There's roughly a month before summer's dog days become back-to-school days, and, for parents concerned that their kids' brains are turning to mush due to TV and Game Boy overdoses, there may be hope.

And it comes from an unexpected source: toys — specifically educational ones, a growing niche amid the aisles of Bratz and Batman.

Mattel (ENLARGE)

Matchbox Mega Rig Shuttle Mission.

Crayola (ENLARGE)

3D Sidewalk Chalk.

(ENLARGE)

LIVING Latest Headlines: Zoo raises $40K in campaign to keep pandas  Georgia Aquarium to welcome 10 millionth visitor  Aquarium adds 4 sandbar sharks to exhibit  Cellphones serve as '$300 baby rattle'  Athens ranked among best places to live  • More Living Stories • Living photo galleries • Georgia Aquarium news and photos • Zoo Atlanta news and photos

"We try to develop products with play aspects that are very apparent, and the education is an imbedded component in the play," says Mark Mallardi of toy manufacturer Educational Insights.

That's sneaky, but well-timed.

The Center for Summer Learning at the Johns Hopkins University School of Education cites research showing that most students fall more than two months behind in math over the summer.

Integrating a subject such as science into summer play time opens the door to both educational benefits and creativity, says Lisa Bradberry, science specialist at Fort Daniel Elementary in Dacula.

Bradberry suggests her students "do hands-on, minds-on [science] activities," at home, especially during summer. This could consist of simply going on a nature walk with a parent, fiddling with a magnifying glass or playing with a science-themed toy.

The science and discovery-related toys highlighted here are available at major toy retailers and on Web sites such as Amazon.com, except where noted.

• Matchbox Mega Rig Shuttle Mission (Mattel, $44.99): Wannabe astronauts get a dose of building play, physics and sci-fi fun all in one. The Shuttle Mission set starts as one titanic space shuttle. Kids can break it down into 30 separate vehicles and create their own imaginative combinations. A pair of astronaut and space alien figures enhance things. The smaller Mega Rig Rover Mission ($16) has a motorized feature. And interactive fun gets a boost — when a child stomps his or her foot on the plastic launcher, it fires a rocket into the air.

• Monopoly: Planet Earth Edition (USAopoly, $35.99): This version of the classic real estate game, designed for ages 8 and older, is more concerned with Mother Nature than Mr. Monopoly. After all, it hit stores just before Earth Day. Based on the well-received BBC nature documentary "Planet Earth," the game blends dice-rolling entertainment with educational nuggets about environmental wonders. Forget the shoe and wheelbarrow — a polar bear, penguin and four other custom pewter pieces in the form of animals serve as replacements. And instead of Boardwalk and Park Place, you have the Gobi desert and the Himalayas. As a bonus, it includes a geography game. Appropriately, this edition's packaging is completely recyclable, a first for the manufacturer. Available at specialty retailers and online at www.bbcamericashop.com (search for item 14753).

• 3D Sidewalk Chalk (Crayola, $4.99): Science and art merge in this outdoor activity. Kits include five sticks of colored chalk and a pair of 3D glasses. Each hunk of chalk has a warmer color on one side, a cooler color on the other. Kids ages 4 and older draw the contrasting colors side-by-side on a paved surface, then slip on the glasses. The glasses cause the warm colors to float and the cool colors to recede, giving a 3D effect. Deluxe Activity Sets ($9.99 each) come with eight pieces of chalk, a 7-ounce bottle of sidewalk paint, a brush and four stencils. Wild animal stencils come in the Jungle Safari set; fish, crabs and sealife in the Underwater Adventure set.

• EyeClops BioniCam (Jakks Pacific, $79.99): The EyeClops Bionic Eye, a microscope that plugs into most TVs, was one of last year's hottest holiday toys. It's trying to top itself with the EyeClops BioniCam, a portable version with three levels of magnification, an LCD screen on the toy itself, and a built-in digital camera and flash drive allowing children to snap pictures and video of magnifications. Arriving in August; recommended for ages 8 and older.

• GeoSafari Tyrannosaurus rex (Educational Insights, $99.99): Dinosaur lovers can create their own museum-quality version of the infamous T. rex. Snap together 30 parts and pose the dino in mid-stride on a faux rock base. The completed model stands more than 3 feet long from head to tail and 1 1/2 feet tall. Includes a color poster with blips of T. rex trivia. Available at specialty retailers and online at www.educationalinsights.com.

COMING THIS FALL

• Bindi Irwin dolls (Wild Republic, $15-$20): Bindi Irwin, the daughter of the late Steve "Crocodile Hunter" Irwin and star of the Discovery Kids series "Bindi the Jungle Girl," gets her own likeness in toy form. The toys tie in with the world Bindi shares with her family at the Australia Zoo. The 4-inch action figure sets feature wildlife locales such as underwater and in the Australian Outback. Each includes a figure, vehicle and accessories. The 10-inch talking dolls spout Earth-conscious sayings like "Crikey! Let's go help wildlife," in Bindi's voice.

• Discovery Channel toys (Jakks Pacific, $4.99-$69.99): The Discovery Kids Smart Animals line teaches tots about creatures. Each 3-inch animal figure has a covert barcode for kids to scan using the Discovery Kids Smart Animal Scanopedia ($29.99). The scanner unlocks sound effects and animal trivia and questions. These can be placed in Smart Animal Green Scenes ($17.99 each), mini gardenlike play sets with seeds that transform into grass and plants, some within three days of planting. Deluxe Smart Animals are larger animal figures (5 inches to 10 inches tall) with push-button sound effects and barcodes. Smart Animal figure packs cost $4.99-$12.99 each. The science and technology line includes a 2-in-1 Microscope ($29.99), a plug-in-and-play TV Microscope and a Binotech Telescope ($69.99) for bird-watching and landscape exploration.