ThinkFun isn’t just the world’s leading STEM brainteaser company. Whether a customer is looking for a thoughtful strategic brain game, entertaining fun, or an engaging game night, ThinkFun is producing games with the consumer in mind. Challenging yet entertaining, skill-building while memory-building, ThinkFun has products for kids and kids-at-heart.

ThinkFun isn’t just the world’s leading STEM brainteaser company. Whether a customer is looking for a thoughtful strategic brain game, entertaining fun, or an engaging game night, ThinkFun is producing games with the consumer in mind. Challenging yet entertaining, skill-building while memory-building, ThinkFun has products for kids and kids-at-heart. Here at Astra, we are debuting new products for our fantastic pillars lines including Gravity Maze Jr. and a brand new packaging relaunch of Rush Hour and Rush Hour Jr for the modern buyer. Additionally, with the most adorable Math Path Monster, we have truly answered the question “Can Math be fun?” You bet your addition it can be! Looking for some fun party games? Dice and Slice and Gemstone Caverns offer a brainy twist to dice games and will have game nights become memories to cherish. Whether you want to spend time with your kids, have games that encourage skill building without screen time, or gathering family and friends together for quality time, ThinkFun has all your Think and Fun needs met.But that’s not all. In a world with constant challenges and everyone still feeling the effects of the pandemic, it’s time for the industry to act. More parents than ever are concerned about their kids mental health. And ThinkFun chose to do something about it. In October 2022, ThinkFun, led by Rachele Harmuth, launched MESHhelps.org to answer “How can we strengthen the skills kids need for their Mental, Emotional, and Social Health and build resiliency through play?” Gathering a coalition of industry and non-industry stakeholders, ThinkFun unveiled this initiative with the goal to meet the challenges of a modern world. Today, an accreditation program is underway to certify toys and games that engage in play patterns that build resiliency for kids’ mental health. In less than two years, ThinkFun has shown we are a brand with a purpose and we care about our communities and consumers.

Special Gift Suggestions for Special Kids!

Anticipating and ordering this year’s “hot item” for Christmas can be challenging.... being sure you have the one the kids want!

How about ideas for the “other kids”..... the ones who may need something a little more focused and unique.

The autism spectrum requires an array of “special gift” suggestions. .For example, products that can offer calming, soothing interaction. Also, products offering open- ended, mistake-free activities which provide positive reinforcement. The entire Wikki Stix line works perfectly.

How about those science nerds? Something open-ended that can be used to demonstrate Continental Drift as well as the inside of a volcano... now that’s a STEM product versatile enough to delight any young science nerd!

Sensory processing issues can cause some children to reject many of the toys most kids gravitate to. OT’s find that the texture of Wikki Stix often help kids learn to explore and enjoy an unfamiliar tactile sensation.

STEM fun for Preschoolers!!!! Circles, Squares, Triangles....and how they combine to make the things we see all around us! Spatial awareness including proportion and proximity.... are fun and easy with mistake- free Wikki Stix.

The creative, artistic child would love a medium for making intricate pictures, flat designs and posters....PLUS awesome 3-D creatures! What other product offers that kind of versatility? And.... in 23 colors? Wow!

The team at Blue Marble works to create purposeful products that inspire a love of learning in children and empower parents to raise thoughtful, confident kids. We are the manufacturers of National Geographic STEM and STEAM kits, toys which provide an experience your kids will love! With a mission to inspire people to care about the planet, the National Geographic Society is one of the world's largest nonprofit scientific and educational organizations. We believe in nurturing curiosity, encouraging exploration, while emphasizing having fun. All our products are also backed by exceptional service.

Contact Information:

Blue Marble
101 A Street
Ashland, OR 97520
541-625-2443
www.thinkbluemarble.com

And the categories that should be associated with us are:
Activity Kits
Builder/Construction
Crafts
Educational Toys
Games
Indoor/Outdoor
Science Toys

The English language is considered a complex language to read, pronounce, and write. It is crucial that children have a strong foundation in phonemic awareness, segmenting, and decoding for reading success. If not, parents may encounter their children memorizing words while reading, eventually discovering that they are ineffectual readers as early as second grade.

Children know when their reading ability does not advance and they quickly lose confidence. Carrie Chapie, Owner of Darling LLC and Creator of WORD WITT, found that this situation was not uncommon. This motivated her to research the science and mechanics behind reading. Children need fun ways to elevate their confidence and foundational reading skills. EVERYONE Learns when they are having fun.

WORD WITT is not Boggle, and it’s not Scrabble… it is it’s own fresh new format. A fast, FUN, and competitive game for building foundational reading skills in school age children all while keeping word-loving children and adults engaged and thinking.

Roll the dice. Flip a card, Race to create the most words in a minute. A wonderful way to ignite laughter, connection, and the urge to play over and over again to beat your score and theirs!

Created by a parent and supported by educators. WORD WITT has won the Oppenheim Gold Seal Award, PALS Top 10 Award, PALS Award, Creative Child 2021 Game of the Year Award, and endorsed by University of Michigan’s Dyslexia Help.

Darling LLC is proud to announce they have been able to shift 90% of their next round of manufacturing of WORD WITT to Michigan/USA. Although Covid had made connecting with retailers challenging, Darling LLC is looking forward to continuing to partner with community, and educationally engaged toy and speciality stores.

www.WordWitt.com
News@WordWitt.com

E-Blox is an emerging leader in educational electronic toys and products that engage children to Learn by Building^TM.  Based in Buffalo Grove, Illinois, E-Blox was launched in 2016 by Art Seymour and his sons James and Joseph after more than 90+ years of combined experience as entrepreneurs, inventors, and designers in the educational toys and wireless industries.  E-Blox’s founders are now leading the way to a whole new generation of educational toys that give children of all ages the building blocks of a STEM/STEAM education through the joy of play and discovery. With E-Blox’s plug-together bricks and modules, kids can build endless toys and games that light up, make sounds and create motion. With E-Blox, a child can easily build a robot with flashing red eyes, a Bubble Making Machine, a Burp ‘N Fart Machine, an FM radio or DJ Set.  Most anything kids can imagine, they can build with E-Blox.  E-Blox Circuit Blox BYO DJ Set comes with 3 original DJ songs written by SOLI (USA) and 15 cool DJ sounds.  Or you can play your own music through Bluetooth and insert DJ sounds to your own music.  Kids learn about STEM by building the DJ set circuit, then enjoy hours upon hours of fun being their own DJ, listening to cool dance songs and inserting air horns, scratch sounds and a bunch of other cool DJ sound effects!  E-Blox toys are designed to stimulate a child’s imagination and creativity, and teach every child to investigate our world through interactive storytelling, creative reasoning, and systematic building of objects that will provide endless hours of fun and learning.

Mio Reggio LLC is an educational company that provides eco-friendly play materials for children ages 3 and up. Their mission is to connect children to sustainability and creativity through open-ended play. Mio Reggio products support sensory development, spatial awareness, and a connection to nature.  

Research has shown that the intrinsic bond we have with nature, called biophilia, has many benefits for children.  Benefits can include less stress, enhanced attention, improved social interaction as well as a deeper appreciation for our natural environment.

Mio Reggio products are 100% natural, hypoallergenic and biodegradable.  Plastic pollution has become one of the most pressing environmental issues of our time.  Sustainable play supports a sustainable future for the next generation. No trees are cut down in the process of extracting cork. Cork is obtained from the outer layer of the cork oak. A cork oak, whose bark is regularly harvested (every 9 years, a lifetime of the oak tree is 200-300 years) binds more than three times as much oxygen as an unused cork oak.  Cork material is soft and soothing for children, providing them with a unique sensory experience.  Sensory play is important to brain development because it can strengthen sensory-related synapses and functions.  Cork's unique texture also allows children to build at an angle and create leaning structures, supporting more imaginative play and deeper spatial awareness.  

In 2022, Mio Reggio and National Day Calendar collaborated to create National Green City Day. The day promotes the progress cities are making to become more sustainable and eco-friendly.  Mio Reggio believes in the children’s role as global citizens and their ability to give shape to the green movement. 

Their Green City Block Set was awarded the 2021 Good Housekeeping Sustainable Innovation Award.  It empowers future green architects by providing young children with an age-appropriate introduction to sustainable concepts and green building.  Good Housekeeping listed Mio Reggio as one of 25 green companies to know about. 

A world leader and innovative company in creative play, Crazy Aaron’s has been making genuine Thinking Putty® since 1998.

Founder, Crazy Aaron, has continued to trailblaze within the toy industry by establishing new product lines and brands to inspire curiosity and wonder for people of all ages! Known for creating the best putty on earth, Crazy Aaron’s has also reinvented a childhood classic with Land of Dough®.

Land of Dough® is play dough reimagined! Handcrafted from natural ingredients and considered the most sustainable play dough product on the planet. All Crazy Aaron’s products are made with safe, nontoxic, top- quality materials and ingredients right on Main Street, USA in Norristown, PA.

Mission: We make Thinking Putty® and other creative, innovative products to inspire curiosity and wonder and to educate and delight our customers all over the world.