CLAY TWP - It looks like the aliens have landed along Route 8, and they've brought family fun with them.

Todd and Nadine Shingleton have spent more than a year building their toy store, Playthings Etc., in the shape of a large spacecraft along Muddy Creek flats.

The structure, covered in reflective metal, houses gizmos and gadgets for children of all ages. Some of the merchandise, such as kaleidoscopes made in Zelienople, is manufactured in Western Pennsylvania.

Among the store's offerings are traditional wooden toys, kites, and an array of model vehicles and trains for children and collectors alike.

"A lot of the toys in here are action toys, not sit-in-front-of-the-TV toys," said Nadine Shingleton.

Many of the toys have test models that customers can try out before buying. Radio controlled cars and boats and air rockets can be tested at a track and pond.

Todd Shingleton said the test areas give parents and children the opportunity to enjoy toys together, one of the goals for the store.

"Sometimes the bottom line isn't the bottom line," he said. "So many people are just enduring life as opposed to enjoying life. What we try to offer is enjoyment."

The extra-terrestrial setting outside continues inside the store, where children can play with a spaceship control board mock-up while gazing at a screen of stars. The checkout counter looks like a comet.

The theme and building design was Todd's idea: "This thing went through kind of a metamorphosis. It was an evolution of thoughts."

The store's grand opening will be Saturday.