A2Z Science & Learning Store

Fun shop to visit with lots of fun toys that may just teach you something, unless you are very careful. Toys and games for all ages from pre-​school to adults. Also they have resident experts in yo-​yoing (including at least 1 state champion!) and have a yo-​yo school for everyone to beginners to competitora. Everyone of all ages was having fun, being supportive and helpful.

Wonderful toy store that offers a good Disney Free experience with lots of educational items and the owner is always there to offer a guiding hand. My kids just love exploring the gems and and lego collections. A must for local shopping.

My review is about the owners as I did not get an opportunity to see the shop other than the local hotel TV commercials. Jack and Priscella were having breakfast next door at Jakes when our waiter asked them if they could help us neebies to Northampton. We were asking for advise on where we could hike on this terrific leaf peeping day. Jack and Priscella enthusiastically gave us a complete description of where to go and how to get there. We took their advise and had a wonderful morning at Skinner state park. I am sure they go the extra mile in helping their customers as they helped us.
When we return to this little paradise called Northampton, we will be sure to go to A2Z to shop for our nieces and nephew’s holiday gifts.

They have a great selection of card and board games!

I used to like going to A2Z for specific games or toys; however, that just changed. The return policy is terrible, especially during the holiday season. One week that is shortened by a holiday is ridiculous in order to receive credit (via original payment) due for the returned item. People buy gifts that sometimes have to be returned.
Also, when you get a store credit in the form of a hand-​written piece of paper as the only record that credit, that makes me very leery of what customer service exists when you aren’t happy with the original purchase. I understand that small businesses need to ensure their sales opportunity, but when you treat the post-​purchase time frame poorly, you will lose customers. I can buy the same items online and get better return policies from Amazon.

Going here was like the highlight of my week as a kid because everything was just so cool. They have this huge DNA thing which I stared at forever. Fun for kids and for adults to unlock the kid in them!

Quite decent toy store (and yes, despite the educational pretensions, it’s a toy store) with the Melissa-​and-​Doug, Ravensburger, Broduer, Alex end of toys, a mixture of science museum gift shop selections, standard Lego stuff, and a variety of middle-​high end toys. They have a decent small book section in the back (with particularly good depth for sciency books, some fiction), lots of toddler– and baby-​level selections, games for ages ranging up to adults, and a mixture of stocking-​stuffer-​level small things with mostly mid-​sized toys.
So why wouldn’t I crank this place up to five stars? Because they charge FAO Schwarz — Nordstrom’s level prices, and that is no exaggeration. Having been through quite a number of toy-​years and working on getting my youngest up through them still, I can assure you the markups here are 20−40% across the board over various other discount options ranging from Target to Amazon for identical toys, and in some cases even higher.
I don’t begrudge a bricks and mortar store a markup at all, given that you are paying for the convenience of browsing and the fun of going into the place. But this is even higher than similar stores, ranging from the toy store over in Amherst to the yuppified toy stores in the Bay area of San Francisco (with their even higher real estate prices) we lived through for the kids in a previous life. It’s really, really expensive, and they are not so unique in what they’re selling that the prices are justified therein.
I’m still left scratching my head about the demographics of Northampton these days, because this store is always HOPPING, they obviously are not starved for business, and maybe this place is just another symptom of how NoHo is Manhattanizing itself. I’ll still give them four stars for their wares, but it’s a rare four-​star review from me in that we won’t really bother going back unless there’s another gift card (what brought us there for this visit) or toy emergency in the offing (and usually a place I’m not going to bother going back to gets two stars, no matter what the reason). I mean, I’m glad there are some decent toys available to browse, but you better bring your mortgage lender with you if you’re doing, say, a full Christmas shopping expedition here.

Exceptional toys and gifts for exceptional kids. Love the wide range of their selections, and the focus on toys that are both entertaining and educational. My husband and I spend a half a day here every year around Christmas for the grandbabies. We are never disappointed.

I love this store. I’ve loved it since I was little and got a birthday card indicting a free gift from A 2 Z. It was way cooler when it was in Thornes but that’s okay. I miss being a child and wandering around here looking at all the cool stuff. Now I’m a grown up scientist– I’m sure I have A 2 Z to partially thank for that. Yay for science!

Great store, love the staff reviews.

You can’t go wrong with A2Z.
My parents had always provided us with really cool educational toys (build a robot, create electricity) and I intend on doing the same for my kids.
I am pregnant and popped into A2Z with my husband one morning. Two hours later we were still there, fully engaged. There is SO MUCH choice here — it seems like no matter what you might buy, it would be amazing to a kid. The store is very well organized, by age and product type. Staff were super helpful too.

This is hands-​down a FABULOUS place to buy a present for any child (or kid-​at-​heart person) in your life. We wandered around Northampton in search of a present for my boyfriend’s 4-​year old nephew. At first, we were seriously unsuccessful because we were looking for a «toy“store. Folks, rest assure that A 2 Z Store sells lots and lots of fun toys, books and other gifts. Your options are diverse and the staff are incredibly helpful (in a non-​annoying way). The real challenge for us was what to choose. The prices were reasonable and there is a small parking lot (which I found rare in Northampton). An excellent choice next time you have to go shopping for that super-​special kid in your life!

A sprawling store offers everything fun from board games and dinosaur constructs to telescopes and toy trains… if you can afford their items A2Z is a great place for you, providing boil-​in-​a-​bag enlightenment and challenge for everyone 1 to 100…
Parking is a bit of a pain and you’ll wonder why some of their simpler items are priced what they are… go here to surprise/​convert the spoiled child in your life or brighten the day of your endeavoring nephew…
A2Z should certainly be part of your Northampton walking tour and is conveniently located right across the street from Hotel Northampton and the courthouse, depending upon how tired or rambunctious you are…