March 2012 New Specialty Toys — Science & Nature

From Basher, the illustrator who showed the periodic table in a whole new light and gave us his fresh spin on physics, biology, astronomy, rocks and minerals, planet earth and chemistry, comes a book that shines its light into our magical and mysterious oceans. Not content to stay on dry land, Basher takes to the high seas in this friendly guide to everything above and below the oceans. Meet the members of the Shoreline Gang, the Deep-down Dandies, and the characters in the Open-water Crew. Encounter deep trenches, curious creatures, mountains taller than any one will find on land, and the mixers and stirrers that keep the water flowing. Throughout it all, Basher’s bold, cheerful artwork pairs with rock solid scientific information to personalize readers’ understanding of Earth’s mysterious underwater world. Bonus: includes a pull out poster of the oceanic characters. Launch date: March 27, 2012.

An innovative solar science kit that encourages children to exercise their sense of creativity and imagination. It features all snap together plastic parts (no screws, tools required), solar panel and accessories. It is incredibly easy to assemble the 7 different modules: 2 power charging stations and 5 different vehicles. The transforming rechargeable station has 2 output plugs; one for solar recharging and the other for battery recharging. Amazingly, the battery charging station can bring the selected unit to full power in about 5 seconds and the solar recharging station will fully recharge in approximately 120 seconds. The fun time - run time is approximately 50-80 seconds. Similar to OWI's other mini solar kits, if you have sun, you have power. Enjoy five different vehicles: Solar Car, Concept Car, Bulldozer, Dump Truck and Concept Race.

New fun and colorful GEOMAG set lets kids build and put into motion. Build a spinning top, and put it into motion. Set makes two spinning tops. All components are manufactured to stringent European and American safety standards. GEOMAG E-Motion Power Spin 24 pc Includes: 8 magnetic rods; 8 Non-magnetic steel spheres; 2 performance tips; 1 triangle panel; 1 pentagon panel; 2 graphic discs; 1 triangle pro panel; 1 pentagon pro panel.

For 2012, play catch with this new, delightful Golden Retriever Puppy from Safari Ltd®. Its shaggy golden coat and eager expression capture this adoring animal’s most treasured features at a darling young age. Size is 2.75”L x 2.25”H. Suitable for ages 3+. All products are 100% guaranteed and phthalate and lead free to ensure children’s safety. Safari Ltd®’s 2012 introductions and more can be viewed and purchased online at safariltd.com. Launch date: 2012.
— William Meredith, owner of Learning Express in Cary, N.C., told TDmonthly in a Fall 2012 survey that they sell about 30 replica animals from Safari each month (more during the holidays, as stocking stuffers), making them one of their overall best selling toys.

For 2012, discover the thrills of leading a wolf pack with the new Safari Ltd® Wolf. Listen for the echoes of its piercing howl as it communicates with its fellow pack members. Standing 5.25”L x 3”H this figure is appropriate for ages 3+. All figures are 100% guaranteed and phthalate and lead free to ensure children’s safety. Safari Ltd®’s 2012 introductions and more can be viewed and purchased online at safariltd.com. Launch date: 2012.

Study the chip-chip sounds that give name to the new 2012 life size Eastern Chipmunk from Safari Ltd®. Learn from this intelligent creature as its perked ears listen closely for the softest of sounds. Model is 7”L x 3.5”H and is appropriate for ages 3+. All products are 100% guaranteed and phthalate and lead free to ensure children’s safety. Safari Ltd®’s 2012 introductions and more can be viewed and purchased online at safariltd.com. Launch date: 2012.

littleBits is a system of modular electronics that snap together with tiny magnets for prototyping and play. The littleBits starter kit is the first kit by littleBits and contains all you need to get started within seconds. Each bit has a simple, unique function (light, sound, sensors, etc), and modules snap to make larger circuits. With a growing number of available modules, littleBits aims to put the power of engineers in the hands of artists, makers and children. Included in the kit are 10 color coded modules (power, input, output, and wire) that snap together magnetically to create larger circuits, guaranteed to keep kids occupied for hours. Comes packaged in an attractive case with a magnetic closure and includes an instruction sheet, 9v battery and a custom plastic screwdriver. 

This kit is for kids as they begin to explore, experiment and discover their world. Over 70 fun exciting experiments to stimulate young minds. Launch date: 2012.

Harness the power of Mentos candies and soda into a racing car that travels 200 feet or more. Launch date: 2012.

Kids will explore the magic of crystal chemistry as they design and grow their own crystal ring. They will discover the secrets of crystal chemistry, learn to make sugar jewels and find out which household salts make the best crystals using the included magnifying glass to study them. Launch date: 2012.

Sleek high tech looking tablet with 21 smooth touch icons. Tablet has 4 activities to learn about Dinosaurs and 15 dinosaurs to discover – just like in the Smithsonian Museum. earn their names, hear their sounds, learn what their diet was and more fun information. Launch Date:  September 2012.

Kids can learn about colors, quantities, observation skill and more with Arthur’s Little TV. One infra-red remote and 4 double sided scene cards + 1 default scene card for 9 total fun scenes to interact with. Insert card into TV and start playing with fun discover and questions about each scene. Touch one of 6 Arthur characters on the remote to answer. Launch Date:  September 2012.

The new Handy Science Kits, exclusively from GeoCentral, will have kids learning from real science experiments. There are four different kits including Water, Color, Magnetism and Light. Each kit includes 6 experiments that strengthen a child's powers of observation while being interactive and fun. The Water Handy Science Kit teaches experiments like how to make fish swim, float objects and explore paper. With the Magnetism Handy Science kit you can do experiments like navigate through a magnetic maze, attract objects through water or build force fields. The Color Handy Science Kit teaches how to change colors, make colorful super bubbles and make rainbows. The Light Handy Science Kit teaches how to use the sun to tell time, magnify objects or block light. Launch date: 2012.

This little hatchling can nestle inside its egg or emerge for play. Both egg and babies are hand painted. Educational information in five languages is available.

Detailed replicas of tropical marine life and a realistic coral reef surround this young diver with a wild underwater adventure. Exquisite sculpting and attention to detail make this the ideal gift for any child. The packaging features educational information in 5 languages on the back. All Safari Ltd.® products are phthalate and lead free and safety tested to safeguard children’s health. We take pride in the quality, innovation and design that have characterized our products for over 3 generations. Flippers, Fins & Fun Gift Set Includes: Dolphin, Sea Turtle, Queen Triggerfish, Grouper, Coral Reef, and Freddie the Free Diver. Box Size: 11” W x 4.75” H x 4” D (28 x 12 x 10 cm)

Join all the fun down on the ranch with our attractive accessories that complement the Safari Ltd.® Farm collection. Complete with fences, hay, entrance gate and a water trough, this set makes a perfect companion with our Down on the Farm Barn & Stable in addition to our Safari Ltd.® Farm animals. Children can let their imagination roam as they simulate life on a ranch. All our products are phthalate-free and thoroughly safety tested to safeguard your child's health. Safari Ltd.® takes pride in providing breathtaking, innovative and value priced replicas for now over three generations.

Kids will learn over 30 amazing tricks and effects and learn the science principles behind them. Science and magic are very closely related. In fact, many science experiments look like magic and many cool magic tricks are science based. Kids will make water disappear, learn to read minds, mix up some disappearing orbs, levitate magnets, lift up a bottle of rice with a chop stick, stick pencils through a bag of water with noting leaking out, write secret messages and much more.
— In a late Summer 2012 survey, Joe Berardoni Sr., owner of Pun's Toys in Bryn Mawr, Penn., told TDmonthly that "Any of the Lab-in-a-Bag kits from Be Amazing Toys" become their best selling Science & Nature toys.

Grow dozens of dazzling crystals and conduct 15 illuminating experiments with this classic science kit. Experiment with four chemically different crystals each with different properties, including potassium alum crystals that form regular octahedrons, rapidly growing sodium sulfate crystals, long needle-shaped sodium acetate crystals, and plaster which is made from gypsum crystals. Mold fun plaster shapes and mix the dyes to grow a rainbow of custom colored crystals. Measure how the crystallization of solids out of a solution, and the dissolution of crystals back into solution, affect the temperature of the solution. Learn about the energy of crystallization. Investigate solutions, crystallization, and the chemistry of crystal growing. Learn about the structures and geometries of different crystal shapes. This kit is thoroughly tested and safe: Over one million units of this kit have sold worldwide. A full-color, 32-page experiment manual guides your experiments in crystal chemistry and Earth science. Launch date: Summer 2012.
— Mary Porter Green, owner of Curiosity Zone in Ashburn, Va., told TDmonthly in a Fall 2012 survey that kits from Thames & Kosmos are one of their top-2 bestselling educational products. They sell dozens each month.
— Mary Porter Green, owner of Curiosity Zone in Ashburn, Va., told TDmonthly in a March 2014 survey that crystal growing kits were a best-selling products.

Blast off on a mission to explore outer space and the objects in it with a wide array of cosmic experiments. Launch three types of rockets, using balloons and chemical reactions to learn about rocket propulsion. Build a telescope and star map to investigate the stars and constellations. Assemble a model of the solar system, and learn about the planets that share it. Find out how Earth's rotation creates day and night, how Earth's axis and revolution around the sun cause the seasons, and how the moon's rotation around Earth gives us the phases of the moon. Kis will see for themselves how meteorites formed the craters on the moon. Make a moon flip book and a moon calendar, and find the "man in the moon." Model lunar and solar eclipses. Build a sundial and a solar collector to experiment with the sun. Grasp a comet's tail, and learn how meteoroids become falling stars. See how the universe is expanding with a simple model. A full-color, 48-page experiment book guides the exploration. Launch date: Summer 2012.

Earth is constantly changing. Massive pieces of its outer layer are slowly sliding under, over, away from, or past each other. Earthquakes shake the continents and oceans, and volcanoes spew out the molten insides of our planet. By studying these awe-inspiring and devastating natural phenomena, kids can learn more about the inner workings of Earth. Build and erupt a model volcano with plaster-based "lava" that hardens after each eruption. The volcano can be erupted multiple times, and the volcanic cone builds up with each eruption, like a real volcano. Kids will learn about the different types of volcanoes, build a working seismograph, and fake some 'quakes to see for themselves how scientists measure earthquake forces. Discover plate tectonics, and see how volcanoes and earthquakes are caused by the constant movement of the planet's parts. Assemble a plate tectonics puzzle and a geological globe. Play a volcano quiz game to learn about well-known volcanoes. A full-color, 48-page experiment manual is included. Launch date: Summer 2012.

Kids experiment with fascinating soap bubbles to learn physical science fundamentals in a fun way. For countless generations, people have been captivated by the unique properties of soap bubbles. Now kids can see for themselves why these elegantly simple structures of soap, water, and air are still studied by scientists, modeled by mathematicians, emulated by architects, and immortalized by artists and writers. Blow giant bubbles, mini-bubbles, bubbles within bubbles, chains of bubbles, and bubble blankets. Mix the perfect bubble solution. Learn about the love-hate relationship between soap and water, and the scientific phenomenon of surface tension. Observe the subtle colors of bubbles, and discover how a bubble's color can reveal when it will pop. Make geometric bubble shapes and build soap film domes, roofs, and bridges. Kids can also learn some tricks and games that they can play with bubbles. The full-color, 48-page book guides you through 29 experiments. Launch date: Summer 2012.

Kids can explore chemistry as they cook up candies and chocolates in the kitchen. Users will perform a number of sweet experiments and learn important physical science principles related to candy and cooking. Discover why sugar crystallizes to make rock candy. Learn about specific heat and the phases of matter by molding chocolates. Use a thermometer and learn about heat and temperature while boiling sugar. Gain experience with measurements and conversions, volumes, and weights. Investigate the chemistry of gummy bears. Learn about the mysterious phenomenon of triboluminescence with wintergreen candies. Make gummy candies, chocolate shapes, and hard sugar candy using the special tools included: plastic and metal molds, candy thermometer, spatula, dipping fork, and more. Finish them with foils, paper cups, sticks, and wrappers. The 48-page, full-color manual provides instructions and explanations. Does not contain hazardous chemicals or food items; users supply the safe ingredients from their kitchen. Launch date: Summer 2012.

Safari Ltd.® offers a wide variety of vibrant, richly detailed educational posters that feature a diverse array of subjects. Some encourage the awareness of fundamental aspects of an animal's life, where others allow children to learn key scientific information on man fascinating topics. All are a perfect complement for lesson plans and are also ideal for any classroom wall. All posters are available non laminated, laminated in 3 mm plastic, rolled & sleeved or laminated rolled & sleeved. Featured poster is Prehistoric Marine Life Laminated. Size: 24" W x 36" H [61 x 91 cm]. Poster title is Multilingual. Launch date: 2012.

Add a recycled magazine and two plastic bottles to this kit and blast a paper rocket up to 80 feet high. Exclusive to Toysmith in the U.S.
— In a January 2015 survey, 2 out of 10 retailers told TDmonthly that 4M, distributed in the US by Toysmith, was their best-selling brand of STEM toys.