The Nancy B Science Club - Review and Giveaway!!!

My picture of the Nancy B Science Line Taken at Toy Fair 2013

Update (12/4/13):  Congratulations to Tracy Euler who won the Nancy B Microscope.

Every year I go to the massive Toy Fair in New York and look at a zillion – that may be literally – new toys, crafts, puzzles, plush and anything else a kid might like.  Much of it I walk pass by.  Completely off my list is anything violent or princess like.  The technology driven stuff fascinates me but I never seem to be able to warm up to it enough to want to write about it.  I am drawn to toys we had as kids with updated twists and everything from Mr. Potato Head to Legos has been reviewed here.

And then there are the new products and new companies that us grandparents may not be familiar with but are worth learning about. Grandparents have something special to offer and I look for products that have these two features: 

(1) Items that may be overlooked by a parent and may spark an interest that otherwise would be missed

(2) Items that have potential for working together with your grandchild

The Nancy B Science line has both of these characteristics and I am very impressed with the quality of the materials in the kits.

Long before I became a grandmother I had a career in engineering.  When I see the statistics of girls today pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) I realize how far we have come and how far we need to go. We are sorely in need of more kids choosing careers in these fields and we simply can’t dismiss the possibilities for half the population.

For many of us our careers are rooted in childhood play and interests. But just like building toys, science toys have featured themes that are more interesting to boys.  Nancy B’s Science Club provides a fresh face with attractive packaging.  But that's not all.  The tools and activities with the kits are designed to appeal to girls.  When our kids were young we had great times with science experiments and I look forward to doing this with my grandson.  These experiment toys can easily provide opportunities to work - and have fun - with  grandchildren.

I am delighted to be able to offer the Nancy B Microscope as a giveaway on this blog.  Here are some pictures of what's included:

The Nancy B Science Club line of toys is award winning and recommended by a broad spectrum of reviewers. Here are some of the awards and accolades:

Microscope: 2013 Parents' Choice Gold Award Winner and chosen by FamilyFun magazine as one of their top toys of the year  

Moonscope: 2013 Parents' Choice Silver Honor Winner and chosen by Parent’s magazine as one of the best holiday toys

Aquascope: 2013 Parents' Choice Silver Honor Winner

Other places that the Nancy B Science Club made the "best of" and recommended lists include Good Housekeeping, Wired magazine and Space.com

You can learn more about the Nancy  Science Club here

Giveaway Details

It is easy to enter and there are two ways.   I need to be able to contact you if  you win. If you enter -  email me with your email address at marion@grandmachronicles.com.  I will not use your email address for anything except to notify you if you win.  Grandmother’s Honor.

    1)  Leave a comment here on the blog 
a     and/or

    2) Like The Grandma Chronicles  facebook page - click here.

You can have two entries by doing both.  Deadline to enter: December 2, 2013 at midnight. The winner will be selected using random.org.

 This item can be sent to US addresses only.

Full Disclosure:  This review is completely my own opinion and I was not reimbursed for it in any way.  I did not receive a review sample.  I was able to see the out-of-box display at Toy Fair.

You can purchase Nancy B Science Club items from Amazon.  See information below:

Halloween with Trash Pack, Glitzi Globes and Play Doh!!!!

Halloween is always a big event at our house.  We live in a neighborhood that is perfect for trick or treating. There are sidewalks, street lights, short walkways to the houses and lots of participation. People drive to our neighborhood for their kids to Trick or Treat.  I really get into it and enjoy seeing the kids having a great time. I always have alternatives to candy.  I always have some candy and give a choice but about 70% choose the non candy offer.  I guess it helps when you have such wonderful choices.  I am not just tooting my own horn.  I have Litzky Public Relations and Moose Toys to thank for providing individual Trash Pack Trashies  and Glitzi Globes as our Halloween treats.

I also had the best Halloween helper ever.  My four year old Superman grandson enjoyed offering the choices to kids as they came to our door.

The trick is to offer the right options for each child.  So here's what we had.....

For young children I offer small Play-Doh containers. Younger children - and their parents - always are happy to get one of these.  The kids choose the color they want and usually they walk away from the house holding the play doh to show to their parents.  My grandson even walked down with this basket to make sure a child in a stroller got one too.  Kids in the 5 - 7 age range also seem to like Halloween stickers.  I highly recommend having these to give to young children.  They are a runaway winner.

 With a Trash Pack and a Glitzi Globe

The Trash Pack is well known and flew out of the large bowl like hot cakes.   Trash Pack Trashies are popular with girls too - they are not just for the boys!  One boy asked for one for his friend too.  When I asked where was his friend he said, “He was looking for this house.”  I guess the word was out that we were giving Trash Pack treats.

The Glitzi Globes were more appealing to the girls but they also were popular.

Here is what the Trash Pack stash looked like before and after Halloween Trick or treaters were done with us....

My grandson was such a good helper that I offered him one of the few remaining Trash Packs as a thank you for his help and he was both surprised and happy with the extra trashie.

One last picture....The big bowl of Glitzi Globes...also popular....

Thanks again Litzky Public Relations and Moose!

Marion