National GeographicCrack Open 2 Geodes and Explore Crystals

Such an excellent kit! Educational AND fun! Explains to kids why volcanoes exist, the types we have and what happens if they go bang!All good but there are some tips to avoid problems and ultimately enjoy the experience more. This is based on my own experiences and that of others.Put tape around the plastic mould halves to prevent it from opening or leaking. Some plaster may still escape but only a little. The plaster to water ratio could do with being thicker so once filled, leave the mould in a warm area for 1-2 hours before taking apart - just to be on the safe side.Don't wait 1-2 days for the mould to dry - bake it in the oven at 200 deg C for at least an hour. This will avoid the soft and brittle end result that people have complained about. Once cooled, paint and make sure it's dry before moving to the eruption fun!To add to the spewing effect, put half a Tbsp of powder in, add some dish soap followed by the remaining half Tbsp of mixture. Then add the water very slowly, a bit at a time. The info says to use a "cup" of water. It's not clear if this is a cup 'measure' or just a cup. Half a cup 'measure' is enough before the spewing starts to slow to a stop.Enjoy!

What a brilliant little kit! We home educate and bought this for one of our science lessons. The children loved it, they were eager to learn about how geodes are formed and enjoyed guessing what colour crystal would be inside. The learning guide was really great, full of informative snippets in language easily read and understood by my 6 & 8 year olds. They really engaged in learning and thoroughly enjoyed breaking the geodes open! It’s not an activity children of this age can do alone (even daddy struggled to get into one of them!), but they still had a good go at bashing them!I’m going to order more of the National Geographic kits, I’m very impressed!

As stated in other reviews the volcano mould is terrible. If you make the plaster exactly to the recipe stated it just all pours out of the bottom. Either add less water or add a small amount of the mixture to allow it to run through the bottom and seal the plug. I was expecting it to be bad as the moulds in these types of sets are always just cheap bits of plastic with gaps that let the mixture out, but this one was the worst I've experienced. Some nice volcanic rocks were included in the set and it comes with paints and chemicals to do the eruptions. Another small thing that slightly irritated me was that the manual came with a glossy translation booklet printed in other languages, which is nice as non-English speakers can use the set too, but I just had to put this straight in my recycling bin - such a waste.

Excellent volcano kit -very clear and easy instructions, the kids loved painting it and the volcanic eruption worked! Great info/educational booklet about volcanoes -my son (6yo but a good reader) was inspired to read the whole booklet himself and loved the specimens of real volcanic rocks too. Great product and would be suitable for a wide range of ages as there's different aspects of it to enjoy and they can have more/less help depending on their age.

Bought for my son's birthday and he absolutely adored it!! We made the volcano and dried it out in the oven as kids are not the most patient. From mixing the plaster to the actual volcano, it was loads of fun. The fact that we get to do it twice is amazing as kits like this is usually only the once

My son was 6 when we got this he seemed to get bored of the painting etc just wanted an eruption maybe for older children only

I brought this set for my daughter’s 8th birthday as she loves science and in particular rocks. She asked for this set for her birthday, to compliment the fossil set she asked for. The two go nicely together, and the set looks educational, easy to use and a lot of messy fun.

Bought this as a stocking filler for my granddaughter (aged 4) as she is obsessed with volcanos and hot larva, she had great fun making and painting the volcano and then causing the eruption - in her words ‘thank you Santa, best present ever’, it can be a bit messy so be prepared and having read some other reviews I did put sellotape along the joins of the mould to minimise leakage. We’ve yet to try using bicarb and vinegar but well worth every penny

Het bijgevoegde boekje helpt om de mineralen te kunnen herkennen. Helaas zijn er 3 mineralen in het kistje waarvan de naam niet vermeld staat in het boekje. Als beginnend verzamelaar is het hierdoor zeer moeilijk om te weten welke dit zijn. Ik had toch meer verwacht vanNational Geographic.

Offert pour un anniversaire.

Spoko, w książeczce z opisem zabrakło tylko 1 kamienia

Tolles Set mit schönen Steinen. Das Kind hatte viel Beschäftigung und Freunde beim entdecken. Absolut empfehlenswert.

Tal como indica la descripción, recibimos dos unidades (piedras). Los cristales son pequeños pero son muy bonitos y los niños disfrutaron abriéndolas…eso sí, recomendamos ayudarles y paciencia para conseguir partirlas/abrirlas en dos mitades lo más grandes posible.