ATLAS Experiment at LHC CERN Online Store

ATLAS is a particle physics experiment at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. Starting in late 2009/2010, the ATLAS detector will search for new discoveries in the head-on collisions of protons of extraordinarily high energy. ATLAS will learn about the basic forces that have shaped our Universe since the beginning of time and that will determine its fate. Among the possible unknowns are the origin of mass, extra dimensions of space, unification of fundamental forces, and evidence for dark matter candidates in the Universe.

ATLAS also has an online store! Amid the usual apparel is an original T-shirt design by Alan Alda with perhaps a slightly weird quotation of "imagination is more important than knowledge." How does that square with an experimental facility? You'll also find some great images and posters plus some free downloadable stuff

Curious Minds

Curious Minds has a wide range of scientific, mathematical and mind-bending toys.

As of writing their bestsellers seem to be glass prism, solar system toys, ant farms, electronics and chemistry kits, and a classic favourite, the gyroscope.

Based in the UK they will deliver worldwide but you may need to wait for them to quote you a total delivery charge.

Bletchley Park Gift Shop for Code Crackers and Cryptographers

Bletchley Park's online shop has hundreds of gifts for people interested in code cracking and cryptography.

Books and CDs for children and adults on code breaking and the history of codes and the wartime work at Bletchley Park.

For the historian of science there are limited edition prints and photographs with many signed. You will find images of the Enigma Cipher, the Colossus MkII and the Decode Room in Hut 6. You can also own an original piece of slate from the Bletchley Park mansion roof.

The gifts section has some attractive mugs such as the Colossus "Plug" Mug and Coaster and a variety of souvenirs such as keyrings and mousemats, posters and greeting cards.

The shopping cart is a bit old-fashioned and worth looking through the subsections so as not to miss anything, but as children (and adults) love to make and break secret codes, you'll find some unique gifts here at Bletchley Park.

Museum of Science, Boston, Gift Shop

The online Gift Shop at the Museum of Science in Boston has all the usual science books, games and toys. As always, I've had a dig around to see if there is anything unusual or interesting.

Their Unique Gifts section is very small but does include a set of salt and pepper shakers shaped like computer keyboard keys with letters S and P. There is also an Eco-conscious Gifts section, again rather small but the T-shirts look attractive. Indeed worth looking around as the cross-linkage of items across categories is very poor, so that those eco T-shirts do not appear in the apparel category, also the futuristic MoS coffee mug is in Souvenirs but not in Drinkware!

For being such a big museum, their online shop is disappointing. But T-shirts and drinking mugs do look nice, but as I said, have a look around as things are not always in the obvious place.

American Museum of Natural History Museum Shop

The online shop of the American Museum of Natural History has a wealth of original gifts, from just a few bucks up to many thousands of dollars. An Alisa Peacock Navajo Wool Rug will set you back $10,000 and yet an attractive black AMNH mug can be had for just $12.95.

Apart from the usual stock of science and natural history educational materials and toys, the American Museum of Natural History is very good at creating decorative gifts and apparel linked to both their temporary and permanent exhibitions. As of writing they have specific sections on Butterflies, The Horse and Space. A silk T. Rex Skeleton Tie at $52 is on the tasteful side of novelty ties.

Worth checking out as new exhibitions appear.

Villalcor - goma2

I discovered this company whilst browsing the Adler Planetarium online shop. However, it took some digging around to track them down.

Villalcor is a manufacturer of reproduction period pieces, including mathematical and scientific instruments from the 12th to the 19th centuries. Their contact details seem to be on this page, which is just a directory listing on Artesania Iberica. Strangely, there is no link to their catalogue, which is here at goma2. Yes, both sites are in Spanish only and goma2 is a horrible website, but just take a look through their catalogue. It seems to me a real shame that such beautiful objects are given such a poor online presence. I haven't investigated further but the company also seems to have let their domain name lapse. Perhaps they would just rather deal through agents.

Anyway, you will see that Villalcor makes antique compasses, portable sundials, armillary spheres, optical games such as zootropes and anamorphic images, and other decorative antique items. Some have been reproduced as miniatures to make them more affordable and portable.

As I said, Villalcor products are available in some shops, so perhaps the best approach is to send them an email to ask about stockists, unless, of course, you speak Spanish, in which case a phone call is likely to be much faster.

Adler Planetarium Infinity Shop

The Adler Planetarium is in Chicago, IL. Their Infinity Shop has clothing, binoculars, books, food, gifts, jewelry, posters, telescopes, toys and videos. Pretty much everything for the space buff!

Food? The Infinity shop sells food online. Not just ordinary food but ice-cream! OK, this is space age freeze-dried ice-cream plus space shuttle candy.

Their Gifts/Decor category has a beautiful Nocturlabio, made by Villalcor, and fun Solar System mugs.

Being a planetarium, the Adler shop also stocks Meade and Orion telescopes.