Educational Insights Fossil Collection, Ages 8 and up, (9 Pieces with Storage Tray)

I bought this kit and the American Educational General Fossil Collection, which I also like, as supplemental material for an introductory course on historical geology. This box has some very detailed but small specimens. One of my favorite things about it is that the specimens come unlabeled, but there are stickers in the box that you can affix yourself. Since I'm an adult and can be trusted not to lose the pieces, I'm leaving the labels off - you can see more of the specimen that way, plus there's a photo-identification guide glued into the box lid.The actual fossils included are a good representation of what's in the fossil record, especially for small things you can put in a box for a relatively low cost. It's got three different kinds of shells, a coral, a shark's tooth, a couple of stems, petrified wood, and a fern frond in slate. I expected this kit to have a lot of overlap with the American Educational one, which has 15 fossils, but I was pleasantly surprised that there were only a few that overlapped: petrified wood, the shark's tooth, a bivalve, and the crinoid stem.The non-fossil parts are good too - a sturdy storage box, full color identification sheet, and nice little guide to fossils generally, with short descriptions of what's in the box. If you, or a school age kid in your life, are interested in fossils, this kit is a fun and educational place to start.

Well ... I really should have seen it coming with the price. Just be aware the fossils are very small ... like about an inch. Will have to see if the kids still enjoy them. At first I thought the shark tooth was missing. Then I realized the little bits and pieces of what looked like dirt in the box were a very small and very broken old tooth.

Ordered this package to have some extra specimens for a fossil station activity in class. What was shown in the picture as nice large items were small, hard to distinguish, and in some cases, different than the picture. Would not order this.

Good collection

Of the 5 sets, this was the weakest-by far. The pieces were so tiny the fossils couldn't be readily identified. I would advise looking at other options.

... at least, that's what the eight-year-old me would have said.My little brother is in elementary school, and he's currently experiencing the same "rock collection" phase I went through at his age. Since it's a more productive and educational interest than cartoons or robots that turn into cars (or cartoons about robots that turn into cars), it's an interest I'm trying to nurture.This is a small collection, but it makes a nice beginner's kit for fossil identification. The specimens are conveniently sized, well-defined (no odd bits or obscure fragments), and easy to identify using the chart included. Being so basic, this probably wouldn't make a good stand alone birthday or holiday gift, but might go nicely with, say, a DVD or book about the prehistoric world.Fossilization, extinction, and "millions and millions of years" are hard concepts for children to understand, and fossils hold a certain air of mystique for fascinated children. Books and documentaries are great ways for them to learn about the prehistoric world, but actually holding a fossil in their hands has an added impact. My brother loves his mini fossil collection, and I recommend this product as a gift for any child who shares similar interests with my younger brother and eight-year-old me.

Fun little kit for the beginner

This set is okay. About half of the samples are good quality, and the rest are pretty poor.I bought this to give to a friend's kid and want it to be something that fuels his interest in earth science. I decided to modify the kit.I went to a local rock shop and found replacement samples for some of the disappointing ones in the kit. After doing that, I almost think it might be better to build your own kit and select your own samples.The petrified wood, coral, and Gastropod samples were pretty amorphous and not really distinguishable as fossils, especially to a kid's eye.The kit does include an info sheet that gives details about the different fossils, which is nice.

Great product

arrived quickly and the kids love it

It was a gift for a grade 3 student. I was so excited I found the perfect gift for his birthday. He had become interested in fossils over the past year. The packaging was great, however two of the fossils have been found to be broken. The shark teeth and the ammonite. I had bought this mainly due to the content carrying ammonite, but to have this happened to it is disappointing.To have content in a quality befitting the price is understandable, but to have mistreated/damaged product is unacceptable..

I thought people were exaggerating. I am not that hard to please, but the quality of these is atrocious. One of the "fossils"supposedly a coral colony is basically a rock, nothing on it. One of them is supposed to show fern leaves and it is just a piece of shale. They are significantly smaller than the image show, with the ammonite (ugly and messed up) the size of my pinky finger. If I put the sticker on it, it will basically cover half of one side. The pink gastropod is a little pebble, no definition, and the shark tooth came broken. Save your money and buy the National Geographic Mega Fossil Kit, which is amazing and has 15 high quality fossils for a decent price, including a 1" beautifully preserved ammonite cut in half.

The specimens I received aren't anywhere as good as the ones in the product picture. I am not sending it back and I think it is still decent value but let's at least have the examples in the advertising somewhere close to the quality of samples sent.