Sunday, December 21, 2014

Did Ya Know?

Did you know that with every BricTek purchase you are also making sure another kid has a great Christmas? This year, we have partnered with BricTek and Project Merry Christmas. If you buy a brick kit, we will be donating another kit to a kid who might not be as fortunate. So this year, let's make sure that everyone has gifts under their tree!



Saturday, December 20, 2014

Boredom Busters

 


Design your own wrapping paper
Can't find the perfect wrapping paper? Design some for yourself! you can go online and create the perfect wrapping paper for any gift you need! Try the link below to see what you can make. 

http://www.finestationery.com/shop/gifts/wrapping-paper.html?gclid=CMDXiaSp08ICFcECaQodbHIAfQ





Make a Metal Earth Model
Come into the toy store to see the hottest item this holiday season! Metal earth models are the latest and greatest model. Pop each piece out of the metal sheet and fold the tabs to make planes, trains and everything else!

 


Dance with the Fox
Need a dance partner? We have a fox that will dance with you! Shake your tail feathers to the hit song, "What does the fox say?"

Thursday, December 18, 2014

#tbt

 March 2011...
Our logo came to life
 thanks to James Graphics!



Preparing for monsoon 
season in Durango
June 2011


The best puppet show ever!
July 2011

Wednesday, December 17, 2014

Weird Science Wednesday

Roses are Red?

Materials
  • 2 Fountain pen ink cartridges. (1 red and 1 green)
  • 2 Test Tubes
  • Water
  • Sharp Knife
  • White blossom flower, like a carnation or rose, with a 6-8 inch stem
  • 10 Ounce Drinking glass
Method
  • Pour each ink cartridge into a separate test tube.
  • Dilute the ink by half filling each tube with water.
  • With a knife, carefully slit the stem of the flower so that it's base has two halves, each as long as the test tube. The stem should remain whole above the slit. 
  • Put on stem half in each test tube and place test tubes (still holding the stem) inside the glass.
  • Keep the tubes upright for several hours.
  • The blossom will have changed color gradually, one part becoming red and the other part turning green
 
The Science
  • The diluted ink is mainly water, which the plant needs for nourishment. It travels though the narrow channels that transport water and nutrients to the different parts of a plant. The coloring hits the end of the line when it reaches the blossom, and then the water either is used by the plant or evaporates and leaves the coloring of the ink behind. This turns the blossom different colors.
     
     
     

Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Game Review

Munchkin

3-8 players
1 hour of game time
Ages 10 +

This award-winning card game, designed by Steve Jackson, captures the essence of the dungeon experience with none of that silly roleplaying stuff. You and your friends compete to kill monsters and grab magic items. And what magic items. Don the Horny Helmet and the Boots of Butt Kicking. Wield the Staff of Napalm or maybe the Chainsaw of Bloody Dismemberment. Start by slaughtering the Potted Plant and the Drooling Slime, and work your way up to the Plutonium Dragon. Munchkin is a stand-alone card game designed by Steve Jackson that "simulates" a fantasy themed RPG in a simple, card-based game that's chock full of silliness.

Monday, December 15, 2014

FAQ's

Would you like your toys gift wrapped?


Here at Durango Toy Depot, we offer free gift wrapping for both birthdays and this holiday season. If you celebrate Christmas, we have a delightful reindeer paper, featuring Santa's helpers waving and smiling. Perhaps you celebrate Chanukah, and we can wrap your gift in a snowflake covered paper. And just in case there is someone whose birthday falls near these holidays, we still have some fantastic birthday paper options, like a colorful ribbon and confetti design, or neon zebra paper. I guess what I'm trying to say, is that we can wrap your presents if you need. 

Friday, December 12, 2014

Dinosaurs 101


How do you know what the enemies of a dinosaur were?

Answer: The actual predators of most dinosaurs are not known. To determine what dinosaurs a meat-eater ate is very difficult since the fossil record is all there is, and it is very incomplete.

Fossil evidence
There are only a few ways of finding out about dinosaur predator/prey relationship, and they are all very rare.

  • Fossilized stomach contents can tell you exactly what that dinosaur ate for its last meal (but only its last meal, not necessarily its entire diet). For example, Baryonyx stomach contents were found to contain fish scales.
  • Fossilized dung also lets you know the contents of a dinosaur's meal. Unfortunately, figuring out what dinosaur the fossilized dung came from is not easy. Recently, T. Rex dung was found containing crushed Triceratops bone. Fossilized dung is called coprolites.
  • Finding two fossilized dinosaurs that died in battle lets you know about the predator/prey relationship. In Mongolia, a Velociraptor and Protoceratops were found together, each bearing battle wounds (like teeth marks in the bones). 

Thursday, December 11, 2014

#tbt


Wacky Wednesday Inspiration! 
Painted Pigs! 
We did this craft project on
Wacky Wednesday 
but our pigs didn't look as cute as these!


and this goes back to Wacky Wednesday too...
We call it the Dr. Seuss tree house! 
Dr. Seuss pretty much invented WackyWednesday!

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Weird Science Wednesday

Alchemy 101

You Will Need
  • 5/8 cup of Vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon of Salt
  • 12 Pennies (dull ones work best)
  • Spoon
  • Paper Towel
  • Ungalvanized Iron Nail
Method
  • Add the vinegar to a bowl and stir in the salt.
  • Place coins in the bowl. (Make sure they are completely submerged.)
  • Leave coins in the bowl for 5 minutes.
  • Retrieve coins from the bowl using the spoon and let them dry on the paper towel; do not dump out the vinegar and salt mixture.
  • Add the nail to the bowl of liquid and keep it there for 30 minutes. Observe tiny bubbles forming around the nail.
  • Carefully take the nail out of the bowl and set it on the paper towel to dry. It should appear to be COPPER!
The Science
In the first stage of the experiment, the vinegar solution "cleaned" some of the copper off the coins. This copper remained in the solution (with the vinegar and salt), which in turn had a chemical reaction with the iron on the surfaqce of the nail. as part of this reaction, a chemical exchange left a copper coating on the nail. This type of chemical addition of a metallic layer is called plating; you have created a copper plated nail! Next Stop: GOLD!

Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Game Review

 Dominion

You are a monarch, like your parents before you, a ruler of a small pleasant kingdom of rivers and evergreens. Unlike your parents, however, you have hopes and dreams. You want a bigger and more pleasant kingdom, with more rivers and a wider variety of trees. You want a Dominion. In all directions lie fiefs, freeholds, and feodums. All are small bits of land, controlled by petty lords and verging on anarchy. You will bring civilization to these people, uniting them under your banner. But wait. It must be something in the air, several other monarchs have had the exact same idea. You must race to get as much of the unclaimed land as possible, fending them off along the way. To do this you will hire minions, construct buildings, spruce up your castle, and fill the coffers of your treasury. Your parents wouldn’t be proud, but your grandparents, would be delighted.
Throughout the course of the game, players will buy more cards and add them to  their original 10 card deck. As the game progresses, this deck gets larger and larger with the newly acquired cards. This bigger deck gives you expanded play options on your turn via the action cards you purchased during previous game rounds. More victory point cards (how you win the game) and currency cards (how you buy new cards) will also make their way into your deck. Players have to walk a fine line of buying actions cards, victory points and currency cards during the game. Too much of one of them means a player will be drawing less of the other ones during the game. While a hand full of victory point cards is horrible to draw during the game, you need those at the end of the game to win. Card drafting, hand management and deck building are the main themes of this game. Spend your resources wisely on your turn  and you should come out as the victor.

Saturday, December 6, 2014

Boredom Busters

 

Decorate Gingerbread Men
Tis the season to bake yummy cookies and decorate them with all the fixin's! Give your little friend some hair made of sprinkles and don't forget the gumdrop buttons



 
Fold Paper Air Planes
With the cold weather here to stay, fold some paper airplanes while being warm inside. There are lots of different ways to fold and create the perfect flying piece of paper. 




Put Together a Puzzle
Durango Toy Depot has so many cool puzzles to put together! My favorite is the HUGE sandwhich that even has pizza on it. Stop by and pick out a cool puzzle.

Friday, December 5, 2014

Dinosaur 101

Question #4

What color were dinosaurs?

No one knows. Animal's skin colors are produced by organic pigments which are not preserved in the process of fossilization.

The best guess about dinosaur coloration is to try to figure out how a particular dinosaur lived and to look at modern-day reptiles (and other animals) as a guide. For example, an animal that is heavily hunted may need camouflage to help it hide from predators. Or, it may be brightly colored, mimicking a poisonous species.

Basically, it is impossible to know what the dinosaurs' coloration was (using today's science).

Thursday, December 4, 2014

#tbt

Throwback Thursday


Lets go back to when Betty was doing... whatever she was wants!

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Weird Science Wednesday

Overcoming Gravity

You Will Need:
  • Drinking Glass
  • Water
  • Playing card or post card (make sure its big enough to cover the top of the glass)
  • Towel or Tub (in case of trouble)
The Method
  • Fill the glass 3/4 full of water
  • Place card squarely over the mouth of the glass, making sure there is no gap
  • Pressing the card to the rim, turn the glass over, maybe over your volunteer's head
  • When the glass is upside down, remove your hand from the card
  • The card should remain attached to the glass and no water should leak out
The Science
 The simple explanation to this experiment id that it all depends on air pressure. The water in the glass certainly presses down on the card, but what's surprising is the strength of the air pressure working in the opposite direction - greater than the force of gravity in this case!

Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Game Reviews

Steam Park

Ages 10+
For 2-4 players
Game Time - 60 minutes

Steam Park is an easy-to-learn game with two difficulty levels: one for the less experienced gamers and a more strategic one for those who want a more exciting challenge. In this management game, you'll have to build your own amusement park and make it the largest and most profitable in the region. By constructing the three-dimensional, wonderful rides designed by Marie Cardouat, you will see your park grow right before your eyes. Choose your strategy! Build Stands to attract more Visitors, or Toilets to keep the Dirt under control. Whatever decision you take, take it quickly: The less time you spend planning, the more time you'll have to maintain your park. Thanks to a clever, original action-choosing mechanism, winning in Steam Park is as much a matter of being the best as of being the fastest!

Monday, December 1, 2014

FAQ's

Why are you so good at wrapping presents?


We get a lot of practice wrapping gifts during this holiday season. I think I wrap about 50 billion gifts a day! So with all that cutting paper and taping, we get pretty good at making your present look just right!