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Dear Friends and Customers,
What a strange year this has been. The pandemic has touched and changed all our lives, and it is amazing how quickly it all happened. "Social distancing" (or rather physical distancing as it should be called) has become the new normal and any accidental bodily contact with people outside the direct family feels weird. Nevertheless it is also sometimes quite welcome and reminds us of how the world used be not that long ago. We find that in these complicated times family and friends pull together and help each other, even if that has to be done remotely via internet or telephone. We sincerely hope that this is the case too for you and your loved ones, especially now that Christmas draws near and nobody knows yet whether we can be together with our loved ones or not.
Our traditional Christmas mini gummy bear surprise packets have arrived and one of them will again be added to each order until Christmas. The store room is fully stocked, and we have ordered even more to guard against any possible delivery delays in the new year. So there should be enough stock if you want more after you finished the kit you received as a Christmas present.
We have all our "classic" kits in stock, including our famous cardboard Copernican Orrery and the beautiful Desktop Planetarium, our kit for a classical armillary sphere, the standard instrument for observer-centred astronomy for over 2000 years.
 On our Telescope Page you can find kits to build your own telescope for all ages and budgets. Prices start from only £2.70 for the lipstick-sized Pocket Telescope, £3.66 for the Small Galileo Telescope (an ideal first telescope for children), up to £20.10 for our fully functioning 70mm Newtonian Reflector with Dobsonian mount and two eyepieces for 16x and 30x magnification: enough to observe Jupiter's four Galilean moons!
Not all our kits are about Astronomy. There's a lot to discover on our Optics Page for example: a Camera Obscura, a Pocket Zoom Microscope, a Magic Lantern, and our intriguing Reversing Goggles that were featured on BBC 2 during the N-series of QI!
We also  cater for hobby-engineers and physics-lovers. We stock three fully working engines: A Steam Engine, a Stirling Engine, and our very unique Nitinol Engine. You can find them on the Other Kits Page. They are ideal presents for anybody who is interested in engineering. The Steam Engine is mostly constructed from cardboard, as are all our models. Nevertheless the crucial parts are steam and fire resistant, and so ingeniously prevent the contact of cardboard, fire, and water. The same principle applies to the Stirling Engine: a few non-cardboard parts enable it to run for up to an hour on a cup of hot tea! Both engines are able to power small models, for example our Ferris Wheel. The Nitinol Engine uses a wire ring made from memory metal to convert the heat energy of hot water into kinetic energy. As soon as the water reaches 45ºC, it starts rotating, wildly flailing its two arms.
 Or why not let off some sparks with our fantastic Wimshurst Machine? We all remember those from physics classes at school, blue flashes in a darkened room, crackling electricity, and the smell of ozone in the air! Although the maximum energy output of our Wimshurst Machine is limited to rule out any injury, the maximum voltage is still about 70,000V, enough for sparks of over one inch in length.
At prices between £2.70 and £10, our smaller kits also make ideal stocking fillers. With these, children have the chance to spend some time building a working scientific instrument (maybe together with their parents) and afterwards actually using it. Have a look at our range of small telescopes, simple optical kits, and other small models. We are sure you will find something to keep your little ones (and not so little ones) occupied for a while.
 For anybody who doesn't fancy building their own scientific instruments we have a range of beautiful glass instruments that work straight out of the box. On our Gadgets Page you will find the intriguing Fitzroy Storm Glass (now available in two sizes) and the decorative Goethe Barometers. We also have a specially m ade Galileo Thermometer with an accuracy of 1ºC (most others only show the temperature in 2 degree steps). On the same page you will find other small stocking fillers like wooden Tippe Tops, spinning tops that turn themselves upside-down when spun fast enough, or our little Steam Yacht with with diaphragm boiler and twin exhaust drive. New in stock is the really useful Red Sight Lamp that helps preserving your night sight when you're out and about at night. It can be recharged on a normal USB plug and comes in a decorative cardboard box.
Royal Mail have now published their recommended last shipping dates, which they claim make sure that parcels arrive in time for Christmas:
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Date
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Destination
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Wednesday, 9th Dec
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Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Far East, Middle East, South and Central America
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Thursday, 10th Dec
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Cyprus, Malta
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Friday,11th Dec
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Eastern Europe, Australia, Greece, New Zealand, Turkey
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Saturday, 12th Dec
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Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Italy, Poland, Sweden, USA
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Wednesday, 16th Dec
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Austria, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland
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Friday, 18th Dec
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Belgium, France, Ireland, Luxembourg
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Monday, 21st Dec
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UK
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We are currently trying to restrict our visits to the post office to two visits a week because of the pandemic, so you might receive your order a couple of days later than usual. We will keep an eye on the last posting dates for each order and will make extra trips to the post office if needed. Of course even if your order arrives in time, we can’t guarantee that you receive the shipment before Christmas. That lies in the hands of the postman. If you are in doubt about the postal service, you can also order tracking for your parcel. You will find the "Order Tracking" button at the top of each of our pages, next to the "Worldwide Shipping" button. If you want to make super-sure, we can also send your parcel by courier. So get in contact, if you are in doubt that you will receive your order in time. We’ll do our very best to get everything to you in time for Christmas!
If you want to keep in contact, why don't you join us on facebook? All the best and stay safe,
Angela and Andreas Schröer
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