Yes, but, we can do 3D printing of ... ah-uhm ... anything, now. Who needs vac.u.form? )))

In exchange for the molten plastic of yesteryear, we've got Pixos and Fusebeads. Horrible, horrible things....

Hm, not heard of those Irri, but then my cat doesn't do toys.  Those fuse things look a lot like the things we used to bake in the oven--now called Shrinky Dinks?  Did kids get dumber in the last 4o years or is it because parents don't communicate with kids these days--I had dangerous toys by todays standards, and never hurt myself with them--now anything remotely dangerous is illegal.  My worst injury as a kid was having the front wheel come off my bike going down a steep hill, and going over the handlebars on my face and hands, picked up lots of gravel in my hands from that, but a session with tweezers and mercurochrome and iodine fixed that.

I think a lot of the more exciting activities have moved from "toy" to "craft" categories. My impression is that kids are as dumb as they ever were but we're less tolerant of medical bills...

Swings and slides, monkey bars and such. Instead we have indoor inflatable play grounds. Those any safer?

Other things that were in our play room that aren't readily available today: chemistry sets and microscopes (the glass slides aren't safe), the pans for my toy kitchen were oven safe (I did make pies in the real oven), metal child sized construction vehicles that could actually haul some weight or push dirt around.

I think you may just be looking at the wrong stores. ToysRUs doesn't have a lot of that stuff, but microscopes and chemistry sets are still readily available. Check Barnes & Noble, or one of the catalog stores like Constructive Playthings. 

http://www.constructiveplaythings.com/category

Edit: oh and there's also Hearthsong, which is terribly froufrou to my eye but they do have this carpentry tool I'm thinking of getting for the Glint this year. The Dove's already in wood shop so I think he won't care for it.

http://www.hearthsong.com/hobbies/cool-4-in-1-woodshop-tool.htm

I didn't have a microscope, but used one in school...but I loved my chemistry set--so many fun things to do!  I grew some crystals and made a 'volcano' erupt...and lots of smells!

Wood shop was a let down to me--I didn't get any real interest until about 30 when I bought my current house--a 1908 foursquare with almost entirely original interiors.  Then, I built my own kitchen cabinets using the original doors I found in the garage!

I had an older brother so, from about 10,  I got to play with his toys

1. a box of matches, a bottle of methylated spirits and a pressurised steam boiler (hey it had a safety valve to stop it exploding - as long as I remembered to grease it up now and again )

2. a chemistry set with explosive chemicals

3. pellets of solid rocket fuel jammed into a tiny Jettex motor - lit with those handy matches again - attached to miniature missiles aimed next door...

For a while I was into model rockets--went with my sci-fi addiction--actual rocket kits from a company called Estes with real eengines you got to work via electric ignition from a battery.  With luck, you could find them once they came down and re-use them!