ALEX Toys Scientific Explorer My First Mind Blowing Science Experiment Kit, 11 Mind Blowing Science Activities and Experiments (Ages 6+)

I got this kit for my 5-year-old daughter who loves doing little experiments and I decided to try this kit out. It comes with a set of items that facilitate a range of relatively easy and fun experiments. The kit contains: red cabbage juice powder, citric acid, baking soda, color tablets, cross-linked polyacrylamide crystals, vegetable oil, corn starch, 2 sheets of goldenrod paper, 2 cotton swabs, 3 test tubes and caps, 3 clear plastic cups, 1 pipette (in the form of an eye dropper), 2 stir sticks, 1 small plastic scoop, and 1 medium plastic scoop. The experiments also call for some basic and easy-to-find household items such as water, baking flour, plate/tray, tape, red and blue pens, grape juice, coffee filter paper, etc.An older child may be able to conduct these experiments by him/herself though I feel adult supervision is necessary (it is also recommended by the manufacturer). I had to help my daughter with some parts of the experiments, especially those involving the use of citric acid. The experiments included here are:Dancing PowdersColor changing liquidsAcid or Base? - involves testing some safe household liquids to determine if they are acids or bases.Colorful Jiggle Crystals - we had so much fun with these! It does require patience as it takes up to 2 hours for the crystals to absorb the water and form into soft crystals.Test tube sunsetGiant Jiggly CrystalsColor Changing Volcano - this was awesome! We started on a modest scale making a small volcano, then I adapted the recipe and made a bigger one with bigger fizzy effects, to my preschooler's delight!Underwater VolcanoColor Changing PaperColor Changing GrapesMagic OozeMix Colors with your eyes - mixing colors without them touching each other.Each experiment comes with detailed step by step instructions, and also a segment titled "Mind Blowing Science Secrets" which I found quite educational.Final verdict - this is an excellent beginner science kit that will motivate young children and enhance their interest in science. The experiments are easy to produce and great fun - definitely worth the money!

Are the majority of these experiments something you could do yourself with some citric acid and baking soda? Absolutely. In fact, my daughter used some of my household supply to extend an experiment she had done in the kit.Sure, you can make your own red cabbage extract... but if you are like me, you won't. Because you did for a homeschool experiment 10 years ago with your oldest child, and you still remember what a horrible mess it was.Some of the experiments are repetitive, but that's a good thing for early childhood.And cornstarch and water? Everyone knows that one. (if you don't, google it. Too much fun to miss).But the point is, I had not done any of these experiments with my daughter until we got this box. This has everything in one box, with all the equipment-- including a stand for the test tubes, which another review didn't have for some reason. (And get a little bag superabsorbent polymers, too. Those little buggers are fun but somehow end up everywhere). It's fun, it's easy, there are some experiments that require patience, which is really good for this age group. We are most of the way through the kit, doing maybe three experiments a week, and now I am shopping for more kits. Because even though I have the equipment, the books, and the education to diy the whole thing... the kit is easy, fun, and we actually DO it.

When you open this kit, it has a bag full of materials and a black and white instruction manual. The bags are all white and labeled in a way that requires an adult to make sure kids are using the right bag. MOST ingredients are included, but common ingredients like flour are not (although baking soda is included...funny).The test tubes/beakers were great quality and very attractive to the kids. The first experiments used the little plastic cups, but we quickly realized it was way more fun in the beakers.The measuring spoons are TINY. Like...impracticality tiny and hard to use out of the bag with a kid and took a little coaching.Overall, this is open and go science. It has the materials and describes the process and what you are learning. The guide though would be SO MUCH BETTER if they made it kid friendly (colorful and more streamlined). If you want some fun experiments to do with your child, this is a good purchase. Generally, I can set my kids up with it and they can expermient.Although making the volcanoes was a joke...they want you to make one out of baking soda and flour and dried cabbage juice and water. You can probably imagine how unattractive those volcanoes were. 😂 Using model magic won't get the same reaction they explain in the manual but will be much more fun to play with. Just put the baking soda inside and then use the citric acid water to react.

This was a GREAT, fun, and exciting kit for my 6yo! She had a lot of fun with it, and we gave it to another friend as a birthday present.This was the first kit we bought. Be warned though, the second kit we bought was the Magic Wizard Science kit and it has basically all the same experiments. The main difference I find, this one gives more scientific information behind the experiments and the Wizard kits talks more about "magic". There are minor tweaks like adding a little water to the polyacrylamide in a test tube in this kit, then adding more, then adding more, etc, where in the wizard kit you place a couple of color tablets in water and a teaspoon of polyacrylamide to make the magic wand that doesn't really sparkle and impress. There is a volcano experiment, and though my 6yo LOVED it, it's a far cry from the paper mache erupting volcano I made as a kid as this one is a 2 inch tall cone that basically disintegrates.LOGICALLY, this was our first POOF-Slinky science kit (My First Mind Blowing Science). My 6yo LOVED it. Our second was the Wizard kit which I gave 1 star because the experiments were basically the same, we were both bummed and marketing wise one would think to buy this first and if you like it, but the other kits which will be different and more exciting...That second kit was not. This kit though is not only a great first kit for a 6yo, but also makes a great birthday present.

Scientific Explorer My First Mind Blowing Science Kids Science Experiment Kit is a great addition for homeschooling or those of us on distance learning right now.Adult supervision is required. But instructions are extremely detailed even if you do not have a working knowledge of science or chemical reactions. I graduated high school 20 years ago and personally I enjoyed brushing up my knowledge with this kit as much as my son enjoyed doing it with me. We did an experiment a day for almost 2 months with this kit. And the cups, and equipment are reusable so when you run out of citric acid or cornstarch from within the kit, you can re-up by just grabbing what you are out of and continue on experimenting.Little tip, purple cabbage powder will stain you may want to get a smock just in case. With some of the bubbling reactions you will have spill over, as you can see we used a plate to catch it. But I did get it on my shirt when I went to clean up after we were done.Highly recommended, comes in a nice box that can easily be wrapped if you are gifting. A good option as a stem or learning tool as well as a fun gift too.