Thames & Kosmos was founded in 2001 by a science museum director and her son, who saw the great need and demand for better science education materials — resources for parents and their children that are more engaging, more effective, more relevant, and more fun.
Thames & Kosmos operates as the ...
Thames & Kosmos was founded in 2001 by a science museum director and her son, who saw the great need and demand for better science education materials — resources for parents and their children that are more engaging, more effective, more relevant, and more fun.
Thames & Kosmos operates as the exclusive arm of parent company, Franckh-Kosmos Verlags-GmbH & Co. KG — Kosmos for short — based in Stuttgart, Germany. Founded in 1822, Kosmos operated solely as a book publisher until the 1920s, when the company published its first science kits aimed at explaining the world of science to children and young adults by bringing it to life with hands-on experiments.
Generations of European children have discovered their enthusiasm for science through Kosmos science kits. Since 2001, Thames & Kosmos and Kosmos have teamed up to develop science kits for children in the United States and other English speaking markets around the world.
Products
Thames & Kosmos has published more than 250 unique science kits since 2001, ranging from small, single-experiment kits retailing for under $10 to huge, cutting-edge kits with hundreds of experiments retailing for over $100.
Thames & Kosmos currently offers more than 140 kits containing a total of more than 3,000 experiments and projects, and more than 5,000 pages of rich, colorful manual content.
The science kits are organized into thirteen categories: Chemistry, Physics, Alternative Energy, Electrical Science, Biology, Earth Science & Natural History, Multi-Subject, Astronomy & Space, Historical Science, Construction+Engineering, Robotics, Crystals & Materials, and Arts & Crafts.
In 2015, T&K expanded upon its goal to inspire comprehensive, hands-on learning experiences by introducing a curated selection of German-style board games from world renowned authors and designers.
Recognition
Thames & Kosmos products are highly regarded by parents, teachers, and members of the toy and educational products industries. Since the beginning, T&K products have received dozens of awards from the most reputable organizations that review products for children.
Distribution
Thames & Kosmos sells its products primarily in the United States and Canada through thousands of retail partners, including specialty toy stores, hobby stores, book stores, game stores, major national retailers, toy and gift catalogs, museum shops, educational distributors, home-school suppliers, and online stores. To find a retailer in your area, see our specialty store locator or the national retailers page.