Gift Ideas For Budding Biologists, Chemists, Forensic Scientists And Other Science Wiz Kids
If you need some last minute gifts, gifts for kids you'll see after Santa is back in the North Pole or have decided that a pop-rock CD isn't all you want in your kid's noggin, here are 10 gifts for the science lover in your house.
Three Rivers Amphibian Grow-A-Frog Kit
$29.99 on Amazon
Not for children under the age of three (choking hazard).
This kit comes with growth food, a booklet, an aquarium and a live tadpole. The tadpole is clear so you can watch your frog grow on the inside as well as on the outside. Customer reviews have said that the frogs are different from pet store varieties, get very big and will live 15 to 20 years. Make sure your child knows that this is not just an experiment - it's a commitment.
With Amazon Prime, you can get this delivered to your house by Dec. 23.
Insect Lore Live Butterfly Garden
$19.99 on Amazon
Not for children under the age of three (choking hazard).
The Insect Lore Live Butterfly Garden is recommended for children between the ages of four and 10. It comes with a mesh habitat, a feeding dropper, food, an activity guide and a gift certificate for five larvae that you can follow through metamorphosis. Then, when your painted lady butterflies are ready, you can release them and watch them flutter free.
Add this to your Grow-A-Frog order and get free shipping on Amazon (eligible for free shipping with orders over $35).
Digital My First Weather Station
$24.98 or two for $19.98 on hearthsong.com
Appropriate for all ages.
This battery operated "weather station" teaches kids how to read both indoor and outdoor temperatures. The display includes a clock and a "weather predictor" (you can choose between a boy or girl) whose outfits change with the weather.
Snap Circuits Jr. 100 Experiments
$23.95 in the Live Science store online
According to the website, anyone from ages eight to 108 will enjoy.
With over 30 snap-able parts, your little builder can create over 100 projects, including a burglar alarm, a duel-speed fan and a flashing laser light.
No time for shipping? Pick Snap Circuits up in a Barnes and Noble store or Wal-Mart has Snap Circuits Junior - Electronics Projects Kit listed for $20.99 online (and the website says it can get it to you by Christmas).
$49.95 on Amazon
For children over the age of eight.
Have a budding mad scientist on your hands? This kit has everything your brainiac needs for 99 fun experiments, including blowing square bubbles and making a volcano that erupts. This toy is recommended for children over the age of eight and it might arrive after Christmas if ordered online.
There are many other Wacky Lab kits like the Crystal Growing Kit and Disgusting Slime available in Toys R US stores. The Intro to Chemistry kit is listed at $29.99 and also available for pick up in a Toys R US store.
$24.99 listed on walmart.com, but available in stores
For ages eight and up.
Do you know one of those kids... you know, the kind that love gross? Turn that love of all things icky into educational fun with That's Gross Science Lab. Experiments like "making stinky bubbles, fake boogers and maggot-shaped squishies" are done in themed instruments like a toilet shaped bowl and a trash can shaped beaker.
My First Lab Duo-Scope Microscope
$64.99 in the Live Science store online
Designed for children ages nine and older. Adult supervision recommended.
If you know a child who is curious about everything, a microscope may be the way to go. The My First Lab Duo-Scope can go from 10x magnification up to 400x. Your microscope basics are covered (petri dish, slides, dropper, test tubes and scalpel).
Ravensburger Science X Kit, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
$20.26 on Walmart's website
For ages eight and over.
If you have a super sleuth snooping around the house, this is a perfect present. Kids can learn all about fingerprinting and DNA. The kit includes everything your young Sherlock needs to investigate and process clues.
To-store delivery may arrive after Christmas, but for $6.97 you can have it standard delivery by Dec. 24. Cutting it too close? It can be on your doorstep by Dec. 23 for $10.21.
FunScope 76mm Tabletop Reflector Telescope
$49.95 on telescope.com
Not for children under the age of 12 without supervision.
If you have a star-gazer in your house, but don't want to spend thousands of dollars, telescope.com recommends this tabletop telescope as a great starter 'scope. "With the FunScope reflector telescope, the whole family can observe the Moon, Saturn's rings, as well as Jupiter and its four brightest moons, all under light-polluted skies," the website boasts." Under dark skies, even star clusters, emission nebulae and some of the brighter galaxies are not beyond reach."
Next day shipping is available for $21. If you need help finding the right telescope for your family, there is an 800 number listed on the website or a live chat option.
Orion SpaceProbe 3 Equatorial Reflector Telescope
$99 on telescope.com
Not for children under the age of 12 without supervision.
If you're looking to spend a little more for a glimpse of the heavens, the Orion SpaceProbe is on sale for $99. It has a 3 inch aperture, 700mm focal length and comes with a tripod.
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