Remember the good ol' days of chemistry kits filled with things that could potentially be dangerous in any way whatsoever? I barely do. The only one I ever had like that was 2nd hand - probably originally from the 80s.
From my own experience trying to buy "educational" toys I have found that anything that isn't a videogame is considered educational. Toy trains and trucks? Professional Development. Nerf gun? Hand-eye coordination. Stuffed animals? Biology! I don't buy it.
Sadly, "science kits" have gone a bit downhill as well. I don't think there is anything fundamentally wrong with a slime kit or crystal growth kit, but there is too much "value added" plastic crap in these kits as an attempt to justify the high price tag. But it has gotten worse - these kits are becoming increasingly gendered.
Professor Janet D. Stemwedel at SciAm Blogs has an excellent series on this topic:
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