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It probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that one of the most popular items on the shelves of American Science and Surplus is called the “cat butt tissue dispenser.”

The store, a staple on Chicago’s Northwest Side for decades, is known for its fun and eclectic merchandise that goes beyond science experiment kits, microscopes and glass beakers.

Now, American Science and Surplus is bringing its mix of the educational and unusual to Park Ridge.

The store opened Feb. 1 at 27 N. Northwest Highway after relocating from its previous home at 5316 N. Milwaukee Ave. in Chicago’s Gladstone Park neighborhood.

“We’ve seen a phenomenal welcome from the neighborhood,” said Paul Chapman, who has worked for the company for 25 years — and grew up shopping in the store. “From day one, people coming in have been excited for us to move here.”

The new store has brighter lighting than the previous location, noted Assistant Manager Jasyn Griffin, and, with merchandise now in new places, even regular customers are discovering things they may have not noticed in the old store, Chapman said.

Griffin describes American Science and Surplus as “a store of discovery” for people of all ages.

“It’s a very diverse customer base,” Griffin noted. “We have the older crowd that comes in for our surplus and our science, and we have a lot of kids who come in for the rocks, the kits, the gum ball machine makers, the cat butts.”

Jeff Urban, an Evanston resident with a background in physics and chemistry, estimates he has been shopping at American Science and Surplus for the last 25 to 30 years.

“I always find something here that I want to buy,” he said, acknowledging his status as a “regular” among the store’s customers. On Feb. 24, he had filled his hand-held shopping basket with reading glasses, plastic containers and a battery tester, among other items.

“I like the lighting and the spacing and the parking,” he said of the Park Ridge store. “(The parking) was always a question at the last (location).”

Customers, say Chapman and Griffin, are dedicated to the store. Even those who move hundreds of miles away make it a point to stop in when they are back in town.

“A couple of guys from Ohio actually came in last night,” Griffin noted. “They order from the catalog all the time and somehow they got word that we moved. They said, ‘We made the six-hour trip just to come see you.’ It was pretty cool.”

“We’ve never been a big commercial store — it’s still family owned and we really try to convey that and try be friendly and helpful to folks,” Chapman added.

That effort has paid off in the customers who come back week after week or make long-distance trips, he said.

“It’s that kind of place where you talk about it to your kids and bring them when you’re old enough, or your parents talked about with you when they first brought you,” Chapman said.

There is also an assortment of “classic toys” to peruse, like whoopee cushions, kazoos, AirZookas and plastic mice.

The store is looking forward to hosting public events, like science nights, complete with demonstrations and displays, that were put on hold due to the pandemic, Chapman said.

American Science and Surplus has been in business since 1937, according to the company’s website. The company’s warehouse is located in Niles and two additional retail stores operate in Geneva and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Items can also be purchased through a print catalog, which is available at the store, or online at www.sciplus.com.