The Programmable Rover is a toy, a robot, and a tool for learning. A child programs ReCon 6.0 to navigate specified courses that can deliver a treat to a pet, surprise a family member with a personalized message, carry a soda, guard a bedroom, or just dance. NO COMPUTER REQUIRED! Batteries: 3 C, not included. Ages: 8+.
Awards: 2011 Parents Magazine Best Toy Award, 2011 Great Schools Golden Apple Award, 2011 Dr. Toy 100 Best Children's Products Award, 2011 Parents' Choice Silver Honor Award, 2011 Best Electronic Toy Award from Bestcovery

The mind-blowing Demolition Lab lets kids build unlimited warehouse structures and then demolish them with strategically placed blasters, all while getting inside the science of energy, momentum and gravity! Includes Triple-blast detonator with sounds and 3 blasters, 36 wall panels, 17 floors/roof tops, 2 smokestacks, 2 trusses, 2 pipe bridges, 1 storage tank, Footing clips, Booklet.

Where to buy:
NORTH EAST

Kids try their hand at mad science using a beaker, funnel, mix-and-measure scoop, squishy-lidded bubble test tubes, and an abundance of glow-in-the-dark powder to concoct 20 experiments that glow, ooze, and stink up the kitchen. From glow-in-the-dark alien blood to scratch-and-sniff stickers, young scientists will never have so much fun with custom-designed tools and commonly found household ingredients.

Use the custom-designed, innovative Low-Mess Glitterizer to create glimmery, shimmery art projects including ornaments, portraits, flowers, and snowflakes.

It's 'snot pretty when kids perfect the art of grossness. Yes, only Gross Art from SmartLab Toys teaches kids how to draw realistic illustrations of all things gross using real art techniques. Gross-lovers everywhere will love drawing stinky fish, slimey snot and grody bathrooms.

Smart Lab's Squishy Science from Head to Toe sparks curiosity and reveals the mysteries of the human brain and body for kids eight and up. This set includes transparent, anatomically correct models of the human body and human skull. Kids dissect the squishy organs and glow in the dark bones, nerves and eyeballs with lifelike surgical tools. The colorful information booklet, Organ-izer, and activity cards are packed with scientific information about the human body and the brain.
— As of 11/15/2012 this product had 4.7 out of 5 stars from 15 reviews on Amazon.com. Pros: Fun and educational; includes and educational guidebook. Cons: Hard to snap the skull together.

Put this glow-boratory to the test with 20 experiments that will help you answer questions like, what makes a glowing ball bounce and, what does fake snow have in common with spaghetti? View the experiments with a hand-held black light, build a lava lamp, and create glowing alien blood. Test out projects that teach about these 9 principles of science: fluorescence, phosphorescence, chemiluminescence, bioluminescence, polymers, non-Newtonian fluids, carbon dioxide reactions, crystal formation, and nucleation. This kit includes: a handheld black-light activator, 4 glow sticks, mix-n-measure scoop, fluorescent ink, beaker, mixing cup, 3 creature molds, 2 test tubes and stand, funnel, bouncy ball mold, glow-in-the-dark powder, bouncy ball polymer, jelly balls polymer, fake snow polymer, star stickers, and a 24-page Lab Book.

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Explore flights of fancy with five fantastical butterflies you build yourself. With this kit, kids get a close-up look at the fragile, fluttering creatures living in butterfly gardens. A one-of-a-kind tool allows kids to create oversized butterflies for their bedroom walls. "Wallscapes Butterflies includes a unique device that allows for 3D butterflies to be created easily by anyone. This interior decoration kit provides a social occasion to craft pretty, cheerful and fun projects that can be hung on a bedroom wall, placed inside a locker at school, or gifted to a friend," Nancy Storment, marketing & PR rep at SmartLab Toys, told TDmonthly. Launch date: April 2012.

Old-school and new-school technology collide in this plug n' play portable speaker dock kids build themselves. Rock the house or take the show on the road. Kids learn basic electronics by investigating how speakers and amplification work. Docking station works with iPod, iTouch, and other audio devices. Launch date: September 2012.

Featuring five squishy innards-including a tongue-this anatomically correct model of the king of dinosaurs will amaze and enlighten through a journey of building and fun.  The Squishy T. rex has detailed anatomy, inside and out, with removable squishy organs.  Kids learn all about the T. rex through the accompanying book, The Mighty T. rex by Dennis Schatz. Launch date: September 2012.

Standing over two feet tall, the Weird & Wacky Contraption Lab has 60 mix-and-match pieces to build an unlimited amount of contraptions.  Kids can dream up crazy courses, then build and test them using this easy-to-construct Velcro-like system.  Instructions offer tips and tricks on how to best manipulate the kit's components.  It guides kids through five sample contraption designs while they learn how to predict the outcome of each. "Contraption Lab offers full-circle skill building from prediction and planning to testing and experimentation," Nancy Storment, marketing & PR rep for SmartLab Toys, told TDmonthly. Launch date: October 2011.
Awards: TDmonthly Top Toy Award, January 2012.
— Why it won: A great product that encourages creativity.

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Including a unique light table that illuminates every outfit, this kit helps kids create a full fashion line using acetate wardrobe pieces. Just add color, patterns, and texture. Comes complete with the fashion-forward light table, over 30 acetate wardrobe pieces, ten artist grade color pencils, and ten sheets of drawing paper.

Build a brain and then pick it apart with this sequel to the Squishy Human Body. This anatomically correct model, complete with moving mandible (jawbone) and squishy plastic brain and eyes, makes for a realistic experience of our body's gray matter. With the included illustrated book, kids go on a tour through the sense, movement, memory, emotion, decision-making, and automatic functions like breathing and digestion. Phenomena like brain freeze and notes on how and when things go wrong are also explored. Includes: 9-piece transparent skill that fits together at the sutures, 8 squishy brain parts, Squishy eyeballs, 4 vertebrae pieces with spinal cord, Skull base, Tools: forceps, scalpel, and tweezers, Skull map, Brain blister with labels, and 32-page, fully illustrated book.
— In a December 2013 survey two out of 10 retailers told TDmonthly that skull and brain novelty items were Halloween best-sellers.

With this hands-on kit and tour guide, kids enter the world of the human body — complete with removable squishy vital organs as well as skeletal, vascular, and muscular systems, kids explore the complex inner workings of the human body and see how everything fits together. Research physician Lucille M. Kayes helps examine the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of the human body by following a bite of pizza as it travels through the body. Includes: 12" plastic human body model and stand, 12 plastic bones and muscles, 9 removable squishy vital organs, Body parts Organ-izer, Tweezers, Forceps, and 32-page fully illustrated book,
Awards: 2008 NAPPA Honors Award; 2008 Creative Child Preferred Choice Award (Educational/Science Toys Category); 2008 Parents’ Choice Recommended Award

Which planet spins backwards? When is a star not a star? If you miss your flight to Mars, how long will you have to wait for the next one? All answers are revealed in this kit’s activity cards and fold-out solar system guide. "This deluxe kit lets you explore the solar system, planetarium and moon with the mars rover model and launch an expedition with the remote control rocket," SmartLab Toys Director of Sales and Marketing Darcy Morris told TDmonthly.

What mystery material is on a toothbrush? Where is the coldest place on Earth? Why are frogs famous for being slimy? This kit’s 12 activity cards reveal all. "This deluxe kit combines our You-Track-It Weather Lab, Indoor Outdoor Microscope and Extreme Secret Formula Lab all into one," SmartLab Toys Director of Sales and Marketing Darcy Morris told TDmonthly.

This all-inclusive art kit puts young gearheads behind the handlebars of their dream motorcycle. Kids will learn how to illustrate custom motorcycles using a light table, colored pencils, acetate overlays printed with simple traceable outlines of motorcycle frames, and 71 traceable “cling” accessory add-ons. The set includes instructions for creating 21 custom bikes.

With this kit, kids can explore the science behind weather using this interactive station to track wind, rain and temperature. Five experiments take children from challenging the local weatherman to predicting the weather using crickets. "A full-on forecasting station," SmartLab Toys Director of Sales and Marketing Darcy Morris told TDmonthly.

The Programmable Rover is a toy, a robot and a tool for learning the basic fundamentals on programming. Kids can program this Rover to navigate specified courses to deliver a treat to a pet, surprise a family member with a personalized message, carry a soda, guard a bedroom or just dance. With a spiral bound Owner's Manual, kids will begin work through guided projects building their knowledge for the more advanced operating techniques. This cleverly crafted guide helps get the Rover rolling and will inspire the next level of learning — charting one's own adventures.

Girls can create custom interchangeable fabric-covered snaps that mix and match into a closet full of accessories, including rings, bracelets, necklaces, belts, ponytail bands, barrettes, headbands and more. Skills to create printed fabric, such as photo transfers and embroidering, are broken down into easy, step-by-step directions.

What keeps your stomach from digesting itself? How does a power grip affect a tennis game? What in the world is a hippocampus? This kit’s activity cards answer these questions while getting a child ready for the science fair. The kit includes a skeletal snap-together hand with adhesive fingertip pads, a three-part skull model with glow-in-the-dark eyeballs and a snap-together brain, a 12” human body model with nine removable squishy vital organs and 12 bones and muscles, a poster, 12 activity cards and instruction sheets.

This motorized bug scurries across the floor like a futuristic beetle. When the rubber traction pads are attached, Robo-Bug can crawl over sand, rocks and even hills. It also "includes a full color booklet about insects and how they rule the world!" SmartLab's Director of Sales and Marketing, Darcy Morris, told TDmonthly.

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.

Step into the world of fashion to create entire collections using a custom light tablet and cling-type wardrobe pieces. The Style Guide and Look Book show you how to use simple clothing silhouettes and add color, pattern, texture and embellishment to create collections for your design portfolio. The kit also includes 45 traceable clothing and accessory clings, 10 markers, 12 pencils, an eraser, sharpener, color and fabric wheel, and a sketchbook. Launch date: 2010.

These miniature kits are packed full of creativity. All components are food grade and dishwasher safe. Launch date: April 2010.