My daughter's best friend is turning 6 next week and I usually get her a science toy of some sort--last year I bought snap circuit.
What science toys do your 6-8 year olds love?
I ended up buying the Goldiebox.
Have you seen Goldieblox? The sets come with a book and are meant to inspire girls to engineer. http://www.amazon.com/Goldie-Blox-The-Spinning-Machine/dp...
My girls have been asking for them since I showed them the cute commercial (you can see it on YouTube)
Although I like the idea behind Goldieblox it actually doesn't have much to it. It seems overpriced to me for what you get.
My kids love the science box kits that have lots of experiments with them. We are currently working on one that is called Outrageous Science. It has 25 different activities with polymers and color. It is aged for 4-8 so it would be perfect for a 6 year old. I'm not a big fan of the spa kits and make your own perfume kits because I find the scents really obnoxious. Barnes and Noble carries a lot of different kits.
We also get a monthly Magic School Bus science kit in the mail. We have a membership that sends a kit every month for 12 months. It would probably be out of your price range for a birthday gift, but you can also order single kits. Google Magic School Bus science kits. That web site also has other kits that you can order.
Kiddos love looking at things through a microscope. We had one that you could plug into your TV and see on the screen. Like this: http://www.amazon.com/Eyeclops-Mini-Bionic-Plug-Microscop...
My daughter received a ladybug farm one year. We all loved it and at the end, the ladybugs were released into our yard!
My dd got a microscope set - she thought it was fun. It's just a little kid thing, but it came with slide and things she could look at.
My favorite site to browse for this type of thing is www.amightygirl.com - you can buy everything through Amazon but they are very picky about which toys they allow and it's easy to browse by age or interest.
For future birthdays, I second Erica's recommendation of the Magic Schoolbus kits. We don't have a monthly membership, but I've bought individual kits, and they come with a book. Very nice.
Just bought a telescope for an 8 year old, from ToysRus. Really nice tabletop model! One was on sale for $19.99, (regular $29.99), but I bought the better one for 49.99.
