The Force Of Nature
Helped by Hollywood and changing cultural norms, science toys' popularity is on the rise
By Tina Benitez -- Gifts and Dec, 10/1/2009 12:00:00 AM
Viewers of Cartoon Network's The Clone Wars, the animated saga that takes viewers into the Star Wars universe somewhere between Episodes II and III, were probably not old enough to even remember when Episode I, The Phantom Menace hit movie theaters in 1999, but something has still hit a nerve with them. They're curious about the outer reaches of space and the make-up of their own home world, a curiosity that translates into a keen interest in scientific themes and, ultimately, benefiting sellers of science toys.
"Any time good science fiction comes out, it definitely piques peoples' interest in science," says Frank Adler, executive vice president of Westlake Village, Calif.-based toymaker Uncle Milton. "There's science fiction, and there's science faction. In the end, we're really trying to educate with great principles and get kids excited about the category."
Uncle Milton knows a thing or two about attracting younger audiences to science. This season the company will offer a line of eight science-based Star Wars kits, including its otherworldly Force Trainer. Worn like a helmet, the device lets kids experience Jedi-style telekinetic power by using a special brain-to-computer interface. The unit's headset interprets beta waves, and when the individual is concentrating properly, the fledgling Jedi's thoughts cause a ball to levitate. "It's just one of those technologies where everyone says, wow can this be real?" says Adler.
A binocular-like Optical Command Unit, Jedi Telescope and Projector and Mustafar Volcano kit round out the company's Star Wars assortment.
Adler and his team first got the idea to partner with LucasArts for Star Wars-themed toys after witnessing the attendee reaction to a traveling museum tour, Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination. "We thought that if we could combine science toys and scientific principles with the imaginary world of Star Wars, then kids might be very interested in it,' says Adler, adding that the timing was right with Lucas' The Clone Wars series just starting up on television. "What a great way to communicate science and get kids excited about science," Adler says.
Sci-fi fascination
Space is a big theme for retailers thanks to animated TV shows like The Zula Patrol and Cartoon Network's Ben 10 that spark an interest in everything earth. But when Michelle Smith opened Piccolo Mondo Toys in Portland, Ore., three years ago, some people told her that outer space wasn't worth the shelf space. Space? Au contraire, Smith disagreed, and space-related toys have been some of the top sellers and a big theme for her in-store displays and events. Piccolo is revving up for a special Star Wars event around the release of the new Uncle Milton line. Drinks, books, raffles for free toys, a demo Force Trainer for kids to test their Jedi potential and Star Wars costumes just in time for Halloween are all part of the shindig.
"When I saw [the Force Trainer] at Toy Fair, I thought it had the makings for a perfect event," says Smith, who will be dressed as original Star Wars trilogy heroine Princess Leia during the festivities.
Science sections can be grouped into any category, according to Smith. At Piccolo, bug-related toys, books, kits and other items are featured one month and monkeys the next. Smith also features themes that complement any current exhibits at the nearby Portland Museum of Science and Industry.
In addition to Uncle Milton, Smith is a fan of Portsmouth, R.I.-based Thames & Kosmos' (T&K) chemistry sets, microscopes and its new Hydropower kit, which lets kids explore renewable energy through 12 experiments. The products are popular with the 8 and older age group, Smith says.
Age is crucial when choosing, and selling, science kits, Smith advises, warning that not all kids respond to the same thing. For younger kids, like those 6 years old or less, products like the Snow Science kits from Be Amazing! Toys, Salt Lake City, work well. "There's a science behind all the experiments that you do, but usually kids are just having too much fun to notice," says Smith, who also stocks Young Scientists Club products and Elenco's Snap Circuit kits.
Sea Monkeys, chemistry sets, robots—customers come in for just about anything when it comes to science, according to Amy Hofstetter, owner of The Toys Store in Atlanta. Anything with bugs, bones, dinosaurs and robots are popular among kids, Hofstetter says, with products like the I Dig sets from Orlando, Fla.'s Action Products doing well at her shop, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. A large part of that appeal, she says, comes from today's science toys' greater emphasis on play versus the chemistry sets of old. "Toy offerings make it easier now [to sell science-based products], especially as more of the companies made their science toys feel more like actual toys," says Hofstetter. "It makes it more fun."
In addition to Action Products, category mainstays like Elenco, T&K and Scientific Explorer are also part of the science selection at The Toys Store. "There are always certain kids that are going to want science more than anything else," says Hofstetter, "but I've noticed we're getting a broader range of kids interested in science."
Parents pass it on
Geeks may also be to blame for the increased popularity of science with kids. More specifically, parents who grew up watching Star Trek, the 1969 Moon landing or Battlestar Galactica. The word "geek" seems to be a more empowering title these days, and parents' sci-fi interests have visibly trickled down to their offspring. "It's kind of cool to be a geek now," says Ted McGuire, president and owner of Thames & Kosmos. "Yes, it's driven by older people, but a lot of them have kids and transfer this interest to them. Our kits are used by parents and kids—especially the more advanced kits, which are sometimes used by the whole family."
This fall, T&K updates its Fuel Cell and Power House kits and adds a few new kits to its assortment, including two SKUs, Classic Chemistry and Essential Electronics, based on the children's book The Dangerous Book for Boys.
Outside influences
Entertainment—books, animated shows, film—make science interesting and impact product design. Iconic characters like the mad scientist/evil genius, for example, help marketers create a narrative around a product that kids can relate to.
Something out of The Jetsons is how Ticia Will, senior brand manager for International Playthings, Parsippany, N.J., describes her company's new insect habitats, part of its new Wild! Science line. The brainchild of Australia's TreeToys, the five Wild! Science sets were inspired by real-life insect colonies.
"If you've seen our Ant-O-Sphere system, it's obvious that sci-fi and animated TV shows have influenced the development team," say Will. "In general, sci-fi and TV have created a mystique surrounding science, which plays wonderfully into our messaging because it encourages kids to think about science as mystery and makes them want to explore and discover new things."
Elements of discovery, little fuss and the antithesis of schoolwork ("science as fun, not work") are necessary to keep kids entertained with science toys, says Will. The Wild! Science line offers connectible and collectible habitat kits for ages 6 and up. Illustrated instruction manuals and packaging for the line are edgy, easy to understand and non-teacher-like. "It can be hard to get kids—and parents—excited about science if it seems in any way boring," says Will. "Putting ants in a box and watching to see what they do is fine—that's technically science," she says, "but what if you connect a Worm Farm to an Ant Mine that you made yourself out of plaster of Paris? And then connect that to a Mayan Ant Invasion set that introduces a fantasy element? That's science with attitude!"
Gender and age issues
Despite the stereotype, bugs are not just for boys. Girls like arachnids, ants and worms along with more overtly "girly" or beauty themed products that have an element of science behind them. Gender is rarely an issue when it comes to science toys—most are decidedly gender neutral—which was the inspiration behind SmartLab's new All-Natural Spa Lab, which features different chemicals and activities to make science fun for young girls in particular.
"Girls like science," says Darcy Morris, vice president of sales for Bellevue, Wash.-based SmartLab. "The Natural Spa Lab makes it thematic, fun and allows them to learn early science through creating fun, natural products."
In general, the older a product's audience, the more difficult it becomes to appeal to both genders, according to International Playthings' Will. The company is finding that girls and boys alike appreciate ant and worm farms, but there are differences behind that appeal. "Boys and girls both like them, but for different reasons," Will says. "The boys gravitate toward insects for the creepy-crawly factor. Girls enjoy the nurturing aspect of keeping the insects as pets and looking after them."
Girls and boys are different, and certain products will connect to one more than the other. "It's about taking topics girls like and putting it into science," says Aaron Tibbs, vice president, sales for SmartLab. "That's where we want to take part of the direction of the company. We want to encourage girls to learn about science in fun, empowering ways. The first way to do that is to teach girls fun activities that help them learn science."
Tibbs adds: "It's still a challenge, in general, to get kids interested in science. Science is never really a focus for the younger grades. There's a lot of unknown. People are still somewhat scared of it."
Retailers are not shying away from science, though. Currently sold in a large spectrum of retail from specialty to educational shops, SmartLab's kits are starting to get more presence in department stores, according to Morris, and still resonate well in book stores. "It's kind of a match made in heaven—a book and a toy," she says.
Book sellers Barnes & Noble and Borders recently pushed to expand their toy selections. SmartLab currently has a 4-foot section in Barnes & Noble and hopes to expand that presence soon. Uncle Milton's Adler says that there may also be some expansion in that market for its products sometime next year, while McGuire of T&K has already tested some sales through select Barnes & Noble locations. Previously, Barnes & Noble sold T&K solely at its website.
"Stores are increasing their shelf space for science, and it's becoming a larger percentage of sales," says McGuire. "The length of time kids play with toys is shrinking and stores are looking for ways to hang on to tweens and that slightly older age group. Science is one way to appeal to those kids."
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