Kids can view more than 180 amazing, up-close images with the Talking Electron Microscope. They can view various zoomed versions of 60 images and hear 5 fun facts about each image in Learning Mode – then switch to Quiz Mode and test their knowledge. Images include the human body, viruses and bacteria, plants, animals, and other “stuff.”
Awards: National Parenting Center Seal of Approval

Product Videos:

This game is set up as a reading race through the southwest. Players pick their cards, gallop around the board to round up all their words, and must giddy up home before the other players to win. Game features the top 25 building block words. Includes game board (16.5"W x 16.5"H), 50 word cards, and 4 game pieces. For 2-4 players.

Kids spin the spinner, squeeze the matching colored acorn with their Squirrel Squeezers, and place it in their log. The first to fill their log with delicious acorns wins. But players need to look out - they could spin "steal an acorn" or "lose an acorn."

This chart provides hands-on environmental education by introducing six key recyclable material categories and teaching how to sort 48 “recyclable” cards into the right bins. The cards are made of 65-percent recycled card stock and the chart is made from 80-percent recycled plastic. Awards: Dr. Toy Best Green Toy Award 2010

Kids can fire up this "power drill," grab some bolts and create a mosaic masterpiece. Designed to build coordination, the kit includes a power drill, screwdriver, wrench, three interchangeable drill bits, 20 bolts, an 11.5" pegboard and 20 idea cards.

Stix & Stones is a prehistoric picture-making race designed to build fine motor, creative and social skills. Kids can create like a caveman using only sticks and stones; no drawing skills are required. Players make a picture with as few pieces as possible, then challenge each other to guess what it is. Along with 40 plastic sticks, 15 plastic stones, an arrow and a timer, Stix & Stones features 75 game cards providing 450 words of varying difficulty, ensuring a different game every time. Instructions and a storage bag are included.

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.

With 48 game cards and six transparent puzzle pieces, this spatial reasoning game challenges kids to cover up arctic animals, making sure they don't overlap with people in the scenes. The single-player game has four levels of difficulty and built-in storage for all the pieces.
— "By the end of the month, I'll be selling 200 to 300 [of this game]," Lori Hershman, owner of Evan's Toy Shoppe in Camden, Conn., told TDmonthly in early December 2009. "It's very easy to explain and every age is attracted to it. Maybe it's because we (the staff) love it so much."
— Two of 44 specialty retailers named it as an overall best seller in late fall 2009.

Each single-color mini pack is designed to introduce kids to the texture and possibilities of PlayFoam. The collection includes six colors, which may be used as party gifts or stocking stuffers.
— PlayFoam small bricks have been consistent best sellers for the last two years at The Parent-Teacher Store & Toys Too in Louisville, Ky., Owner Kimberly Kopatz told TDmonthly in fall 2009.

Made entirely out of recycled newspaper, Smencils are gourmet-scented pencils designed to retain their scents for two years. The tightly rolled newspaper is hardened around a core of No. 2 graphite, so it sharpens like a standard wood pencil. The Smencils are then soaked to infuse their fragrance, finished with an eraser and identifying sticker, and packaged in a biodegradable, corn-based plastic Freshness Tube. There are 10 scents available: Bubble Gum, Cinnamon, Tropical Blast, Grape, Cotton Candy, Very Berry, Black Cherry, Orange, Watermelon and Rootbeer. They are available assorted in packs of 10 (one of each scent) or buckets of 50 (five of each scent). 
— “One kid has it, then everyone has to have it. I've been selling buckets of those things,” Sherry Phipps, owner of School Crossing in Williamsburg, Va., told TDmonthly in July 2009 about why Smencils are a top seller in her store.
— Smencils are also strong sellers at Golden Apple Learning Store in Pleasanton, Calif., Owner John MacDougall told TDmonthly in summer 2009.

Think fast! What word means “a partially dried grape”? Be the first to say “raisin,” and you’re on your way to winning this riotous game of rapid word recall. Players take turns reading clues aloud, competing to blurt out the correct answer first and move ahead on the board. The first person or team to circle the board wins. Sounds simple, right? But as the race for the right word heats up, and the blurting gets boisterous, it’s easy to get tongue-tied! Blurt is a great vocabulary builder for kids, a hilarious addition to adult parties, and a must for family game night. Includes junior version for ages 7 to 9. For 3 to 12 players.

Hear it crackle and feel it crinkle while you make animals, decorate frames and pencil cups, or roll it into a real bouncing ball. This special sculpting mix dries by itself, turning your idea into a fun work of art or keepsake. Foamfetti™ sticks to itself, to unfinished wood, and to paper. It’s easy to make all sorts of cool stuff with Foamfetti!

Includes red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, pink, brown, white, and black.

Hear it crackle and feel it crinkle while you make animals, decorate frames and pencil cups, or roll it into a real bouncing ball. This special sculpting mix dries by itself, turning your idea into a fun work of art or keepsake. Foamfetti™ sticks to itself, to unfinished wood, and to paper. It’s easy to make all sorts of cool stuff with Foamfetti!

Includes red, blue, yellow, green, and orange.

Kids' imaginations will run wild with this 2-piece set which include a tiger "head" and matching tiger "shirt!"

Great for:

• Dress-up centers
• Dramatic play
• Storytelling
• School plays
• Costume parties

Comfortable, high quality, washable fabric. Easy-to-use Velcro® fasteners make dressing up simple. Made from flame-retardant material. One size fits all!

Kids' imaginations will run wild with this 2-piece set which include a monkey "head" and matching monkey "shirt!"

Great for:

• Dress-up centers
• Dramatic play
• Storytelling
• School plays
• Costume parties

Comfortable, high quality, washable fabric. Easy-to-use Velcro® fasteners make dressing up simple. Made from flame-retardant material. One size fits all!

Complete with a cow head and matching cow shirt, this two-piece set may be used for storytelling, dramatic play, school plays, costume parties and dress-up centers. The washable fabric is made from flame-retardant material and features easy-to-use Velcro® fasteners to make dressing up simple. It is designed as a one-size-fits-all costume.

Kids' imaginations will run wild with this 2-piece set which include a dog "head" and matching dog "shirt!"

Great for:

• Dress-up centers
• Dramatic play
• Storytelling
• School plays
• Costume parties

Comfortable, high quality, washable fabric. Easy-to-use Velcro® fasteners make dressing up simple. Made from flame-retardant material. One size fits all!

Tactile, colorful PlayFoam never dries out, can be molded and sculpted, leaves no residue, and sticks best to itself rather than the many surfaces of a home. Whether constructed into elaborate art projects or simply enjoyed for its unique texture, this double pack of PlayFoam in 12 colors contains enough to share.
— “PlayFoam is still strong,” said Janet Gregory, owner of Over the Rainbow Toys in Anchorage, Alaska.
— Of 44 retailers surveyed in late fall 2008, seven percent said PlayFoam is one of their top-selling items.

This brain-building strategy game plays off the original Blokus but plays with entirely new configurations in four construction plans: steps, pyramid, tower and corner (shown). The player who ends up with the most squares showing from above wins the game. Launch date: 2008.

This interactive cloth wall chart helps children learn about a subject that fascinates them — the human body. The hanging activity center comes with 16 soft, stuffed, self-sticking organs, and 15 embroidered labels, for hours of science fun. Children love to play with the beautifully detailed, self-checking pieces as they learn about the organs and where they are located in the body. It includes a giant cloth charge (38.5” x 19.5”) with grommets, 16 self-stick organs, 15 self-stick labels and an activity guide. Launch date: January 31, 2008.

The Fossils Collection includes nine different fossils in a handy storage tray, an informational guide, a four-color insert card of photographed fossils, and a die-cut sheet of circle labels for the fossils. Fossils included are brachiopod, bryozoa, crinoid stem, gastropod, colony coral, ammonite, shark's tooth, fossil fern and petrified wood. Launch date: January 31, 2008.

The Kanoodle case holds two solitaire games that challenge the player to build colorful 2D puzzles and 3D pyramids. Once a child picks a design from the included puzzle book, he or she puts some of the pieces into place as shown, then fills the empty spots with the remaining pieces. Only one of hundreds of possible combinations actually completes the puzzle.
— Three of 68 specialty retailers named Kanoodle when asked about their top-selling toy or game in October 2008.
— Dean Smith, co-owner of JaZams in Pennington, N.J., told TDmonthly in October 2008 his store sells about 24 units of Kanoodle each month.

Isolate begins with the tactical positioning of game pieces on the board. Then it's a race to be the first player to "slide, separate, and remove" all your pieces. Simple to learn, yet challenging enough for experienced competitors. Isolate is a great game for two to four players of all ages.

This Sea Monkeys kit comes with everything one needs to get started raising these living, swimming ”micro-crustaceans.” After treatment with the included water purifier, sprinkle the pouch of dormant Sea Monkey eggs into the tank, and watch the new pets appear and grow. It comes with a “growth guarantee.”
— “Another thing that sells really well is the Sea Monkeys. We sell a lot of those, and we had one of those on display,” Pat Cooley, owner of Cooleykatz Toys Livermore, Calif., told TDmonthly in August 2008 when discussing popular science and nature toys.
— “Kids still get so excited about those little kits,” said Janet Gregory, owner of Over the Rainbow Toys in Anchorage, Alaska. “A lot of adults seem to be drawn to them, too, because of the nostalgia factor.”
― As of 9.23.2010, this product had 4 out of 5 stars from 9 reviews on ToysRUs.com and was listed No. 10 in best-selling science and nature toys. PROS: Entertaining, educational, interactive and easy to use.

Sparkling snowflakes, glittery stars, and shimmering fish are just a few of the dazzling creations kids can make with new Sparkle PlayFoam, now available in a rainbow of colors! Like classic PlayFoam, the new sparkly foam beads are non-toxic, and won’t dry, harden, or stick to surfaces, making clean up quick and easy. Launch date: 2008.