Uncle Milton may have become a household name thanks to ant farms, but today they are the leader in science and nature exploration toys and projects for kids. Their edutainment branding uniquely aligns with the Walt Disney Company, which is why its no surprise that their partnership continues to grow each and every year. At Toy Fair 2017, I got an up close look at some of their products.
Grow and Glow Groot
“I am Groot!” That’s what Groot would say if he was trying to tell you how cool the Grow and Glow Groot is. This product is returning to store shelves and was originally released in 2015 after the first Guardians of the Galaxy became a worldwide success. These wheat grass seeds grow rapidly around Groot, nearly eclipsing him after just three days, and the battery operated figure glows from within.
Star Wars Science
The biggest collaboration between Uncle Milton and Disney has surrounded the Star Wars Science brand, science kits that connect young padawans to the science behind the saga. From growing lightsaber crystals to force levitation and planetariums, there’s no shortage of ways Uncle Milton can teach science to kids using Star Wars as a way to connect and engage them. While they were unable to share any hints at what’s to come for The Last Jedi, they did demonstrate some of their newest releases like the Death Star Electronics Lab.
With this product, kids learn about circuitry through twenty experiments. If they are able to complete all of them, their Death star will have different light and sound effects. In the gallery above, you can see an example of how it changes. Kids can mount their completed Death Star on the wall for an awesome changeable nightlight.
Venturing into more high-end territory is the Death Star Galaxy Projector, a home planetarium that looks like the Death Star, but projects moving images onto the ceiling. The three discs allow you to see the Star Wars Galaxy, Earth’s Galaxy, or an active star map full of Star Wars ships.
My favorite items in the Star Wars Science brand are the Light Saber Room Lights. These teach kids about light and color as they build their wall light. A remote control allows them to make noise and even change colors. Recent installments included Kylo Ren and Rey, but more are surely on the way.
Spider-Man
With Spider-Man returning to the big screen this summer and continuing his animated series on Disney XD, kids are eternally interested in Marvel’s most popular character. The Web Creation Lab allows kids to create their own spider web nets and balls, teaching them about elasticity and liquidation.
Spider-Man is also featured on some of Uncle Milton’s wall lights. The “In My Room” series features a projection ball of Spider-Man images and the Wild Walls light allows kids to decorate their walls with spider stickers and then project Spidey onto their wall along with sounds from the animated series.
Disney Lights and Projectors
We end our tour of Uncle Milton’s Toy Fair booth with a look at their Disney branded Wall Friends. The In My Room series includes many Disney characters. On Display were Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Dory, Lightning McQueen and Princess Sofia.
The customizable light up My Sign series will also expand in the near future with signs based on Cars 3 and Disney Princess.
Click here for more of our Toy Fair 2017 Disney coverage.