Plenty Of Options To Explore
Some unusual products are newly available as gift ideas for birthdays and other special occasions.
Families can explore the world of scientific discovery with Steve Parker’s book “How the Body Works: 100 Ways Parents and Kids Can Share the Miracle of the Human Body” (Reader’s Digest, $25). It covers the body from head to toe and includes projects and experiments for all ages.
This beautiful hard-cover book, with more than 1,000 illustrations, is available at the Children’s Corner Bookshop in Spokane and other stores.
Junior paleontologists
Learn about seven different dinosaurs - from T-Rex to Triceratops - then discover how to piece together a dinosaur skeleton, in the educational kit “Build Your Own Dinosaurs” by Dennis Schatz (Andrews and McMeel, $14.95).
The kit includes 24 rubber stamps (representing dinosaur body parts), an ink pad and tray and a full-color paperback book giving the history of each dinosaur, including information about paleontology. To order, call (800) 642-6480.
A set of 25 dinosaur models has been sculpted under the guidance of the Carnegie Museum, available from Safari Limited Toys for children 5 and up.
Each dinosaur replica is handpainted (using non-toxic paint) and molded to scale, with prices ranging from $1.50 to $21.95. (A discount is given when the entire set is purchased.) An information card accompanies each model detailing the dinosaur’s history, actual dimensions and eating habits. To order, call (800) 881-1800.
Learn to rope and ride
“You Could Be A Cowboy” is an award-winning educational kit from Scattergood, for kids 3 to 13, on the art of cowboy life and the tools of the trade. The kit comes in keepsake packaging and includes a 35-minute live-action video of an actual spring roundup and rodeo.
Also included is a 56-minute audio book by Will James called “Young Cowboy,” available in cassette or CD, that tells the story of a boy’s coming of age on a remote Western ranch.
The kit comes with a genuine lariat rope, custom made by the Classic Rope Co., accompanied by drawings to help young ropers get started.
The kit is $49.95 with the audiocassette or $53.95 with the CD. To order, call (800) 422-2554.
Symphony music
Tickets are on sale for an afternoon of musical enjoyment geared for children this Sunday at the Opera House. From 1-2 p.m., “A Musical Fun Fair” offers children hands-on experience playing the instruments, a backstage tour and more. At 2 p.m., the Magic Circle Mime Company performs with the Spokane Symphony in a family concert. Tickets are $5 for general admission, $7 for reserved seats; call the symphony box office at (509) 624-1200.
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