Dippin Dots Frozen Dot Maker
Okay, here’s our own video demonstrating the great new Dippin Dots Frozen Dot Maker
Buy the Dippin Dot Maker online at toysoup.com
Jishaku Strategy Game
Hematite is a fun magnetic form of iron oxide. Jishaku is a fun strategy game using a 3 x 5 grid of hematite stones. The goal is to place your stones in the grid without attracting other stones. Sounds easy, but it’s not! This great strategy game has won the National Parenting Seal of Approval, iParenting media award, Mr. Dad seal of approval and lots of great recognition. Jishaku makes a great travel game.
Dippin Dots commercial
Okay, just got the dippin dots commercial for the new product we should have shortly. –edit– they made us take down the commercial (even though we are selling the product) since it supposedly hadn’t been approved (even though they had sent it to us…) any way… our own video is in the works!
Very Hungry Caterpillar
Eric Carle is the great creator of wonderful children’s books. Most every child has read the Very Hungry Caterpillar book and the Grouch Ladybug and more! These wonderfully illustrated classics entertain and educate! Now these great illustrations are available in Very Hungry Caterpillar Plush, toys and more. Checkout our great selection of Eric Carle products.
Mythbusters Experiments to Try at Home
We recently had the opportunity to interview the famous and fabulous Adam Savage of Mythbusters. Their show is designed to be unpredictable and teach about the power of not always knowing the answer. Kids can be so programmed to always want to be right that they miss out on the joy of experimenting and asking questions. These Mythbuster science kits are designed to help kids ask questions and not be afraid to be wrong. Checkout our complete Mythbusters article with the Adam Savage interview here and our review of the Mythbusters Science Kits.
Dippin Dots At Home
Don’t have very many details yet, but there’s a new product due shortly so you can make your own Dippin Dots at home! These fantastic frozen treats are a hit with the kids and come in a variety of yummy flavors. Saw a demo of the machine and it will have a pen-style eyedropper to eject the mix into a plate-style mould which is then frozen. Take it out, pop out the frozen dots and you have Dipping Dots! Make your own flavors or use the packaged mixes!
Top 5 Travel Toys
1. 
If you’re planning on making a road trip with the kids this summer, be sure to have enough fun things along so you don’t get tired of “wheeeen areeeee we going to beeeeeee there?” A great game is Lonpos. It’s small enough to fit in a purse, is simple enough that my 5 year old likes playing with it (she just copies the basic setups) and complex enough that my 8 year old will spend hours working on it. We’ve found that it’s best to have a small container to keep the loose pieces in while you’re working on it.
2. The Ball of Whacks is also a great suggestion. The Ball of Whacks comes in 3 choices of color and includes a book to inspire creativity. It looks deceptively simple, so once you get past that and begin to build your own ideas, you can create your own imaginary world. Once again, be careful not to loose the small pieces in the car.
3. 
Bonz by Curious Toys are fabulous small construction toys. They rotate and you can mix and match to create all kinds of strange creatures. Award-winning and durable, they will be sure to be a hit! Bonz originated in an animation studio and you can clearly see the possibilities with character creation. Different from mechanical contraptions, these characters can have identities and are designed for stories and plots. For smaller kids, there are also the large BugBonz sets available.
4. 
Travel Fractiles are also an award winning design game. Use the magnetic tiling pieces and the steel activity board to design starbursts, mandalas, flowers, space objects and more. Developed from fractal patterns found in nature and the beauty of geometry, this game will spark creativity and keep children occupied. There are no set solutions, so it is pure free art and creativity. Pattern recognition is an important skill to learn and working with Fractiles will train the brain to see patterns and develop. Fractiles are made in the USA.
5. Last but not least are Wikki Stix. Imagine strips of yarn coated with wax, this is the essence of Wikki Stix. Made in the USA, these are a great craft project for the car. Also another award winner, Wikki Stix are non-toxic and are a great tactile craft for ages 3 and up. Grab the Activity set and then add what else you might have on hand, paper, cans, lids, paper towel rolls and see what the kids can come up with!
However you choose to spend the summer, these are great projects to have on hand in the car to reduce whining and make travel time fun!
Ants!
We get a lot of questions about ant farms, so would like to answer some of the most common questions:
Q: Can I order ants with the farm and have them arrive at the same time
A: No, unfortunately, you can’t as the ants are shipped completely separately and must be ordered with the coupon enclosed in the farm.
Q: Where do I get ants
A: If you purchased a kit from us, a coupon was enclosed. If you need to order more ants or don’t have a coupon you can order online at http://www9.mailordercentral.com/unclemilton/products.asp?dept=1001 It’s also a lot of fun for kids to collect ants from outside, just be sure that they are big enough so they don’t escape!
Q: Where do I get a queen ant
A: Federal regulations prohibit selling queen ants, so only worker ants are available
Q: What kind of ants are they
A: The ants from Uncle Milton (the ant farms) are harvester ants
Q: How long will the ants live
A: They should live between 1 and 3 months depending on care
Q: What do ants eat
A: be sure to give them enough water and once a week a tiny bit of bread, dead bugs or fruit
Hydrogen powered car launched!
The technology behind the Horizon fuel cell kits is now available for real road trips! Checkout the CNN coverage at
The top secret vehicle development unveiled last week in London is a two-seater zero emissions hydrogen-electric city car. Developed by Riversimple and backed by the founders of Porsche,the small city car integrates a 6kW fuel cell from Horizon Fuel Cell Technologies. This city car is able to achieve 250 miles per gallon, which is 4 to 5 times better than today’s best available hybrid electric vehicles.
You can have this same technology in an educational kit in the H Racer 2.0 and the H2Go Fuel Cell Car
.
FunSlides Carpet Skates
Carpet Skates are a great indoor skating toy. Enjoy sliding across the floor, dancing and just plain goofing off. If you have a large basement or playroom, these are for you! Buy Carpet Skates online at http://www.newhorizontoys.com/carpet-fun-slides.html
