Gallery: Awesome Gifts for Science Geeks
01Dire Wolf Skull
The holidays are, by far, the best time of year to get away with stuffing science into your friends' socks. Even -- or especially -- if they're not total science nerds. So, from bug-friendly garden blooms to a tiny 3-D map of the universe to petri dishes drawn on silk, we have some geeky goodies for you. Let's start with the Dire Wolf Skull above in tar-pit finish for $225 from [Bone Clones](http://www.boneclones.com). We're not sure "home decor" is the primary purpose behind these bony replicas, but that doesn't mean tricking out your house (or someone else's) isn't a totally legit reason to indulge in some osteological goodies. Fancy an [Atlantic bottlenose dolphin](http://www.boneclones.com/SC-033.htm) for the bathroom? Or maybe you need a [sabertooth cat skull](http://www.boneclones.com/BC-018A.htm#BC-018T) to keep an eye on the booze. And, especially if you're a *GoT* fan, you don't really need a reason to get a [dire wolf skull](http://www.boneclones.com/BC-020T.htm). For those of you with a mansion, we think the [megalodon jaws](http://www.boneclones.com/BC-295.htm) would make an excellent frame for the front door. *Image copyright Bone Clones, [www.boneclones.com](http://www.boneclones.com)*
02Stein of Science
Stein of Science ---------------- __$230 - $250__ [Funranium Labs](http://shop.funraniumlabs.com/brands/Steins.html) Lots of scientists and science geeks like beer, and every single one of them will love you for getting them a [Stein of Science](http://shop.funraniumlabs.com/brands/Steins.html). Made out of a Dewar flask, a real piece of lab equipment, these steins not only look awesome, they actually keep your beer cold. How do they do that? Science. In labs, Dewar flasks are used to keep things like nitrogen cold enough to be a liquid (or, below a temperature of roughly -320 degrees Fahrenheit). The trick is the near-vacuum inside the walls of the flask that stops heat from getting in or out through convection or conduction. UC Berkeley radiation specialist Phillip Broughton realized these flasks would be useful outside the lab to keep your beer frosty (or your coffee warm for a seeming eternity). Or as long as it takes you to finish your beer. We know it works because we tested one. A lot. *Image: Ariel Zambelich/WIRED*
03Petri Dish Silk Scarf
Yellow Petri Dish Silk Scarf ---------------------------- __$55__ [Artologica](https://www.etsy.com/listing/105634560/yellow-petri-dishes-silk-scarf?ref=listing-shop-header-3), on Etsy Look closely at this silk chiffon scarf, and you'll see that those aren't polka dots -- they're petri dishes, illustrated by Washington, D.C.-based artist Michele Banks. But that's not all the wearable science art Banks has created that we're not-so-secretly coveting. For those of you who'd rather wear your heart around your neck, Banks has a [silky EKG scarf](https://www.etsy.com/listing/119107522/heartbeat-silk-chiffon-scarf-ekg-pattern?ref=shop_home_active) available. Or maybe you're interested in [cosmic exploration](https://www.etsy.com/listing/119106600/cosmic-exploration-silk-chiffon-scarf?ref=shop_home_active) version? Or maybe your hopelessly dorky developmental biologist friend needs the [mitosis scarf](https://www.etsy.com/listing/105633165/blue-mitosis-silk-scarf?ref=shop_home_feat), with dividing cells drawn onto it. Nothing like challenging your friends to correctly identify the anaphase on your biology bling. *Image: Michele Banks*
04Bug Blooms
Good Bug Blooms Seed Packet --------------------------- __$3.75__ [Hudson Valley Seed Library](http://www.seedlibrary.org/flowers/annuals/good-bug-blooms.html) Help out your local pollinators by planting some bug-friendly borders in your garden (or window box). These [seed packets](http://www.seedlibrary.org/flowers/annuals/good-bug-blooms.html) contain a variety of blooms -- including cosmos, zinnias, alyssum, blue cornflower, and chamomile -- and will do well throughout much of the United States. Bees will love them. So will you. And lacewings, whose larvae will quickly take care of all sorts of insect pests. *Image: Hudson Valley Seed Library, with art by [Christy Rupp](http://www.christyrupp.com)*
053D Print Your Head
3-D Print Your Head and Turn It Into a Beer Mug ----------------------------------------------- __Priceless.__ This one might take a bit of skill with a 3-D printer. We were inspired by [this post](http://makezine.com/projects/make-ultimate-guide-to-3d-printing/print-your-head-in-3d/ ) over at MAKE: magazine, which tells you how to 3-D print your head. We thought, what if your printed head were hollow? How much beer could it hold? So, here's our five-part challenge: 1\. Head on over to MAKE: magazine and follow the instructions for how to 3-D print your head. 2\. Make it hollow. 3\. Attach a handle. 4\. Add beer. Voila! You've turned your head into a beer mug, and really -- who on Earth wouldn't want that kind of gift? 5\. Take a picture and tweet it at us! [Instructions are here](http://makezine.com/projects/make-ultimate-guide-to-3d-printing/print-your-head-in-3d/). *Image: Shellac/[Flickr](http://www.flickr.com/photos/36686400@N00/9555417099/)*
06Sun Cube
Solar Magnetic Field Lines, in Crystal -------------------------------------- __£39.95__ [Crystal Nebulae](http://www.crystalnebulae.co.uk/) Magnetic fields can make astrophysics a bit messy, but they sure can be beautiful: This is a reproduction of what the sun's magnetic field looks like, engraved into crystal. Those magnetic field lines are what help sling sunsnot throughout the solar system and hurl blobs of charged, aurora-producing particles at Earth. The sculpture is made by astronomer [Michael Merrifield](http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/physics/people/michael.merrifield), of the UK's University of Nottingham. If the sun isn't your thing, Merrifield has a few other astro-cubes you could choose from: One [showing Saturn](http://www.crystalnebulae.co.uk/saturnsculpture.html) (complete with ring-shepherding moons), another of [the Milky Way](http://www.crystalnebulae.co.uk/mwsculpture.html) (on a scale of 1:25,000,000,000,000,000,000,000), and a third, which is the tiniest 3-D map of [the universe](http://www.crystalnebulae.co.uk/2dfsculpture.html) -- or at least the 200,000 galaxies mapped by the 2dF Galaxy Redshift Survey. *Image: Mike Merrifield/Crystal Nebulae*
07Binary Bracelet
Custom-Made Binary Code Cuff Bracelet ------------------------------------- __$70__ [Karla Wheeler](https://www.etsy.com/listing/68160048/binary-code-cuff-bracelet-in-copper), Etsy 01001000 01100001 01110000 01110000 01111001 00100000 01001000 01101111 01101100 01101001 01100100 01100001 01111001 01110011 00101100 00100000 01110011 01100011 01101001 01100101 01101110 01100011 01100101 00100000 01101110 01100101 01110010 01100100 01110011 00100001. You can have your own message engraved in binary code on these copper cuff bracelets (there's also a [sterling silver version](https://www.etsy.com/listing/53512876/custom-sterling-silver-binary-code-cuff?ref=shop_home_active)), designed by [Karla Wheeler](https://www.etsy.com/shop/KarlaWheelerDesign?ref=l2-shopheader-name). Limit is 70 characters, which leaves plenty of room for a [binary solo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTjolEUj00g). *Image: Karla Wheeler*
08BugGuide
A Guide to the Insects of North America --------------------------------------- __$6.26__ [Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/Peterson-First-Guide-Insects-America/dp/0395906644 ) What on Earth is the crazy colorful moth in this photo? If you had the Peterson *First Guide to the insects of North America*, you might stand a chance of finding out. We know a thing or two about insects over here (and a few more things about spiders), but one of the things missing from our arsenal is an actual field guide that we could, you know, take outside. What if you're on a hike, lose your cell signal, and need to know if that beautiful butterfly is a poisonous monarch or a harmless monarch-mimic? Well, look it up. *Image: Sam Droege/[Flickr](http://www.flickr.com/photos/usgsbiml/9271270603/in/set-72157630468783226)*
09Planetary Parks Posters
Planetary Parks Posters ----------------------- __$20__ [Tyler Nordgren](http://www.tylernordgren.com/planetary-parks/) If you love national parks, and you love planets, chances are you'll love the idea of Planetary Parks -- especially when illustrated by astronomer [Tyler Nordgren](http://www.tylernordgren.com/biography/). His [planetary parks posters](http://www.tylernordgren.com/planetary-parks/) are done in the style of the old-school national parks posters that might have hung over your bed when you were a kid, sending you to sleep with visions of Yellowstone geysers or Bryce Canyon's spires. Except Nordgren is enticing visitors to places like Enceladus (Cold Faithful) Planetary Park, or the Titan Seashore Recreation Area (kayaking trips!), or Io Volcanoes (above). Yes, we would definitely want to visit those places if we could. Until then, we are totally crazy for these posters. *Image: Tyler Nordgren*
10Five Billion Years
*Five Billion Years of Solitude* -------------------------------- __$14.24-16.53__ [Amazon](http://www.amazon.com/Five-Billion-Years-Solitude-Search/dp/1617230065/ref=tmm_hrd_title_0) Though there are other books about science that came out this year, we especially loved *Five Billion Years of Solitude*, written by journalist [Lee Billings](http://leebillings.com). The book explores the search for other Earths -- and life -- in the universe, through the stories of the scientists looking for planets like our own. At once poetic and personal, yet rich in science, the book will take you through the struggle to find out whether Earth really is alone in this infinite universe. *Photo: Josh Valcarcel/WIRED*
Chris Roche11Mushroom Kit
Oyster Mushrooms in a Box ------------------------- __$19.99__ [Back to the Roots](https://backtotheroots.com/shop/mushroom-kit) You can grow a whole different kingdom (Fungi) in your kitchen with Back to the Roots' oyster mushroom box. Just open the box, mist the mushrooms, and harvest them 10 days later. *Image: Back to the Roots*
12Rare Science Books
Rare Science and Medical Books ------------------------------ __Prices Variable__ [Nigel Phillips](http://www.nigelphillips.com/) Your friends with a hankering for rare science and medicine books might be tempted to trade their first-born children for some of these tomes. Nigel Phillips, a rare book purveyor in the U.K., has a serious stash of old knowledge ready for perusing. Some of the books, like *[A Compleat Body of Distilling](http://www.nigelphillips.com/rare-books/d/a-compleat-body-of-distilling-explaining-the-mysteries-of-that-science-in-a-most-easy-and-familiar-manner%3b-containing-an-exact-and-accurate-method-of-making-all-the-compound-cordial-waters-now-in-use-with-a-particular-account-of-their-several-virtues%3a-as-also-a-directory-consisting-of-all-the-instructions-necessary-for-learning-the-distillers-artâ%C2%80¦/26820)* -- from 1725 -- are on the pricey side (about £1,250). Others, like an [extremely rare 1772 first edition](http://www.nigelphillips.com/index.pl?isa=Metadot::SystemApp::BookSearch;op=detail;book=26520;image=207593;) of *A Disquisition of the Stone and Gravel, and other diseases of the bladder, kidney, etc* are less expensive (£250). Or, you can buy *[The Bibliomania; or, Book-Madness; containing some account of the history, symptoms, and cure of this fatal disease](http://www.nigelphillips.com/rare-books/d/the-bibliomania%3b-or-book-madness%3b-containing-some-account-of-the-history-symptoms-and-cure-of-this-fatal-disease-in-an-epistle-addressed-to-richard-heber-esq/26270)* for your friends in extreme need (that would be us). *Image: Nigel Phillips Rare Books (UK)*
