Prime Climb, $35
This Mensa-recommended game is full of beautiful colors and exciting mathematical challenges. By rolling the dice, players must add, subtract, multiply, and divide until they reach the center of the board, and maybe even bumping opponents back along the way.
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Gone Crazy in Alabama, $10.36
This is a Newbury Honor winner, and third in the One Crazy Summer trilogy. The book follows sisters Delphine, Vonetta, and Fern Gaither as they are sent for the summer from Brooklyn to rural Alabama to reunite with older relatives. There are family squabbles, confrontations, and tragedy, but through it all there is plenty of love and loyalty between the sisters.
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Smartphone Science Lab, $13.57
Wait, you can turn your Smartphone (or tablet) into a science lab? How cool is that?! This is a great way for kids to explore the science behind touch-screen technology, and find out how they light up via optical filters. Comes with 20 experiments and a clip-on, light-up microscope.
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Loopdedoo Spinning Loom Kit Friendship Bracelet Maker, $20.98
Remember friendship bracelets from your childhood?! I totally do. They were awesome, and they’re even cooler now because Loopdedoo is a new spining tool that helps kids make each fantastically twisted design.
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Carnivorous Creations Plant Terrarium, $49.97
If you’ve got a budding botanist on your hands, this is the perfect gift. This carnivorous plant terrarium is lots of fun to grow and comes with a growing dome, planting mixture, swamp rocks, seed packet, three photo decals, and three bog buddies. The whole family will have a blast keeping track of its growth!
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Zip-It, $9.99
If you’re a fan of Scrabble or Bananagrams, you (er, I mean your kids) are going to love Zip-It. The game is an exhilarating, fast-paced race to build word grids. It’s a great way to challenge your child’s vocabulary and have fun while you’re doing it. Plus, it’s a great travel game so kids can toss it in a bag and play anywhere.
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