This root growing kit can be fun for the whole family. It allows growers to observe the process from planting to harvest. The kit includes a wooden stand, three plastic root toobers, a growing medium, and enough seeds for several plantings of radishes, carrots and green onions. Instructions are also included.
— These garden root viewers were listed as a top-10 best seller at My Club Tabby in Lake Charles, La., by owner Natalie Comeaux in spring 2010. They had been selling well for over a month in March.

Mesh walls allow for close-up viewing of butterflies and insects. A sliding plastic door makes catching and releasing easy while avoiding pinched fingers, and a carrying handle makes it portable.
— With warmer weather approaching, these backyard exploration critter cases were on the top-10 best-seller list at My Club Tabby in Lake Charles, La., in spring of 2010. Owner Natalie Comeaux reported in March that the kits had been selling well for more than a month.
— June Hargrove, co-owner of Black Forest Books & Toys in Charlotte, N.C., told TDmonthly that they sell 24-30 of Toysmith's Critter collection each month.

Young bird watchers can get in on the fun with this kit for building and painting a birdhouse. No hardware is required, and the kit includes everything needed to create and paint a 5.5” x 7” x 7” birdhouse.
— With the eagerly anticipated arrival of spring around the corner, birdhouse kids were popular items at My Club Tabby in Lake Charles, La., in March 2010. Owner Natalie Comeaux reported that they had been selling well for over a month.

This kit comes in various colors and includes a pair of jersey knit garden gloves, a trowel, a rake, a shovel and a metal watering can.
— Spring items were very popular in March 2010 at My Club Tabby in Lake Charles, La. Owner Natalie Comeaux reported that the kids watering can kit had been selling well for over a month.

Toysmith’s Paint a pot craft garden comes with everything a kid needs to grow a mini flower garden. Children can paint their own design on the pot, plant the seeds, and watch them grow. The set includes marigold seed mix, organic soil, six acrylic paints, two paintbrushes, a terra cotta planter, planting instructions, and a booklet with ideas for decorating.
— At My Club Tabby in Lake Charles, La., Owner Natalie Comeaux reported in March 2010 that spring items such as the Paint a Pot Craft Garden had been selling well for over a month since everyone was anticipating warmer weather.

The Bubbleizer lights up bubbles as they stream out and float in the air. The light show lights the bubbles and entertains you at the same time, making bubbles look great both in the light and in the dark. Requires a bottle of bubble solution and three AA batteries, all included. Launch date: 2010.

In Dinotrux, writer and illustrator Chris Gall tells the story of ancient times when ferocious half-dinosaur, half-truck creatures known as Dinotrux roamed the earth. Pushing and crushing, mixing and roaring, the Dinotrux are illustrated in monstrous detail through 32 pages.

— Travis Jonker of 100 Scope Notes found the book irresistible, explaining, “The premise that hybrid dinosaur/trucks used to rule the earth ignites curiosity, while the brief, expressive text all but demands repeat reading.”
— Elizabeth Bird from the School Library Journal absolutely loved the book. She found it to reflect a cheekiness and creativity that appeals to both kids and parents.
— Common Sense Media’s Patricia Tauzer said Dinotrux “will thrill any kid who loves trucks and dinosaurs.” She described the book as being “jam-packed with action” but cautioned that it is not educational; in fact, the Flintstones-style anachronisms may leave kids confused.

Creative fun and science mingle in this new kit from the WILD! Science series for girls. Kids can explore the science of beauty with a creative and adventurous edge while learning how cosmetics are created. All the tools required to make your own beauty products are included. Launch date: 2010.

The Curse of Pirate Island is designed to encourage young adventurers to dig up buried treasure. Will they find jewels? Gold? Something else? Variations in buried items and creepy surprises will keep young treasure hunters coming back for more. The Excavation Set features a sand-based island with buried treasure box. Children dig using a stainless steel hammer and chisel to uncover treasure. The excavation glasses add to the "archeological experience." "Most of our competitors use plaster digging blocks. Plaster is extremely messy and gets everywhere! Our Sandblocks are made of a course sand that is dust free and easy to clean up," Andrew Tober, Director of Creative Development, BSW Toy Inc., told TDmonthly.

The Easter Grass-kit offers an eco-friendly, all-natural alternative to wasteful plastic grass. It's designed as a fun and educational activity for parent and child to enjoy together in anticipation of the holiday. Each kit contains enough materials for two medium baskets of real grass. Recommended growth time is seven to 10 days. Launch date: March 5, 2010.

This Emperor Penguin chick moves according to the shake of the egg, which functions as a remote control. The user simply shakes the egg up, down, left or right to make the penguin move forward, backward or to either side. It requires four AG13 batteries (included). Launch date: June 2010.

Discover the Stirling engine, a simple, clean and efficient energy technology that is quickly becoming a viable source of electricity as the availability of fossil fuels declines. The Stirling engine in this kit uses renewable energy from the sun to drive a generator, which charges a rechargeable battery to power an electric car. Named after its inventor, Robert Stirling, the original Stirling engine dates back almost 200 years. Today, high-tech Stirling engines are being used in arrays of giant mirrored solar collectors and common applications like compact generators.
— "This set will be shipping in the fall and, like all of Thames & Kosmos products, is a wonderful scientific learning tool," Joe Mitchell, owner of YoYo Joe's Toys & Fun, told TDmonthly at Toy Fair 2010.

Animal Tracks is three traditional games in one, with a science twist - match the animals to their tracks while playing concentration, bingo, and guess the tracks games. This unique game is engaging, fun, and educational as players match cards of photographed animals to their tracks. The game comes with 80 high quality and colorful cards, a plastic storage tray, and detailed instructions for three games. Launch date: Spring 2010

This kit teaches Young Scientists about animal tracking through exciting hands-on science experiments and activities. Identify animal tracks, learn about the animals that make the tracks, cast animal tracks, play the tracking game, create animal track prints, design an animal track poster, and explore real animal tracks in nature. Includes eight realistic animal footprint molds, large colorful poster, and eighty animal game cards. Launch date: Spring 2010

On this latest Magic School Bus ride, Ms. Frizzle and her students take Young Scientists back in time with the dinosaurs through these marvelous experiments. Young Scientists create a timeline, design a diorama, build a wooden dinosaur replica, make cast and mold fossils, mold clay dinosaur teeth, simulate a dino dig, fold 3D dinosaurs, and much, much more.

In this new addition to the Magic School Bus Series, Ms. Frizzle and her students take Young Scientists on a wild ride with solar energy to the rescue.  Young Scientists explore the greenhouse effect, collect real carbon dioxide, recreate global warming in a bottle, use a solar panel to spin a fan, make a solar secret code, design solar spinners, watch solar energy inflate balloons, and much, much more. Awards: Parent's Choice Award 2010

Experience the strangest that the world of plants has to offer. In this collection, you will find plants that move, plants that grow eyeballs on top of their foliage, plants that grow flowers that look like brains, and plants that eat flies and small insects. All these plants are easy to grow and quick to show their freaky side. Safe for ages 4 and up.
— "I thought this product was great and placed an order for it at the show, " Jeanette Lauture, owner of Aunt Jean's Toys & Treats, told TDmonthly at Toy Fair 2010.

The classic Ant Farm gets an update from a galaxy far, far away. Kids can watch live ants dig and tunnel beneath two Star Wars planet landscapes from Season 2 of “The Clone Wars,” Geonosis and Felucia. The Ant Farms are connectable, break-resistant and escape-proof. Clean tunneling sand and clear connector tubing are included; just mail in the coupon for live harvester ants and let the digging begin.

“That’s no moon; it’s the Death Star Planetarium.” This tabletop Death Star opens up into a planetary projector to display the cosmos on a bedroom ceiling. Kids can choose to view a map of the worlds that make up the Star Wars galaxy, or view the Earth’s own night sky.

“The Clone Wars” characters come to life with the Holographic Animation Lab. Kids can learn about animation, persistence of vision, and the principles of a zoetrope, an invention that is nearly 2,000 years old. The Animation Lab comes with 10 animation disks — one side has characters from “The Clone Wars” and the other side is blank to create unique moving pictures.

The Clone Trooper Recon Kit helps kids find bugs and more, using the included tools — a soil sifter, a magnifier and a special reconnaissance tool. They can even explore in the dark with the built-in searchlight. Once an interesting life form has been found, the kit transforms to an insect viewer to examine the specimen.

Children discover the science of light and optics as they build their own miniature, 8.25”-long version of the lightsaber used by Anakin Skywalker. A choice of four different colored crystals customizes the lightsaber. There are two lenses (focusing and wide-angle) to demonstrate the principles of optics.

The final challenge in becoming a Jedi Knight is to build one’s own lightsaber. With the Remote Controlled Lightsaber Room Light, young Padawans can construct their own Jedi lightsaber and mount their creation as a room light on the wall. Eight color effects let kids personalize their lightsaber, and a wireless remote control turns the light on and off. During construction, kids learn about the electronics that make a lightsaber work.

R/C Snake is more than 20” long and slithers along any hard smooth surface. It has light-up eyes and a segmented body. Launch date: Summer 2010.

The skeleton of an extinct T-Rex has been discovered and kids can carefully remove each bone from the dig site while learning facts about dinosaurs. When users touch the sides of the pit, the T-Rex will roar, forcing the loss of a turn. The goal is to collect the most bones and win. Launch date: Summer 2010.