by: Ted Moryto

I took my family to Winterfest this past weekend. Science North, a science museum had an interactive workshop, we had to go.

It was a good thing no one told the kids these were educational toys, it may have quieted the shouting, laughter and astonishment. The amazing science kits ranged from building bridges to exploding candy. The kids had to push aside the parents to get their turn playing with some awesome science toys.

What I notice when kids play with science toys is the enthusiasm, the team work, the competitiveness that exudes. These aren't just educational toys, these are life lessons. And the level of parent participation and encouragement was heart warming.

Kids used K'Nex to build bridges and towers, then used steel weights to test the strength of their engineering creations in both bending and compression. These educational toys were demonstrating engineering principles that university students study, and these kids were aged 5 to 12.

Next up was Magic Mud. This non Newtonian fluid swirled like a liquid in the bowl, but turned to solid rubber when you punched it. What really proved the value of this educational toy is when one boy said it was just like quick sand.

The kids had the opportunity to make huge bubbles, launch air rockets and learn about rocks and mining.

The biggest bang of the science toys was when the instructor heated up potassium chlorate then through in a candy as we watched the fireworks. Who knew you could make educational toys with a Pez dispenser to show how your body's metabolism works.

Many of these concepts can be experienced and studied in the hundreds of educational toys, science toys and science kits at http://www.brainwavestoys.com.