We ship all orders from our facility in Tulsa, OK the next business day, sometimes 2 business days if we've had a large number of orders. If you ordered a subscription box with your order, it will ship separately with the rest of our monthly subscription box batch.

All subscription boxes ship in the first week of each month. The cutoff for each month's box is the end of the previous month. (For example, if you signed up between July 1–July 31, your first box will ship in the first week of August.) All subsequent boxes will also ship in the first week of each month thereafter.

You'll receive tracking information via email the moment your order ships.

Please allow a day or two for it to update in the USPS system. We do not have access to any additional tracking information beyond what you have.

Let us know about the change as soon as possible. Once the order ships we cannot reroute it, but we'll make sure it gets to you eventually.

Yes, we currently ship most items* to all 190+ countries that USPS serves. Please note, international orders take a bit longer to reach their destination due to customs clearances. Some of the most common delivery times are:

Canada: 1-2 weeks
UK/GB: 2-3 weeks
Everywhere else: 2-4 weeks

Please allow at least this much time to have passed before contacting us about your box. Check for the latest USPS service alerts here.

* We cannot ship certain items internationally, including animal remains and shredded US currency.

If you've waited the expected shipping duration, and the tracking hasn't been updated recently, contact us and we'll see what we can do on our end. We will send a replacement if it appears USPS has lost the order (this is happening more frequently lately.)

Please keep in mind that we have no control over the USPS. Once the order leaves our building, shipping delays and service interruptions are out of our control. We have the same tracking information as you.

Yes, your regular items will ship in 1–2 business days and your subscription box will ship in the first week of the next month with the rest of our subscription box batch.

This is a question as old as dirt itself. Who knew a planetary surface made of slowly floating tectonic plates would get caked in so much brown mush. Water? Sure. Gravel? Sure. But dirt? Hm.

Maybe its the result of millennia of geologic activity and organic debris.

But why is there so much of it? Maybe that's a testament to the sheer volume of the life that preceded us? Maybe it isn't that much really, but it just looks like a lot to us on the ground level watching construction equipment moving it here and there.

We don't have a final answer, but we'll keep thinking about it.

All payments are automated and credentials are handled exclusively by the provider of your choice and never accessible on our end for your security.

• Credit cards:
• Visa
• Mastercard
• American Express
• Discover
• JCB
• Diners Club
• Elo
• Mobile Wallets:
• PayPal
• Apple Pay
• Google Pay*
• Pay Later:
• Afterpay*
• Shop Pay
• Cryptocurrencies:
• Bitcoin**
• Ethereum*
• Litecoin*
• Bitcoin Cash**
• DAI*
• USDC*

* These methods are currently not available for subscriptions payments.
** We have suspended Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash payments in lieu of more energy efficient coins.

Yes, we use VerifyPass to instantly approve educators and students for a 15% educational discount. Check your eligibility here.

Homeschools also qualify for our educational discount—contact us for a homeschool discount.

Last year our CO₂ footprint was -342 tonnes. Yes, it's a negative number. This means the amount of carbon-capturing activities we engaged in for the year far outweighed our carbon-emitting activities.

We believe it is our responsibility as humans to make sure our business's existence doesn't harm other humans. This should not be controversial.

Side note: The term "carbon footprint" is only in wide use now thanks to the $250 million dollar ad campaign by the oil company BP to shift responsibility for the solving climate change from the fossil fuel industry onto the individual. The fossil fuel industry is by far the most responsible for the destruction of Earth's atmosphere, and they have know as much since the 1980s.
https://mashable.com/feature/carbon-footprint-pr-campaign-sham/

We offset the emissions of every order placed from start to finish (website usage, power usage, shipping, etc.) by planting trees at certified agroforestry projects around the world. In order to involve our customers and get people more familiar with offsets, we send the tree information—such as species, location, and CO₂ sequestering capacity—to you.

In addition to planting trees, we also take common sense actions to minimize our emissions:

• We've upgraded our facility with energy & water efficient equipment.
• We pay for 100% WindChoice power.
• We only purchase recycled cardboard boxes and all-natural corn, mycelium, or sugar-based foam.
• We reduce, reuse, and recycle anything we can, especially packing materials.
• Our company vehicle is electric.
• We encourage our suppliers to combine shipments and avoid using oil-based packing materials.
• We prioritize suppliers who prioritize the environment.
• We encourage other businesses to go carbon-negative since it doesn't cost nearly as much as many believe it might.

Yes, we accept purchase orders for wholesale and prepaid subscription orders via email.

Stem cells are extraordinary cells inside every creature—even you. What makes them so great is that they can develop into any other cell in the body, whether skin, hair, internal organs, bone, etc.

Likewise, by using science, human intelligence can adapt to solve any problem and improve every facet of civilization.

STEM is also an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics. We think advancing these fields are critical to the development and prolonged existence of civilization. That's why we offer the tools and inspiration that innovators need to improve the world(s).

For young people, the shop introduces curious minds to the thrill of discovery and the joy of understanding. By actively promoting an evidence-based, logical approach to the world around us, we strive to create a positive change in the mean intelligence of the human species.

Through sustainable business practices, we intend to only impact Earth in a positive way—especially considering its humanity's only known survivable location in the entire universe.

All subscription boxes ship in the first week of each month. The cutoff for each month's box is the end of the previous month. (For example, if you signed up between July 1–July 31, your first box will ship in the first week of August.) All subsequent boxes will also ship in the first week of each month thereafter.

US subscribers can expect to receive their boxes in 2–5 business days after shipping. International subscribers can expect to receive theirs in 2-4 weeks due to customs clearances.

You can modify your shipping address at this page after logging in to your account. Select the subscription you'd like to update, and click change below the shipping address section.

You can modify your card info and billing address at this page after logging in to your account. Select the subscription you'd like to update, click update below the payment method section, and we'll email you a secure link to update your payment info.

For monthly plans your subscription will renew—and your payment method on file will be charged—on the same day of the month that you initially subscribed. (For example, if you signed up on February 24, your box will ship in the first week of March, and your subscription will renew on March 24.)

The same goes for quarterly subscriptions, except the charge will occur once every 3 months.

We'll reattempt to charge your payment method on file each day for up to 5 days. If after 5 retries your payment is still unsuccessful, your subscription will be cancelled. Be sure to update your payment method in your account if your card expires or your billing address changes. If your subscription is cancelled due to failed payment attempts, you're welcome to resubscribe at any time.

You can pause your subscription at any time from this page after logging in to your account. Select the subscription you'd like to pause, and click pause below your subscription status details.

Matter is new every month, so you should not receive any duplicate items. Please contact us if you do so we can find out what went wrong and make sure you get the right items.

Subscribers outside of the US may occasionally receive slightly different boxes than US subscribers due to legal shipping restrictions.

You can cancel your subscription at any time from this page after logging in to your account. Select the subscription you'd like to cancel, and click cancel below your subscription status details.

Simply start a new subscription here

Mineralogically, they are the same. Fossilization is the process of organic material being replaced with rocky minerals.

But well-preserved fossils maintain at least some clues of the original form, like shapes, patterns, or voids. For example, dinosaur bone has a very distinctive pattern remaining from the former cellular structure.

The ability to fossilize well depends on the material, conditions of the area/climate where the creature died, and whatever has happened since. For example, bones and teeth preserve much better than soft tissues like skin and fur.