Engineering is often referred to as the “invisible” or “stealth” profession, because many people don’t realize that just about everything around us was influenced by an engineer. From skyscrapers to delicate medical instruments to new energy options, engineers invent and design our modern world.

Professional engineers typically excel in a wide variety of skills, including math, science, physics and problem solving. You can encourage all of these skills in your children with these creative, educational building toys:

Contraptions Catapult: Kids can build their own authentic catapult with planks, a little glue and the help of easy, step-by-step instructions. Then let the fun and experimentation begin! Which shoots farther: a marshmallow, or a piece of macaroni? How does the object’s course change when you pull the arm back to different launching points? How does adjusting the flight deck affect the hurl?

Contraptions: Young thinkers can build unbelievable ball track structures with this simple stacking plank system. Create ramps, funnels, chutes and crazy contraptions like the “Black Hole” and “Bounce Plate.” Then find out if the ball rolls as expected. Fostering unlimited creativity and experimentation, KEVA planks build an early understanding of proportion and balance, while teaching basic principles of physics and engineering. No glue, no connectors—just loads of constructive fun!

Q-Ba-Maze: Q-Ba-Maze 2.0 is a unique system of colorful cubes that interlock to form a marble run. The big difference? You can create marble maze sculptures in the form of animals, geometric shapes or any other design! Configurations are unlimited, allowing for unpredictable action when steel balls travel the various routes. It’s a live demonstration of probability, physics and art, all in one.

You and your family can learn more about the ways in which engineering impacts our everyday lives at the National Engineers Week Foundation website. Do you have a budding engineer in your family?

The Presidents of the United States are an interesting group of people. They are all best known for their time spent in office as leaders of this country, but there are also some fun facts that help make a presidential history lesson a little more exciting!

For example, did you know that…

• George Washington was the only president elected unanimously, receiving all 69 electoral votes.
• At 6 feet, 4 inches (1.9 meters), Abraham Lincoln was the tallest U.S. President.
• Before Theodore Roosevelt came to office, the White House wasn’t even called the White House. People called the building the President’s Palace, President’s House or the Executive Mansion. Roosevelt, our 26th President, officially named it the White House in 1901.
• The “S” in Harry S. Truman’s name isn’t short for anything. The President was named after both of his grandfathers, Anderson Shippe Truman and Solomon Young. The initial honors them both.
• George H.W. Bush played first base on the Yale University team that twice reached the finals of the College World Series.

You can quiz yourself, your family and your friends on other presidential trivia with Professor Noggin’s Presidents of the United States Card Game from MindWare Toys. The game comes with 30 cards containing true/false, trivia and multiple-choice questions on the leaders of our country. Tally your points and see who earns the presidential award when it comes to presidential knowledge!

Random acts of kindness, no matter how big or small, should always be celebrated. But during this National Random Acts of Kindness Week, we should all pay special attention to fostering kindness in our family.

The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation began the weeklong celebration to inspire people to practice kindness and pass it on to others. Last year, the organization issued the Extreme Kindness Challenge, asking participants to commit to a daily act of kindness for seven days. Thousands of people committed to the challenge, and showed the world that a little kindness can go a long way!

So how can you foster kindness within your own family? Why not start your own Extreme Kindness Challenge? The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation has tons of “kindness ideas” posted on their website from people who have participated in the challenge. Some of the most popular ideas include:

• Holding the door open for someone
• Creating care packages for the homeless
• Saying “good morning”
• Offering a couple hours of free babysitting to a family friend

You can browse more kindness ideas or submit your own. How will your family celebrate Random Acts of Kindness Week?

“A little consideration, a little thought for others, makes all the difference.” – Winnie the Pooh

There are tons of new and exciting toys to see at Toy Fair, but if you’re planning on attending you’ll want to make sure to stop by MindWare’s booth (#5903) for some extra special surprises, including:

Q-Ba-Maze 2.0 Drop: When you place your order with MindWare at Toy Fair, you get to drop a ball through Q-Ba-Maze. Watch the ball tumble through the maze, and come out through one of four exit points. Depending upon where the ball comes out, you could win a great discount or prize from MindWare!

Qwirkle Cupcakes: To celebrate winning the Spiel des Jahres (Germany’s “Game of the Year” award), the MindWare team will be handing out mini Qwirkle cupcakes the first day of the show. Helping hand out cupcakes will be the game’s inventor, Susan McKinley Ross! So be sure to stop by and say, “Hi!”

Square Up Duels: Think you’re the toughest Square Up competitor out there? Test your Square Up skills and go head to head in a Square Up Duel with The Blur, MindWare’s Square Up pro!

Toy Fair 2012 will take place February 12-15, 2012 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. We hope to see you there!

• In addition to the United States, Valentine’s Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, United Kingdom, France, Australia, Denmark and Italy.
• Many believe the ‘X’ symbol became synonymous with a kiss in medieval times. People who couldn’t write their names signed in front of a witness with an ‘X.’ The ‘X’ was then kissed to show their sincerity.
• The red rose was said to be the favorite flower of Venus, the Roman goddess of love.
• Every Valentine’s Day, Verona, Italy—where Shakespeare’s famous fictional lovers resided—receives about 1,000 letters addressed to Juliet.
• Richard Cadbury produced the first box of chocolates for Valentine’s Day in the late 1800′s.

Since chocolate is such an iconic aspect of this holiday, it can be a great addition to your Valentine’s Day history lesson. With the Make Your Own Chocolate Kit from MindWare, kids can mix the elements of chemistry with world culture and history (while also enjoying some chocolate!). The Make Your Own Chocolate Kit contains everything you’ll need to make 8 ounces of dark chocolate, including organic Costa Rican cocoa butter, cocoa powder, confectioner’s sugar, starter crystals, a temperature indicator, paper candy liners, instructions, and the story of chocolate. You also get some cacao beans to try for yourself.

You can find more educational cooking toys at MindWare.com!

This year’s campaign’s slogan is “ROCK YOUR SMILE”

The ADA offers the following guidelines for practicing good oral health:

• Brush your teeth twice a day with an ADA-accepted fluoride toothpaste.
• Replace your toothbrush every three or four months, or sooner if the bristles are frayed. A worn toothbrush won’t do a good job of cleaning your teeth.
• Clean between teeth daily with floss or an interdental cleaner. Tooth decay–causing bacteria still linger between teeth where toothbrush bristles can’t reach. This helps remove sticky plaque and food particles from between the teeth and under the gum line.
• Eat a balanced diet and limit between-meal snacks.
• Visit your dentist regularly for professional cleanings and oral exams.

The ADA also offers fun games, puzzles and coloring sheets to get your kids extra excited about cleaning their teeth.

This month, start the conversation with your kids about why they should be brushing and flossing every day. Remind them that good oral health is a part of good overall heath. Not to mention, a beautiful smile has the power to bring happiness to everyone you meet!

Here is what MindWare customers are saying about Look Look:

“I bought this game for my 7 yr old granddaughter for Christmas this year and she loved it. It is a great game with strong spatial relationships. The whole family enjoyed it.” – Suzanne

“Good for all ages. I play it with my grandkids and we all love it!” – Ramona

“This is a good game, it teaches you to become very observant.” – Teresa

MindWare customers love Look Look, and now this educational game has been honored with a Major Fun Award! The Major Fun Award Program seeks to identify games that:

• Have clear and comprehensive rules that can be read in 5 to 15 minutes
• Can be played in under an hour
• Are fun enough to play over and over again
• Are suitable for a wide audience
• Are easy to store
• Are made to last
• Are uniquely fun
• Tend to make people laugh
• Are deep enough to withstand a lot of changes

Games and toys that receive this award have proven themselves to be adaptable, enjoyable, quality products that make our world a better place. MindWare is thrilled that Look Look has been recognized by both customers and the toy industry!

Click to see other award-winning games from MindWare.

Puzzling requires the use of both sides of the brain simultaneously. The left brain, or analytical side, sorts and separates the pieces while the right side, the creative side, allows us to imagine the end result before it’s finished. Using both sides of the brain at the same time builds neuron connections that link the left and right side together—think of it as a good, healthy workout for your mind!

Puzzle solving helps kids develop spatial skills, hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills and memory development. Adults who keep their brains active with puzzles can help slow or reduce the onset of memory loss, dementia and Alzheimer’s.

January 29^th is National Puzzle Day, so celebrate by working on some of your favorite puzzles as a family! Some of MindWare’s favorite puzzles include:

• Pattern Play: This hands-on puzzle for kids is a great introduction to math concepts like sorting, matching, symmetry, congruence and fractions. (Ages 3 and up)

• Perplexus: With plenty of twists, turns and barriers between start and finish, this strategy puzzle will surely leave you perplexed! Try to guide the metal ball through the winding 3D labyrinth. But look out: one wrong move and you’ll have to begin all over again! (Ages 6 and up)

• Rush Hour: This logic puzzles puts players to the test! Navigate your red car through the traffic jam and gridlock in order to successfully leave the game board. (Ages 8 and up)

Here are some of MindWare’s exclusive, best selling educational toys:

Contraptions Catapult: Kids can build their own authentic catapult with planks, a little glue and the help of easy, step-by-step instructions. Then let the fun and experimentation begin! What shoots farther, a marshmallow or a piece of macaroni? How does the object’s course change when you pull the arm back to different points? If you make the flight deck higher, how does it affect the hurl? (Ages 7 and up)

Marble Run: Build a Marble Run track that twists, turns, and spins marbles at incredible speeds! These colorful chutes, tubes, drop-throughs, merry-go-rounds and spinners stack and click, with clear pieces for extra fun. (Ages 4-10)

Friendship Bracelet Maker: My Friendship Bracelet Maker has revolutionized the time-honored tradition of bracelet exchange. Just slip a knot into the Butterfly Clip, place the threads in the string holder and begin knotting. My Friendship Bracelet Maker includes a convenient organizer for storing threads, plus 56 precut threads in 14 different colors to get kids started. (Ages 6 and up)

Forensic Science Detective’s Toolkit: Develop observation and problem-solving skills using the same equipment and techniques as real detectives. Kids get in-depth with 17 experiments that show how to locate and handle evidence, test for counterfeit currency, analyze hair and soil samples, secure fingerprints and footprints and create a crime scene report complete with sketches.  (Ages 8 and up)

Check out MindWare’s other best selling educational toys!

The Thesaurus has proven to be a valuable resource for students, writers and anyone else who wants to improve their communication skills. If it’s been awhile since you cracked open a Thesaurus, today would be the day to re-familiarize yourself! The Thesaurus lists synonyms (words with the same or similar meaning) for words to help you avoid repetition in writing and speeches.  It also lists antonyms (words with opposite meaning), to help you make sure you are using the right word with the right meaning.

So next time you are working on a paper or speech, whether it is for school, work or just for fun, be sure to utilize the power of the Thesaurus! If you don’t have a hard copy of the book in your house, you can always visit Thesaurus.com.

You can also help your child further develop their reading and writing skills with other educational games. Some of MindWare’s favorite educational games for reading and writing include:

• Word Winks: Everyone loves these visual wordplay puzzles, where a common phrase or expression is represented by illustrated words. Each book contains 300 brain-twisters. (Ages 10 and up)
• Word Roots: Word Roots teaches the meanings of Latin prefixes, roots and suffixes commonly used in English. Learning word elements dramatically improves spelling and the ability to decode unfamiliar words. (Ages 9 and up)
• Choose Your Own Adventure Books: Choose Your Own Adventure books allow readers to decide on a course of action at critical junctures, determining how the story unfolds. Multiple scenarios encourage repeat reads to experience how choices impact the main characters and each story’s ultimate outcome. (Ages 9 and up)

You can find other education games that promote critical reading skills on MindWare.com.

We hope you have a wonderful (or amazing, or sensational, or terrific!) Thesaurus Day!