Summer’s almost here and we’re looking forward to spending plenty of time outside. But as we all know, summer sniffles, rain, or even excessive heat can keep families inside. Here are several great ways to keep busy—and entertained—indoors.

Bing-Bang Bounce (SmartLab)

Warning: This toy makes learning about physics fun. The object is pretty simple. Set up a Mousetrap-like course where, if everything’s perfect, you use a launcher to fire a ball at a target. If you hit it, it launches a second ball at a new target. If that one hits, the third ball goes flying towards its target, and so on until you get the last ball into the “victory cup.” Along the way, you’ll be learning a lot about action-reaction, momentum, trajectories, angles, and, perhaps most important, persistence, because setting up your course will take a lot of trial and error and experimenting. Bing-Bang Bounce includes an adjustable blast-off launcher, four adjustable target launchers, four targets, and six Bing-Bang balls. About $34.50. For ages 8+. http://www.smartlabtoys.com/

Paw Patrol Create a Story
Despicable Me Big Wall (Colorforms)

Colorforms have been around since the early 1950s, so there’s a pretty good chance that you (and maybe even your parents) played with—and loved—them as kids. Over that time, Colorforms have been so popular that Time magazine recently added them to its list of the top 100 toys of all time. The technology is almost exactly the same as it was when you were sticking those pieces of vinyl to every shiny surface in your house.  But the playsets—which started off with Popeye in 1957—have definitely kept up with the times. We recently had a chance to review two new sets, which quickly brought back wonderful memories of childhood. Paw Patrol Create-a-Story ($16) includes 61 Coloforms and four different backgrounds. The Despicable Me Big Wall set ($20) includes a giant (2’ x 3’) play scene and eight giant figures. Both will keep kids 3+ entertained for hours, sticking and resticking, with no mess to clean up. http://www.colorforms.com/

Sew Science (SmartLab)

Combine crafting, DIY electronics, and a little education, and you’ve got Sew Science. Each kit (there’s Cuddly Critters and GloBots) consists of a family of three doll-like figures that light up when they hold hands. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Before the lights and handholding, your child will have to sew pre-cut felt-pieces together, fill them with stuffing, and use conductive thread to attach LEDs and snaps in the right places. (Don’t worry: although “conductive thread” sounds a little dangerous, it’s perfectly safe). Fortunately, there are complete instructions. Kits retail for about $20. For ages 8+. http://www.smartlabtoys.com/

Mo Willems Bus Soft Toy (Yottoy)

The latest book-based plush toys from YOTTOY look like they jumped off the pages of some of your (and your kids’) favorite children’s stories and right into your lap, which is right where you’ll want to keep them. The bus soft toy is based on Mo Willems’s classic, “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!” and features profiles of the main characters (the pigeon and the bus driver). The bus itself is soft and huggable and very well made, with all the details embroidered and not printed or screened. If you’re in the New York area, there’s a wonderful exhibit of Mo Willems’s art at the New York Historical Society (nyhistory.org) that runs through September 25, 2016. Prices vary. For all ages. For information on YOTTOY’s other book-plush combos, including Paddington, Eloise, and The Little Prince, and other related products, such as finger puppets and book ends, visit www.yottoy.com/