About Science Wiz

The award winning ScienceWiz line got its start in 1995 when we released our first title ScienceWiz Electricity. Our line of science kits stemmed from Dr. Penny Norman’s volunteer work teaching science in her children’s elementary schools and her ScienceWiz after school and summer programs.

With initial development supported by grants from the National Science Foundation and the Franklin Foundation, each of our kits is created with the goal of teaching fundamental scientific concepts to children through hands-on play.

From of our offices at 5215-A Central Ave., Richmond, CA we work hard towards our goal of providing children a basic foundation in science. Each new title we release is focused on a distinct topic. With so many disciplines in science, our work may never be finished. Along the way, we hope to inspire young minds to love learning as much as we do.

Penny Norman, Ph.D. Author

Penny Norman, Ph.D. earned a doctoral degree in Biophysics from U.C. Berkeley.

She became involved with the development of primary grade science materials through volunteer work, which she began as her own children started school. During this process she became deeply concerned about the limited exposure of elementary age students to the physical sciences. Dr. Norman's concern has translated into a 15 year effort to test and revamp science materials for the primary grades. Her work with children developed into a product line initially under the auspices of grants from the National Science Foundation and the Franklin Foundation. Her published titles reflect Dr. Norman's extensive testing and involvement with children and teachers and her love and commitment to both.

The ScienceWiz Books and Kits created by Dr. Penny Norman have received awards from Scientific American, Good Morning America, Dr. Toy, National Parenting Magazine, American Specialty Toy Retail Association, Creative Child Magazine and Woman's Day Magazine, to name but a few. The ScienceWiz line has also been covered by NPR radio on Science Friday and received accolades from the Women's Society of the IEEE.

A story she has heard often from consumers describes how much 5 and 6 year old children cherish the Electricity Kit. They will keep it under their pillows and continue to play with it for weeks. Mothers says their children are so attached to the kit because the visual instructions allow them to do the activities on their own.

Ann Einstein Editor

Ann Einstein was an elementary education teacher in the Berkeley Unified School District for many years. She has been involved with the education of children for most of her adult career as a director of early childhood education programs, as a teacher and coordinator of gifted and talented programs, and now as chief editor here at ScienceWiz™.

Ann has the capacity to see the world through a child's eyes and has been invaluable in keeping each science kit clear from a child's perspective.

To quote an Einstein of an earlier generation:

"We never cease to stand like curious children before the great Mystery into which we were born."

Todd Mullins Sales & Marketing

Todd is a seasoned sales and marketing executive. He has in depth experience in product development, in sales force management, as well as national account management, including Target, Amazon and Walmart. He also has social media communications expertise. He has developed presentations for meetings with national sales representatives teams and for trade show presentations. He is the director at Brandruptive. He has been the national accounts manager for Chronicle Books, as well as worked with Hero Arts, Bill & Bud Toys, and University Games.

Bill Moulton Technologist

Bill has managed teams that build consumer electronics and provided professional hardware and software solutions for clients for over 20 years. These include AI expert systems for education and industrial applications, multimedia UI products, collaboration tools, speech recognition and voice messaging. He also developed vertical search tools for high school and college students. They used these tools to plan higher education goals, explore career paths and find scholarships.

Marcus Lee Operations

Marcus has directed business operations and production sourcing for Norman & Globus for more than 15 years. He is multi-lingual in Cantonese and English.

Jessica Man Operations

Jessica has been Office Manager for over 15 years, and is the face for our customer service, bookkeeping, and staffing. She is multi-lingual in Cantonese and English.

Jennifer Zhen Operations

Jennifer, Production Manager, has been with us for over 15 years, manages all product assembly, quality control, and scheduling.

Harry L. Nelson Designer

Mathematics is recreation to Harry L. Nelson. In fact, in the 1970s he was the editor of the Journal of Recreation Mathematics for over 5 years, and as Emeritus Editor, is currently on the Editorial Board of that publication.

In 1978, with David Slowinski, he discovered the then largest known prime number. In 1980 Harry became associated with the Cray Blitz computer chess programming endeavor, with Robert Hyatt. This effort culminated in Cray Blitz winning a string of Computer Chess World Championships.

With degrees in mathematics from Harvard University and Kansas University he ventured to the west coast where he worked as a computer expert at the University of California's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory for 30 years.

When not hiking or playing bridge, he devotes his time to the development of puzzles and games with his company Minimax Game, Inc. Minimax's is a "think tank" for games. Harry is leader of the Har-e-brain Corps whose members assist him in game development. There are currently 20 mechanical puzzles and/or games on the U.S. market for which he has made substantial contributions, including RUSH HOUR®. Cool Circuits™ is Harry's second game being published by ScienceWiz. Look for his other new ScienceWiz product, Pohaku™.

Harry has four children and nine grandchildren. He and his wife, Claire, live in Livermore, California.

Hiroshi Yamamoto Designer

Hiroshi Yamamoto is an incredibly popular Japanese puzzle collector and designer of a large number of mechanical puzzles.  Hiroshi is a charter member of the famous NOBrain Corps and is also a part of the Har-e-brain Corps. He is the originator of many puzzle concepts including STORMY SEAS® and LUNAR LOCKOUT®. Hiroshi tutors junior high school students who are preparing for the national entrance examinations for high school in Japan. He also writes for a mathematics magazine which is distributed locally. Presently, he is devoting himself to puzzles because he loves them. His goal is to "continue to design original things." Cool Circuits™ is one of his novel 3-dimensional puzzles and the first to be produced by ScienceWiz. Hiroshi Yamamoto lives in Matto city in Japan, which is about one hour's flight northwest from Tokyo.

Patzi Stewart Author

Author of “Once a Pawn a Time,” a how to play chess book, simplified to the max, targeted to the four year old reader.

Chess is a non violent way of establishing the pecking order within a social group. This is done without regard to gender, social standing, race, or even the ability to read.

Children who play chess identify themselves as being smart. They are less likely to blank out when presented with difficult new challenges.

Chess has often been used with gifted children, but it may prove to be more valuable to those functioning at an average level and below. You don't have to know how to read to play the game, Chess is a way to show your intelligence and earn respect from your peers, family and society, for those children who need it most.

Chess Education SpecialistChess Education Specialist various schools and after school programs in the greater East Bay area various schools and after school programs in the greater East Bay area 1985 - 2000 · 15 yrs 1985 - 2000 · 15 yrs

  • I provided after school chess education to a generation of children, as well as teaching in classes, at the request of teachers. I developed a kindergarten chess program as well. I also held the Children's Living Chess Board for many years as a yearly festival of the Berkeley Parks and Recreation Department.

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