Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, November 15, 1993 TAG: 9311250331
SECTION: NEWSFUN PAGE: NF1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: NANCY GLEINER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
Your parents might be hoping you'll also want toys that can teach or help you in school. Everyone can be happy because there are lots of toys and games that are so much fun, you won't even notice you're learning while you play. Here are some ideas:
(Read the short article, How To Get What You Want, to find out what the stars and words in parentheses ( ) mean.)
If you can have only one toy, GeoSafari might be it! It's really expensive but with it you can learn about almost anything. Flashing lights and electronic sounds guide you to answer questions about all subjects; GeoSafariJr. teaches younger kids skills for reading, math, science and more. You can play it alone, with a friend or in teams, and it can be adjusted for different age and skill levels. You choose what you want to learn about. (* GeoSafari $100, ages 8 and up; GeoSafariJr. ages 3-7.)
I gave two 10-year-olds the game State the Facts one Friday night and, of course, they groaned, ``We're not playing that!'' After promising them a treat if they would ``just try it,'' they spent the next hour laughing their way through this geography board game. When you correctly answer questions (some are silly) about different states, you earn souvenir cards while traveling across the United States. (* Pressman, $13, ages 7-12)
In Spellway, you race to make words out of letter cards and be the first to reach the castle. (* Pressman, $13, ages 7-12) Or you can play Script-O-Gram and make up words from lettered dice before time runs out. (* Small World Toys, $10, ages 9 and up.)
If you're in kindergarten or just learning to read, you'll like Match-Ups. Two-piece puzzles match objects that go together (like a fish and a fishing pole), or numbers with pictures, or first letters with the words they begin. (* Small World Toys, $5, ages 4 and up.)
In Match Frame, you place a decoder box on a workbook page and answer questions on math, word fun or thinking skills by moving colorful number tiles from the questions to the answers. A color pattern in the decoder box tells you which answers are right. The 350 questions in each book will keep you busy for quite a while and you choose the level you want. (* Educational Insights, $14 includes book and decoder, $6 book only, ages 4-12)
Brain Boosters also has a decoder which unlocks the secret answer code instantly. The books, on outer space, puzzles and thinking games, undersea mysteries, animals, inventions and discoveries and more, have colorful art work, amazing facts and mind-teasing questions (* book $6, decoder $2, ages 9 and up).
To see how much you already know, try Brain Quest, sets of 750-1500 questions-and-answer cards about anything and everything. Choose your grade level. A great game when you're stuck in traffic on a trip, too (in bookstores, $10, ages 6-12).
Whatever type of art you enjoy doing is also a fun way to explore colors, shapes, sizes and textures. Your imagination is your guide and the possibilities are endless.
If you've ever wondered how cartoons are made, Movie Motion Zeotrope lets you draw your own. It includes instructions and animation strips plus blank strips for you to make your own movies. (* Damert Company, $10, ages 4 and up.)
If construction sets are what you like, Bendits is a new way of building cars, creatures, buildings or almost anything. The bendable parts make it different from Legos or other sets you've used before and create some strange- looking stuff. (* $14 and up, ages 4 and up.)
You can build moving objects with Capsela kits' interlocking parts and gears. Each kit builds at least five different projects and each one moves after you build it. Some even go in water. See-through capsules (they look like hard bubbles) help you understand how it works. The small kits start out easy; the largest one makes a voice-controlled robot. (* $18-104, ages 5 and up.)
If you would rather play a strategy (think-ahead) game, try Traverse, a combination of checkers and chess. Jumping long distances and blocking other players keep the game moving fast. This one was invented by a teen-ager and voted ``game of the year'' by Games magazine. (* $20, ages 6 and up.)
In Top Spin, you put scrambled numbers in order. But, watch out, because the circle in the middle changes four numbers at a time, so you have to plan ahead. (* $11, ages 7 and up.)
A game that has a zillion solutions is Izzi. You build a square by lining up 64 black-and-white tiles so that black touches black and white touches white. (* $8, ages 7 and up.)
In Slide 5, put chips down the correct slots on a 3-dimensional (stand-up) board. The winner is the first to have five chips in a line, but you can block and bump chips out of play, so planning ahead is important. (* $17, ages 6 and up.)
Even if you don't think you're interested in science, learning about the world around you can be really fun. The Optic Wonder combines a microscope, compass, magnifying glass, small mirror and binoculars in one instrument that fits in your pocket. (* $5-6, ages 4 and up.)
To get a closer look no matter where you go, take along a Geotrek, a hand- held, battery-powered microscope that comes with its own holster and built-in light. (* $11, ages 5 and up)
Or you can try a Magnifier Lite , a hand-held magnifying glass with a built-in light. Your mom can even use it to read, if she forgets her glasses. (* $4.50, ages 4 and up.)
Magnifying glasses come in all sizes and shapes and might cost only $1. Bug boxes let you see insects up close and bigger than usual for only $1-2.
You can watch the beauty of nature unfold with a butterfly garden. A transparent (see-through) box lets you watch caterpillars spin cocoons then emerge as butterflies. The kit contains the box, feeding kit, certificate for live caterpillars and instructions. (* Science & Nature, $15-20, all ages)
The 12 different Adventure in Science kits each include 21 experiments and activities with a comic book instruction booklet. Learn about dinosaurs and fossils, backyard science, kitchen science, how things work, science magic tricks and more. (* $10, ages 8 and up.)
Speaking of kitchen science, did you know cooking can teach you about math and chemistry? Kitchen Chemistry has more than 40 projects using things from your mom's cupboards, including making rock candy, pretzels, invisible ink and dissolving egg shells. (*Creativity For Kids, $17, ages 6 and up.)
Kidscooking: A Very Slightly Messy Manual is filled with recipes, approved by a panel of vegetable-haters, such as Frozen Bananoids, Non-Yukky Vegetables, Tuna Wiggle and Disgustingly Rich Brownies. (* Klutz Books, $11.)
Any kids cookbook can be a fun way to learn - and you can eat your projects, too. Don't forget to clean up, though. Klutz Books also has The Buck Book, which gives you a new dollar bill and lots of things to do with it without spending a cent; The Time Book, including an old fashioned (nondigital) watch and easy directions on how to tell time, and a collection of time facts: and Teh Explorabook, A Kids Science Museum in a Book, which includes everything you need to do dozens of activities such as ouchless physics, optical illusions and hair-dryer science. (* Klutz Books, $11-18.)
Learning about anything can be fun when you make it a game.
by CNB