American Science & Surplus

So my son wants to participate in his school science fair. I thought I had a few years before I had to deal with any kind of large scale school project. But that’s ok. I’ll help foster his interest in science. Because you never know, he might to go to MIT… on full scholarship… right? :)
Anyway, when he decided to do this, American Science & Surplus was the first place I wanted to check out for supplies. WOW. They really have Science and Surplus down pat.
Beakers, batteries, switches, prisms, lab coats, test tubes, Tri-​fold display boards, earth science model kits, skeleton models, etc. tons of items that would be of great use for school science fair projects.
And then there’s the random surplus stuff. reusable cotton shopping bags, mugs, party supplies, Star Wars toys, kitchen goods (which might still be used for science projects), etc…
Just so much stuff – you have to visit to appreciate it. The prices are reasonable and the folks working there were friendly and helpful.
They also hold educational events that sound like great experiences for folks to learn and just appreicate science. And being a science nerd myself, I will support anything that fosters creativity and a love of science.

What a great place for true scientific and totally random stuff. The random stuff must be where the surplus part of the title applies.
Have a naked gun turret? Sure, doesn’t everyone? They have a naked gun turret cover for you. Items include nice telescopes to anatomy items.
More surplus examples include Swiss army knives stamped with the address of a company in PA to tiaras and cardboard crowns.
Some of the items are labeled straightforwardly. Others are more entertaining like a case labeled Nicolas Cage, er, Case with his sketch or jars labeled Jar-​Jar for «awful comic relief, great for jellies and jams».
I picked up several Christmas gifts here. Because of the surplus items, this is the kind of place you want to visit occasionally just to see what’s hit the shelves since your last visit.
They have a frequent shopper «Surpie» card too. Spend $ 150 over time and get $ 15 off. Not bad.

What a fun, interesting store!
I have a category of stores that I refer to as «random crap stores.» These tend to be places such as Tuesday Morning where you never know what you are going to find. American Science and Surplus is the king (or queen — I’m not sexist) of random crap stores. This is a store where you can find anything from laboratory beakers (amazing selection!) to military helmets to gnome soaps on a rope.
This was a store that I have passed by many times before but never stopped in. This Saturday, it was kind of rainy and grim looking. My fiancé and I decided to take a field trip. The staff was very friendly and super knowledgeable. They made good suggestions to my fiancé when he was trying to find some wire cutters. They did not have it, but they made good suggestions.
The store is not much to look at, but you can tell the staff loves what they do. They also have a wicked sense of humor — just read the signs inside the store.

Do you wanna check out the craters of the moon? See anything out of the ordinary on the lunar mass?
Whats the nearest Galaxy?
Can you see a small bacteria on the surface of a water sample?
What is a Tesla Coil? What is a Van de Graff generator?
Welcome to the American Science Surplus Store.
You will discover anything Science. Do you want to conduct backyard science experiments?
You can also discover the model contraptions made by Leonardo Da Vinci.
You found the place.
The store has science supplies for chemistry, physics, and biology laboratory experiments.
The establishments caters to kids, adults, schools, and independent scientists who are interested in science projects.
It has a bigger selection of electronics much more than Radio Shack.
You will find many different brands of telescopes that can manually or through computer automation view celestial objects across space. Marvelous!!!
Furthermore, the establishment sells various brands of microscopes. You can find the optical, dual lense, and a Russian anatomical microscope. Some if these microscopes have uses for pre medical students studying human anatomy in colleges and medical school. Interesting.
Also you will find many novelty items like a chinese mig helmet, some old typewriter, lava lamps, and cold war gas masks.
In the electronic section, I saw a Van de Graff generator and a Tesla Coil. I was thinking of buying the Tesla Coil for fun.
Not far from the electronic section, you will find Dinosaur anatomy for future paleontologist and forensics.
And you will be surprised with the various gadgets and mind puzzles like Rubiks Cube and Sudoko.
They told me they will sponsor a huge memorial warehouse sale out in Niles, Il.
I am going to check it out. Still I am thinking about buying the Tesla Coil.