Science has no “off-season”. What is a holiday, or even a weekend, to the bacterial colony growing in a Petri dish? The pursuit of understanding makes for a lot of long hours in the lab. It also makes any occasion, at any time of year, an ideal opportunity to express your support and admiration for the scientists in your life.
Whether it’s for a colleague in your laboratory cohort, a career mentor, or a friend who works in a field outsideyour expertise, shopping for a scientist can feel intimidating. What sort of thoughtful gift tickles the inspiration of a scientist’s mind?
This gift guide removes a lot of the guess work. Distinctive, fun, and easy on the budget, we hypothesize these suggestions will yield a positive result with any colleague, regardless of their age, gender, or cultural background. These gifts are as inclusive as the science that moves us.
For the self-starter in your life who uses at-home projects to decompress from at-work projects
1. Anti-Body Cookie Cutter
Bakerology
$10.35
If the scientist in your life is a smart cookie who enjoys baking, “Y” wouldn’t you get this for them?
2. DIY Terrarium Kit
Bliss Gardens
$22.95
A green lab doesn’t require a green thumb, and neither does this whimsical miniature ecosystem.
3. Women of Science Jigsaw Puzzle
Penguin Random House
$16.99
In recreating this triumphant piece from Rachel Ignotofsky, you can create your own art, whether it’s in the form of a finished puzzle you can laminate and hang on your wall, or just the creative banter shared with loved ones in the process.
4. DIY Bath Bomb Kit
Uncommon Goods
$25
Self-care. Your colleagues are talking about it. You see it all over Instagram. But what does it mean? If you’re still making sense of the concept, this gift can help you soak it in a little.
5. Brick Laboratory
One More Brick
£19.99
When it comes to gift-giving, four letters rule them all: FOMO. If you missed out on our Aspire Program mini-laboratory, now’s a chance to build one for yourself!
6. Bacteriophage Planter
Tinker 3D Gifts
$17.99
Therapeutic infection treatment, holding the little houseplant that gives your desk a little “touch of home” – is there anything bacteriophages can’t do?
For the colleague who wears their love of science on their sleeve (or lab coat lapel)
1. Lab Science Notebook 4-Pack
Cognitive Surplus
$17.95
If you ever feel the need to go off the dot grid, these notebooks also have lined, graph, and blank pages.
2. A Fragment of Pangea
Minimuseum
$19.99
They say a piece of Paleozoic Earth on the hand is so (super)continental.
3. Speciman Collection Kit
Cultiverre
$25
Make everyday errands exploratory excursions! Cleaning out the fridge comes with scientific keepsakes! Just make sure to throw the soiled to-go containers in the compost, not recycling.
4. Science Enamel Pins
Little Science
£8
Anxious about how you’ll decorate your new lab coat? Well, let’s maybe put a pin in that for now.
5. Science News Tote
Society for Science
$20
No need for a gym membership. This tote allows you to pull off the ultimate flex – convincing your colleagues you have free time to read.
Gifts with so much potential for scientific joy you can taste it
1. Shark Tooth Stew
My Science Shop
$10.99
Whether this gift is for a colleague or a colleague’s curious children, 200 fossils is at least 199 fossils more than anyone excepts to receive as a gift. That alone warrants inclusion on this list.
2. Periodic Table Flask & Cup
Rex London
£12.95
Now your cup runneth over with scientific swag – just make sure you clean it up before your break’s over.
3. Cell Kulture Stickers
Cell Kulture
$2.50+
The sheer assortment of options of stickers – glittering instruments, scientific puns, warning labels for dihydrogen monoxide – has an undeniable a-peel.
4. Can A Bee Sting A Bee?: And Other Big Questions From Little People
Bookshop.org
$12.59
The enthusiastic curiosity of children, unbridled in their excitement at learning of the natural world, is a precious commodity. This book honors the ways a child’s questions of the world can inform the art ofscience communication.
5. Caffeine Molecule Mug w/Beaker Graduations
Science Company
$12.95
We don’t quite know how to measure happiness. This mug, however, can measure coffee, which is the next best thing when you’re on deadline for a grant proposal.
6. Cookies and Cream Astronaut Sandwich
ShopNASA
$4.35
An out of this world experience for not much out of your pocketbook (or digital wallet, as befits our modern trends).
7. The Cartoon Guide to Biology
HarperAcademic
$19.99
It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s a book combining the engaging visual storytelling of comics with educational material to fit a modern biology curriculum!
What about a gift to yourself? The Aspire Member Program gives back to scientists year- round with exclusive perks.
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