POULSBO — The Curious Child is quite a diverse shop.

At one end of the the store on Poulsbo’s Front Street are displays of board games and card games. Then there’s prized collectables of Star Wars action figures, classic Star Trek models, cups, and more. At the other side are educational supplies, school books and materials for students with special needs. And there might be a few comic books to pique some interest as well.

“We are an educational toys, games, collectibles, comics shop, and are an all-around fun place to be,” said Sandie Dickson, owner of The Curious Child that recently opened its doors on Poulsbo’s Front Street.

The Curious Child is a family-run operation. Dickson’s sons are commonly at the counter. Even Pepper, the family black lab, puts time in at the shop.

Despite being new to Poulsbo, the store isn’t new to the local merchant scene. The store was previously located on Bainbridge Island before making the move to Poulsbo three weeks ago. When a Front Street location opened up, Dickson jumped at the opportunity.

“We had a big customer base from here and Indianola and Kingston,” Dickson said. “There were a lot of customers that came over there to us (on the island).”

Dickson was running her educational and collectibles store before opening up on the island, as well.

She ran a store called the Creative Kid for 15 years in Alaska. When she moved to Washington, the name changed to the Curious Child — “Creative Kids” was already taken locally.

Dickson has 30 years of experience in the homeschool field and The Curious Child is an extension of that experience with educational supplies, curriculums, and workbooks. She also does consultations for parents needing homeschool help, or for children with special needs.

“We have things for kids that have tactile, sensory issues,” she said. “Kids that have different levels of autism. We have different kinds of sensory balls and things like that to help parents.”

Even with the educational component at the store, it is hard to miss, and not be dazzled, by the range of collectables on display. Dickson will buy collectables to sell at her store. While she once purchased used items or sold on consignment, she no longer does. It’s strictly collectables now at The Curious Child.

“I had collected comics for a while, so some of these here are vintage,” Dickson said. “We were approached by someone with a large collection of Star Wars and Star Trek stuff. We jumped on that and said ‘absolutely!’”

Customers can also find an array of supplies for games such as Dungeons and Dragons, or Magic: The Gathering. Dickson keeps a few boxes with tempting comics for sale, too.

So far Dickson has been pleased with the Poulsbo foot traffic and the reception of the Curious Child.

“We love it here,” she said. “Everybody has been super friendly and welcoming.”