Oh my oh my oh dinosaurs

Kids love dinosaurs and are fascinated with the idea of monstrous animals that roamed the earth and ate each other for breakfast. It's only natural that they start asking more questions than sometimes we know how to answer-- how the dinosaurs got here, what came before them, and how it all fits together. And until now, there just weren't many science toys that explored evolution on a kid's level.

Founded by research scientist and mom Dr. Kate Miller, the site Charlie's Playhouse is a wealth of information, toys and games that introduce children to evolution, natural selection, and the ideas of Charles Darwin. The Giant Timeline-- an 18 ft folding mat that spans 600 million years-- is a fantastic illustration of all the changes on Earth, with simple drawings of creatures from each era and kid-oriented blurbs every step of the way.

Oh, and each of those steps equals about 40 million years. Translate into the number of episodes of Spongebob and help put that in kid perspective. -Julie

Find educational science toys and games online at Charlie's Playhouse

Congratulations to Sonya E, lucky winner of the Ancient Creature Cards from Charlie's Playhouse!

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