Toys Guide - Pocket Antz from Summit - Antz

An ant farm is one of the those educational toys that allows young kids to indulge their fascination with the creepy-crawly side of life, while perhaps learning a little bit about biology and how other creatures live.  Now a company named Summit has come up with a way to make the traditional ant farm far less bulky.  Called Pocket Antz, this unique product is a miniature habitat for ants. 

These habitats are so small that kids can literally carry them around in their pockets.  Ants need both air and water, so Pocket Antz habitats include air holes so the ants can breathe.  Each habitat also includes a tiny tube for the ants' water. 

The Pocket Antz habitat also includes built-in tunnels for the ants to explore, and a magnifying lens so kids can peer closely at their captured bugs in action.  Ants are added and removed by unscrewing the top (with a coin).  Parents should be aware that the ants themselves aren't included, and that their ingenious children may elect to put all kinds of novel and perhaps unappealing bugs into the habitat (cockroach or spider farm anyone?). 

Parents may also want to make sure the cover is securely screwed back on before their kids start toting the habitat around.  The habitat also comes with a keychain-like clip, so the tiny ant farm can be clipped to a backpack.  It's one way to introduce your kids to the wonders of nature without having to devote a lot of household space to a full-size ant farm.