School Specialty Publishing Recalls Children's Science Kits for Thermal Burn Hazard

August 22, 2006 - WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of Product: "Ideal" and "Brighter Child" Brand Science Kits

Units: About 43,000

Distributor: School Specialty Publishing, of Columbus, Ohio

Hazard: The battery case in the science kit can overheat, posing a thermal burn hazard.

Incidents/Injuries: School Specialty has received one report of the battery case overheating, which resulted in a young boy receiving minor burns to his fingers.

Description and Models: This recall involves Ideal and Brighter Child-brand science kits. Models included are "All About Electricity," "All About Magnets," "The Science Search Lab: Electricity," and "The Science Search Lab: Light." The kits were sold in brightly colored 11 3/4-inch by 12-inch boxes with a plastic window and door flap on the front.

Sold at: Educational stores and bookstores nationwide, and the schoolspecialty.com Web site, from July 2004 through May 2006 for between $16 and $24.

Manufactured In: South Africa

Remedy: Consumers should immediately stop using the science kits and return them to the place of purchase or School Specialty for a refund.

Consumer Contact: For more information, consumers can contact School Specialty toll-free at (800) 253-5469 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm's Web site at www.schoolspecialtypublishing.com

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of serious injury or death from more than 15,000 types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $700 billion annually. The CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical, or mechanical hazard or can injure children. The CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters, and household chemicals - contributed significantly to the 30 percent decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 30 years.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury, call CPSC's hotline at (800) 638-2772 or CPSC's teletypewriter at (800) 638-8270, or visit CPSC's web site at www.cpsc.gov/talk.html. To join a CPSC email subscription list, please go to www.cpsc.gov/cpsclist.asp. Consumers can obtain this release and recall information at CPSC's Web site at www.cpsc.gov.