer each month.

The Discovery Channel's Mythbusters find the truth behind urban legends using the scientific method and plenty of curiosity and ingenuity. Their unique, offbeat and often-explosive approach to science comes to a science kit that helps kids discover the powers of air pressure.

Using this kit, aspiring Mythbusters will have a gas with 'the deadly belch' and other air-powered experiments. They'll discover that although they might not even notice the air around them, it packs a powerful punch, while finding mythbusting answers to these questions:

• Can air cause your stomach to explode?
• Will air help your bones predict the weather?
• If you get the air free, can you save your house during a tornado?

The Hydroponics Lab gives a 360 degree view of growing plants, revealing the hidden magic of plant roots with no soil required. This set of three growing tubes is a mess-free way to explore hydroponics. Transparent seed baskets provide a few seedlings growing both up and down.

The 44 pieces in this kit from Elenco Electronics include a miniature motor and a working solar panel. Children can assemble six different machines and watch their creations come to life while learning how the energy in sunlight converts to powerful electricity. A detailed instruction manual is included with the kit.
― “I can't keep those in stock,” remarked Casey Sartain, buyer for Tutoring Toy in Salt Lake City, Utah, of Elenco's 6-in-1 Solar Kit. Sartain listed the 6-in-1 Solar Kit as his best-selling activity kit during an April 2010 survey of 48 storeowners.
— In a Fall 2013 survey, Kim Emigh, manager of e-commerce at Growing Tree Toys in State College, Pa., told TDmonthly that this solar kit is one of their best-selling science toys.

This inflatable 16"-diameter "reality globe" is made with thousands of digital images of the world from space. Visually authentic, the EarthBall also features accurate glow-in-the-dark cities and atmospheric conditions as seen from space. The ball is easy to inflate and suspend from the North Pole in a classroom, office or a bedroom. "This inflatable globe is photo-realistic, offering a beautiful, fun and important global perspective," Sole Proprietor Didier Gincig told TDmonthly.

These robotic creatures behave like real bugs. Kids can go online to register and track their Nano collections. Additional bugs, track, habitats, carrying cases and more are available separately.
— Five of 40 retailers told TDmonthly in June 2010 that the Hexbug is a top-selling product. In July 2010, 11 percent of 38 retailers named Hexbugs an overall top seller.
— In a June 2010 survey, two of 40 retailers told TDmonthly Hexbugs are a top-selling gift for boys ages 4 to 12.

Build your own electric vehicles and machines, and then power them up with a hand-crank generator. Assemble 11 models including a racecar, “flying” car, radar car, satellite car, propeller airplane, drilling car, bulldozer, space station, well-digging machine, and portable camping torch. Experiment with your electric generator and your models: Alter the crank-time and the crank-frequency and see how these variables affect the performance of your cars and machines. The 36-page color instruction book included in this kit illustrates the step-by-step assembly of each model and related principles so that children learn through playing. The 122 building pieces included in this set are compatible with those in all Thames & Kosmos Construction Series kits, Physics Series kits, Wind Power, and Hydropower kits.

Build wind-powered generators to energize your electric vehicles and charge your rechargeable batteries! The wind spins the turbine, which turns an electric generator, which in turn charges your rechargeable AA batteries (not included). You can then use those wind-charged batteries to power the model vehicles you build. The six models include a glider, sail car, jet car, tractor, racecar, and tricycle. This kit includes two styles of wind turbine blades and a gearbox with three different gear ratios for experimenting. You can adjust the angle and number of wind turbine blades to make best use of wind, to make the LED light up brightly, and to charge the rechargeable battery as fast as possible. Explore this amazing, free source of renewable energy and store the electricity you generate for use in practical applications. Included also is a 40-page color instruction book with illustrated step-by-step instructions for assembling two windmills and six model vehicles, and conducting various experiments. The 133 building pieces included in this set are compatible with those in all Thames & Kosmos Construction Series kits, Physics Series kits, Wind Power, and Hydropower kits.

Pneumatic-Hydraulic Engines. Build your own models powered by air and water pressure to learn about the laws of physics. This unique kit allows you to build two different air-and-water-powered systems: water-jet propelled cars and hydro-pneumo (which simply means air pressure and water pressure) powered engines. The hydro-pneumo system uses a self-contained air-and-water turbine system as a motor. Construct 15 models including a truck, excavator, radar car, tank, antique car, helicopter, motorbike, backhoe, rocket car, forklift, roadster, propeller plane, grinder, and cutting machine. The water-jet propelled cars are a fun outdoor activity, while the self-contained hydro-pneumo powered models are fun both indoors and out. The 48-page color instruction book included in this kit illustrates the step-by-step assembly of each model and related principles so that children learn through playing. The 165 building pieces included in this set are compatible with those in all Thames & Kosmos Construction Series kits, Physics Series kits, Wind Power, and Hydropower kits.

Featuring a guide for parents and kids with tips on how to be green, this DVD includes an adaptation of the beloved folk song "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands." It is illustrated by Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator Kadir Nelson and sung by Crystal Taliefero. This DVD features an hour of colorfully animated storytelling for a new generation of eco-conscious kids. Launch date: April 20, 2010.

Turn your body's natural static charge into useful light with this human-powered light bulb.

Make soda pop, then make it change colors. Pull tasty jelly things from a solution. Make Polymer Pudding. Learn about solutions, formulas, acids, bases, neutralization reaction, carbonation, indicators, pH chemistry of anthocyanins (red cabbagge pigments), gels, and polymers.

Cup your hand around the base of this glass sculpture and the liquid inside shoots up the curved glass straw into the upper bulb, where it begins to boil! Also called a "love meter" because its reaction intensifies with higher body temperatures. Available in the colors and shapes pictured; we'll choose for you.

Secret messages, invisible to unaided eye, are revealed under special light. Blister pack includes pen and light.

Sunprint kits encourage an interest in the photographic process using only sun, water, and a bit of imagination.