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Science Gifts for Adults
A science gift for an adult has to respect that they are not twelve. The good ones still let you see a principle with your hands: a magnet pulling spikes out of a black liquid, a finger bending a thread of plasma, a pen that writes because the ink is under pressure.
We left out the kits that are really crafts with a periodic table printed on the box. What remains is small, specific, and willing to be played with after the explanation is over.
Why these
- Ferrofluid, plasma, and a pressurized pen are the real phenomena, scaled down.
- The kaleidoscope kit and the Perplexus are the hands-on end of the same curiosity.
- None of them require a lab, a subscription, or an explanation longer than a minute.
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Shouldn't exist · No. 01
Plasma Globe
A palm-sized glass sphere of miniature lightning that leans toward your finger when you touch it.
Oddity 
Gift for: scientists, fidgeters, coworkers
Has everything · No. 04
Ferrofluid Sculpture
A sealed bottle of black magnetic liquid that spikes into a tiny landscape when a magnet comes near.
Oddity
Gift for: engineers, scientists, fidgeters
From the future · No. 15
Ferrofluid Kit
A sealed display of magnetic liquid and two magnets, so someone can pull spikes out of a black puddle without a cleanup.
Oddity 
Gift for: scientists, makers, coworkers
Under $25 · No. 12
Nature Kaleidoscope Kit
A kit for building a kaleidoscope, then filling the end with dried flowers, stones, and whatever small thing you add later.
Oddity
Gift for: makers, designers, fidgeters
Surprisingly useful · No. 09
Fisher Space Pen
A pressurized brass bullet pen that writes upside down, in the cold, and in the conditions it was actually built for.
Oddity
Gift for: writers, engineers, travelers
Has everything · No. 06
Perplexus Original
A clear sphere with a three-dimensional maze inside. You tilt the whole world to move one small ball.
Oddity
Gift for: fidgeters, coworkers, travelers
From the future · No. 14
Levitating Planter
A small pot that hangs in midair and turns, meant for an air plant because you cannot really water a floating pot.
Oddity
Gift for: gardeners, designers, partners
From the future · No. 19
Crookes Radiometer
A glass bulb with black-and-white vanes that spin when light hits them, and sit still in the dark. No battery, no motor.
Oddity
Gift for: scientists, desk dwellers, coworkers
Shouldn't exist · No. 20
Mirascope
Two parabolic mirrors that project a small object so it appears to sit on top of the dish. A finger goes through it.
Oddity
Gift for: fidgeters, designers, coworkers
From the future · No. 25
Tensegrity Stand
A small wooden platform that hangs in the air on chains, tense enough to hold a plant, with no post underneath it.
Oddity
Gift for: designers, desk dwellers, gardeners
Shouldn't exist · No. 23
Pythagorean Cup
A ceramic cup with a hidden siphon. Fill it to the line and it is a cup. Fill it past the line and the whole drink runs out the bottom.
Oddity
Gift for: hosts, scientists, partners
Has everything · No. 27
Laser Chess
A two-player chess set in which the pieces are mirrors. You win by bouncing a laser onto the other player's king.
Oddity
Gift for: scientists, coworkers, fidgeters
Under $25 · No. 29
Color-Mixing Cube
A two-inch acrylic cube with cyan, magenta, and yellow faces. Turn it and the overlaps become red, green, and blue.
Oddity
Gift for: designers, scientists, desk dwellers
Never search for · No. 30
Tim Bird
A rubber-band ornithopter with a 15.5-inch wingspan. Wind it, toss it, and the wings flap hard enough to fly.
Oddity
Gift for: makers, scientists, partners
From the future · No. 31
MicroKits Theremin
A solderless kit for an instrument you play by moving your hands through an electric field. Breadboard, parts, batteries, and a booklet are in the box.
Oddity
Gift for: makers, scientists, fidgeters
Has everything · No. 32
Gecko Run
A marble run with flexible tracks that stick to a window, a fridge, or a door. The wall is the support.
Oddity
Gift for: makers, engineers, fidgeters
Under $25 · No. 33
Scribbling Machine
A motor, markers, a battery, and cardstock for a machine that draws by wobbling. The body is something from the recycling bin.
Oddity
Gift for: makers, designers, partners
Has everything · No. 28
Shashibo Puzzle Cube
A palm-sized magnetic cube that folds into more than seventy shapes. This one is the Solar finish, yellow and red and holographic.
Oddity
Gift for: fidgeters, designers, desk dwellers
Has everything · No. 35
Speks Geode
Twelve reversible triangles with rotating magnets, transparent on one side and pink-orange on the other. They click into a pyramid, a star, or something less obedient.
Oddity
Gift for: fidgeters, designers, desk dwellers