“Ology” Wall Wraps for Your Room

Monday, April 27th, 2009

Here are some awesome new kids’ room decorations: wall wraps created by educators and scientists at the American Museum of Natural History.  They are cool and informative, fun to assemble, and easy to apply and remove.

The T. Rex Wall Wrap is a 6-foot-wide, beautifully photographed tyrannosaurus skeleton made up of several sections of skeleton and outlined with fun, accurate facts.

The Space Wall Wrap comes with all eight planets in correct scale.  Because Saturn and Jupiter are 27” and 15.5”, the other planets are fairly small, but once all the planets and fact stickers are applied, the overall effect is quite awesome.

These sticker sets are $20 each.  Good for any child’s room, but perhaps most enjoyed by kids aged 6+ who can assemble and read them.

Playmobil Underwater Expedition

Monday, April 20th, 2009

The new Playmobil series has arrived!  The Underwater Expedition line includes six new marine marvels:

Researcher on Boat and Whale #4489 The boat can be upgraded with underwater motor.  The whale floats, and (because I know you are wondering) it actually has room enough inside for a playmobil man. $23.50

Research Submarine #4473 with grab-arms and waterproof cabin.  Hand pump allows you to add or release air to adjust diving depth! Includes underwater motor.  $50

Deep Sea Diving Bell #4478, submerges in water, with waterproof cabin. $16

Deep Sea Diver #4479, $7

Not pictured:

Shark Diver #4500, a daring diver in a buoyant cage. $14.50

Divers in Tropical Reef #4488, with various creatures. $25.50

Expedition Ship #4469, includes transparent ground and functional anchor winch.  With the cable winch, the diver or bell can be hoisted into the water.  Can be upgraded with underwater motor. $59.50

Bananagrams!

Tuesday, April 14th, 2009

 

Bananagrams is so much fun!  Think of it perhaps as a portable, scrambled version of Scrabble.  The attractive banana-shaped carry bag and the banana terms make this competitive anagram game quite apPEELing.

Players each build their own crossword, often rearranging to accommodate new letters.  “SPLIT!” starts the game; the reserve pile is the “BUNCH”; players may “PEEL” and “DUMP” to replenish their letters or trade them out; and the game ends with a player calling “BANANAS!” 

Standard game play can be hectic – players grab and scramble and often must draw new letters that require major shuffling of their crossword.  The instructions provide alternate rules that allow for shorter, easier, or solo games.

If you leave the tiles out on a table, you will probably find yourself and your family magnetically drawn to play “just a quick round” any time you pass by.  For more challenge, try playing in another language, using a foreign dictionary to decide allowable words.  We have a demo out on our games table – stop in and play a round!