Out of This World

This was ALWAYS our favorite shop. Today, the owner decided that because my husband didn’t buy his spotting scope from her, that she needed to be rude! She scolded him for not buying his scope from her, then continued to tell us that what we bought wasn’t any good. She was unprofessional and lacks class. Very disappointed, we will do our Christmas shopping elsewhere.

Awesome! We were walking along cliffs and came upon this great shop when we finished. We’re both nerds, so all the science toys, books, and gadgets were a huge draw. I loved that they had telescopes and binoculars set up near the window and already pointed at the surf. (see picture) I also loved that they had a large selection of science-​themed board games and lots of science-​themed LEGO sets and other toys! Prices are actually at or below the level of most hobby shops, and only marginally higher than online, so I finally bought myself an expansion to the game Pandemic, and think happily of this shop as one of the places I’m protecting when I set out to save the world.

I was a little surprised when everyone who heard I was visiting Mendocino for the first time told me I had to visit this store. Their suggestions were not misguided, I discovered!
What a cool little shop! It perfectly embodies the funky, eclectic atmosphere of downtown Mendocino. With toys for kiss and adults alike I spent way more time in this shop than I anticipated. Neat things for feeding your brain and exploring the natural world — a must see!

Ah, my favorite shop in Mendocino! They have the neatest things in here! They have everything science, from make your own root beer kits, to ant farms, to telescopes and binoculars and kick ass coloring books and anything in between!!! I can spend forever in here just looking at and playing with all the cool stuff, and I’d never get bored. My boyfriend says they have a great selection of binoculars and spotting scopes, including Zeiss, Swarovski, and Leica, at decent price ranges. I never leave without buying something, and it’s always the first place I want to go when I’m in town.

How much I enjoy and love shopping online at
, I still love to visit shop and explore the toys before buying then. Great place for kids, adults and everyone.

I wish we had a place like this in Livermore. Such cool toys that you can’t find most places, and decent prices. If you are a nerd, or have a science inspired kid you have to stop here.

Nice store in old-​town that is all science toys. Glad such places exist. 100% science toys, puzzles and learning activities for kids. No «junk food» fro the mind here. Certainly worth at least a short peek in if you have 3 – 10 year olds.

Great store, a highlight of our regular visits to Mendocino. Enjoy!

Interesting shop to kill some time in while in town. Lots of microscopes, telescopes, and binoculars. Some cool puzzles and I notice they offer gift wrapping.

Most amazing educational toys. I hate going in because I want to spend way more then I should. Also if you like scopes and binoculars, the guy there will give you a class that if by far the most educational you will ever have. You will understand the difference between a $ 150 bino and a $ 2000 bino. Stock rotates out fast for some of the toys so buy it when you see it.

Plenty smart toys to encourage kids in the sciences.
Knowledgeable, helpful staff.

I’d like to think if I ever opened a gift shop, it would be just like this — where almost every item is interesting at least. There are lots of games, puzzles, books, all kinds of stuff that seemed to me to be designed for people who like to use their brains but still have fun. We ended up spending close to an hour looking around in here and ended up buying a couple of books. We were impressed that they didn’t seem to be gouging the customer as you might expect in such a scenic setting as Mendocino. The same was true for the gift shop up the street, whose name I can’t remember and who can’t be found on Google and who won’t get a review, which would have been five stars.
Anyway, fun stuff, good prices, Out of This World is definitely worth a stop.

Great store! Anytime we are in Mendocino it is one of our «must stop» places. The first time I stopped in was last year just before Christmas and found several really interesting gifts and a pair of new binoculars for myself. The owner, James, was a wealth of information to guide me to the right pair for me. I am impressed with his ability to give as much information as I needed without overwheming. I truly felt he was not trying to upsell, but find just the right product for me. We just stopped in again over Valentine’s Weekend to pick up a waterproof pair for kayaking and once again, James dialed me right in. Tons of cool stuff and a great staff!

Been here twice now and the service has been excellent. The first time we were just browsing, and the man behind the counter was very nice and shared some of his local knowledge. Mojave was welcomed in and even got a dog bone.
The second time we were on a mission to get some binoculars. The woman was incredibly knowledgeable as we new nothing about this purchase we were about to make.
The prices seemed a bight higher than we anticipated, but everything up here is a bit higher, and you also, pay for what ya get!
I’m extremely happy with our purchase. She also gave Mojave and I some tips about some area hiking and beach activities.
Browsing or shopping Out of This World always seems to be a pleasant experience.

I love this store! The guy behind the counter was very helpful, helping us find all sorts of things, talking about the toys, and all-​around friendly. The store has neat toys you rarely find these days, with all the toys being educational, but not so much so that you feel like you’re getting hit over the head with a textbook. I love going to this store every time I go into Mendocino.

Thank-​you «Out of this World» —
Everyone who saw the solar eclipse from Northern California on Sunday will call it magical and eerie, but from the field behind the Mendocino Visitor’s Center, it was something more: Community Building. «It’s like Woodstock for locals,» one guy commented. Out of this World hauled four magnificent telescopes from their store at 45 100 Main Street so hundreds of us could share the ring of fire up-​close and personal. Between turns, the crowd shared picnic dinners, original songs, games of dog-​frisbee and small-​town stories. Thank-​you, Mendocino and Out of this World, for allowing the San Francisco aliens in your midst to share the wonder.

This is one of my favorite stores in Mendocino. They have awesome science toys and games. Legos, telescopes and fun games. The staff are extremely knowledgeable and helpful and they tell some great stories about the area.

Oh my goodness, I think if I were a kid I’d never want to leave this place. An absolute ton of science toys — I so regret not getting that «build your lightsaber» toy (it was on a small scale, but still) — that was just so much fun to browse. Plus the various telescopes, microscopes — yeah, it’s a science haven of toys so let me not carry on that much. Oh and they have fantastic service.

Ah yes, one of my favorite childhood stops each time my family would be heading to Sea Ranch down in Gualala for vacation.
I would spend hours looking at all the gadgets, robots, puzzles, and other various forms of intelligent entertainment. My parents found this perfectly acceptable, as every item in this store happens to be the complete opposite of mindless activities. Throw away the Barbies and GI Joes, and throw your child in here so they may pick up something that will nurture there mind.
Ten years later, I still find myself gawking at the selection and toying with the puzzles open for your examining. It’s as if I never grew up and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I love board games. And this store seems to have some of the very best! They might be a little over-​priced but the selection is great and the cashiers give good, thorough game recommendations.
I was first impressed that they have Blockus which is one of my favorite and hard-​to-​find games. It’s kind of like a board game of Tetris…
We decided to purchase two new travel board games: Snatch It Word Game and Bananagrams. We’re particularly loving Snatch-​It but both have tons of fun potential and are an easy carrying size for trips!