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.

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.

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.

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.