Cheap gift card

Science center stores have a unique opportunity to make connections to exhibitry with gifts and toys that appeal to both schoolchildren and adults. These specialty shops stock everything from erupting volcano kits and high-bounce balls to amber jewelry and mineral samples, giving merchandisers a chance to enhance the guest's experience.

More than 23 percent of museum stores generate over $500,000 a year in gross revenues. Stores making gross revenues between $90,000 and $499,999 account for another 41 percent, according to statistics on the Denver, Colo.-based Museum Store Association's website based on members throughout the United States and around the world. The median net sales for museum stores is $164,401, and net sales range from $1,000 to $15.2 million.

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The median size of museum stores is 800 square feet and ranges from 18 square feet to 18,000 square feet, according to the association, and the median annual museum attendance is 75,000, with a range of from 700 to 6,000,000. The median net sales per square foot for museum stores is $206, while the median net sales per visitor is $2.19.

The June Patterson Science Store at the Flandrau Science Center and Planetarium in Tucson, Ariz. stocks a mix of books, posters, software and gift items such as science toys for children and mineral samples. Also for sale are astronomy goods such as star finders and books. "Mineral samples do well, we have a mineral museum in the science center," says Melissa Williams, interim store manager. The store caters to school groups, university students, (the center is located on the University of Arizona's campus), professors, research scholars and on the weekends, families.

Price ranges run from 75 cents to $150 for software, and the majority of the goods are astronomy-related, as the planetarium takes up about 50 percent of the center's square footage, Williams says. The mineral museum is on a lower floor. The best-selling item under $3 is a necklace with a polished rock bead for 95 cents. "Tumbled rocks are good-sellers, they are five for $1," she adds.

The store also has a whole section of under $3 items for school groups, and Williams says she usually tries to theme displays, depending on what is in stock. "We might theme to an exhibit or topic area," she says.

The Explore Store, Arkansas Museum of Science and History--Museum of Discovery in Little Rock, Ark., has slat wall and free-standing displays, and Lori Pruss, gift shop manager, says she groups like items--such as human body, rocks and minerals and games--together. For a Space Toys traveling exhibit, Pruss stocked space-related items, and for a Dino-Mazes exhibit, there will be maze and dinosaur items. These are examples of how Pruss stocks items that coincide with its exhibitry. And there are also educational toys such as science kits that feature molds to paint, erupting volcanos, fiber optics and solar power. Also in stock are Civil War, American Revolution and Native American card games.

In the fall, the store serves mainly school groups and in the summer, families visit. "They come in with $5 or $10 that Mom has given them. They hit the gift shop and buy what they can and leave. I try to have items that are reasonably priced, $2, $3, items," she says. Best sellers are rocks and marbles. The marbles come in two sizes, small for 10 cents and medium for 25 cents. "I think they do well because kids love rocks of all kinds and the marbles do well because they are cheap. Kids can come in with a dollar and leave with three large marbles," she says.

Among the best sellers for children at the Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California, Berkeley, Calif, are inside-out balls from Play Visions, Woodinville, Wash. These soft balls can be turned inside out for a spiky look. The large version of the ball can be worn as a hat, says Judy Timmel, gift shop manager and buyer.

The biggest seller in the gift category in this 1,700-square-foot store is the Color Spectrum from Westminster Inc., Atlanta, Ga. This clear plastic box contains brightly colored liquid that drips from top to bottom. "There are beautiful patterns, it's very soothing to watch," Timmel says.

Also popular is the electronic game 20Q from Radica Games Ltd. Based on the popular Web site of the same name, the game involves trying to stump an artificial intelligence that will guess what you are thinking.

The store's main audience is children between the ages of 5 and 12 and their parents, grandparents and teachers. The store also stocks books, other games, puzzles, software, posters, plush and other goods, she says.

Spy Glass is another popular game. Children put on what looks like sunglasses and can see behind them. "The outer edge is a mirror, it's very fun for kids. It's for kids 5 and over," she says. And on the store's Web site, Dirty Old Coins from The Dirty Old Coin Company, San Juan, Puerto Rico, sells well. This set of 10 high-grade uncleaned Roman coins from over 1,500 years ago comes with a booklet, software and cleaning materials. You clean the coins, then look them up to see how valuable they are.

Displays take advantage of all the different categories by grouping items together, Timmel says. For example, there is a natural world section called Wild Things. The sections are divided with architectural elements in the shape of a cube that bear signage. Also popular for the store is a low table with 36 bins containing small items costing under $5 for children. There are also glass cases and jewelry displays.

"We do more of the children's jewelry than the adult jewelry. We do have a steady business in amber," she says. Also popular are DNA metal wire bracelets in two sizes from Carolyn Forsman Jewelry of New York and wrap-around magnetic bracelets of shiny, gun-metal colored hematite with metal and glass beads that can also be worn as a choker or necklace.

Prices overall range from 50 cents for a polished rock to $355 for a microscope. "We are very concerned with the relevance of items to our mission," she explains. The museum covers physics, chemistry, geology and biology, so the store has a lot to work with in terms of finding related merchandise. "We have a broad spectrum to pick items that relate to exhibits and classes. We try to pick items that are good quality, fun and educational and that relate to our mission," she says.

Deirdre Stein, who is gift store manager and buyer at the Bruce Museum of Arts and Science in Greenwich, Conn., also ties in her merchandise to exhibits. For example, for the exhibit "China Trade in New England: A Connecticut Captain's Journey," there are Chinese plates, letter openers, lacquered boxes, pottery and tea pots for sale. "Our exhibitions rotate every three months. The whole store rotates based on exhibits and the merchandise I've bought. It is always fresh and new looking," she says.

Best selling items for children in this 350-square-foot store is the Kidorable line of raincoats, boots and umbrellas in lady bug, bumblebee and bug designs. These are highly popular among grandparents and are for children ages 1 to 6 or 7.

"Jewelry is probably our biggest seller and then after that are gift items. The other thing that has been very strong for us is stationery called Laughing Elephant. They are just really unique cards that you would not find anywhere else," Stein says. She stocks amber, turquoise, sterling, aquamarine and amethyst jewelry along with sparkle jewelry for children.

Amber jewelry is also popular at the Morehead Planetarium and Science Center in Chapel Hill, N.C. The 1,000-square-foot store, which is on the University of North Carolina's campus, stocks amber from Vessel of Maryland, says Ron Risch, its retail manager. The museum gets between 150,000 to 160,000 visitors annually and 80,000 of those guests are schoolchildren.

Best sellers are Mars Mud and candy. And new arrivals that are moving well include Star Lights, which is a flash-light with a dome that does a light show, and the Laser Tech Top, an item that makes electronic sounds and emits lights when it is spinning. "We sell a lot of novelty balls. We have some with stars and moons in them, some with space ships, rockets and dinosaurs," he says

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What is in stock depends on what is going on in the planetarium, he says. And the store is an authorized source for Magic Treehouse merchandise, goods related to the book series by Mary Pope Osbourne, a graduate of the University of North Carolina. "We have glass in terms of vases, suncatchers. We have a line of bath products, we have a lot of pottery and a lot of jewelry," he adds.