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Erupting volcanoes are exciting for any young child! That’s why this Volcano Making Kit by Toysmith will be a big hit as long as you build it right.

This kit is amazing value at just over 8 dollars at the time of writing, so you have to wonder why people complain that the finished volcano is only about six inches tall! Fortunately the smaller size actually makes it easier to deal with and a lot easier to make (imagine pouring in plaster for a much bigger one!). You have to build the volcano from scratch which is a nice touch, it really gets you all involved in the process, but bear in mind that means there will be a delay of a day while you wait for the plaster to dry.

Also please make sure you understand the instructions properly before you start mixing and pouring in that plaster, you need an eruption chamber inside the volcano! I think the instructions need to be amended as they mention that after pouring the plaster in, which would not work. You leave the chamber in to hold the mixture that will erupt, that makes the volcano reusable then.

Once it has set overnight then you remove the mold and start painting! Then you put the materials into the eruption chamber (you will need to make sure you have your own vinegar to add) and watch it erupt! You will probably want to use food coloring rather than paint to colour the ‘lava’ as it makes less of mess and allows you to reuse the volcano. Some people have complained about having a small eruption, well then just use more baking soda and vinegar and you’ll get a bigger one!

All in all for less than 9 bucks this will give hours of fun, and if you wash the volcano out afterwards you can reuse it again and again (if you plan on doing that you might want to varnish the outside to protect the paint from washing off).

>> See the full product details here

Here is what some of the other people who have bought this are saying:

"We bought this for my son and he really enjoyed molding the volcano. He also enjoyed painting and watching the volcano erupt."

"The Kids Lab Volcano kit is awesome, because the vinegar and baking soda made it kinda explode with fizzy bubbles. Use food coloring and baking sprinkles during the eruption. It was very easy to put together. It was safe and fun."

"This kit will make you a nice little volcano. Watch out, though, as the stuff sets up very quickly and if you snooze, you will ruin your volcano! I got this for my 8yr old son and he enjoyed painting it very much and making it erupt."

>> See the full reviews here

This concludes our Toysmith Volcano Making Kit review, hopefully you have found it useful, but if you are still struggling to decide what to choose then head on over to Amazon.com and browse through their full range of toys.

Geodes are sedimentary or volcanic rocks that either have a core made of solid crystal, or have a cavity inside them that is lined with crystals. You can buy kits which include whole geodes that you then break open, however the main problem with them is getting ‘duds’ which means normal rocks without any crystals inside.

Fortunately the ‘Break Your Own Geodes’ kit on this page is from the Gem Center USA and the reviews for it all say that although it does cost slightly more than other geode kits, then the quality is superb and you get great geodes with no duds. Please bear in mind you might need to supervise your child as they break these open, and preferably wear some safety equipment like goggles to avoid any stone chips that fly off, or most people recommend wrapping the geode in a sock first before splitting it to stop bits flying off.

The end result is well worth it though, you get 12 geodes in this kit and not only will your child have great fun trying to crack them open, but at the end of it you get lots of geodes pieces for them to show off to everyone they come into contact with! Plus they make great ornaments once you have filed off any sharp points on them.

There are cheaper kits, but opening a ‘dud’ geode is not fun, so to me this is the best geode kit you can buy.

>> See the full product details here

Here is what some of the other people who have bought this are saying:

"The package of 12 geodes came with instructions, again, see the picture I uploaded. We used a sock and a hammer, carefully following instructions. Both parents and child had fun with the process and were very pleased to see how pretty these geodes are inside! There were no duds."

"I got this as a Christmas gift for my 13 year old son. He loved it along with my 12 year old son my 7 year old son and my 14 year old nephew. They immediately took these geodes, a sock and hammer to the garage and cracked them open. It took 2-3 tries to get it to crack open and he was so excited and proud of himself when it cracked into two perfect halves."

"These geodes were fantastic. All but one were full of crystals, and even that one was interesting. My nephew had a blast breaking them, the whole family had fun watching him and looking at the pieces."

>> See the full reviews here

This concludes our ‘Break Your Own Geodes Kit’ review, hopefully you can see it is worth paying a bit more to get a decent geode kit, if you want to look through the others that are available though then head on over to Amazon.com and browse through their full range.

Crystals are beautiful once they have finished growing, and fascinating to watch as they do grow, which is why this Ultimate Crystal Growing Science Kit by Scientific Explorer is great fun for older kids who have a little bit of patience to actually allow the crystals to grow (I wouldn’t recommend it for children younger than about 8 years old).

You get a huge variety of experiments for a kit that costs just over 20 bucks, 15 in total, and yes to get your young scientist interested then there is are some experiments that gives fast results. Do them first to get your child interested in the kit, and then finish off with the experiments that are going to take hours of days to develop and by then they’ll be happy to watch the crystals grow and not get impatient and end up ruining it.

In the process your child will learn all about crystals, so this is educational as well as being good fun. Remember there are chemicals involved though so for safety, and to prevent a huge mess, then you should be giving supervision and help while they do the experiments.

The reviews for it are excellent, with the kit even being bought for adults! However a few people had problems not being able to grow the crystals, it is hard to know if that was caused by a problem with the kit or just the person not following the instructions right though. All in all a good buy.

>> See the full product details here

Here is what some of the other people who have bought this are saying:

"Although some of the experiments take time to see the results, it’s been fun doing them with my son. He is 11 years old and VERY MUCH into science this year. One of his interests is crystals. Fortunately, this kit comes with a few VERY FAST immediate result experiments that were fun to do. Some take up to three days, but they are worth the wait."

"I bought this kit for my rock crazy wife, and she’s having a blast making crystals! She’s 64 years old."

"I actually purchased 2 of these kits. I bought one for a gift for Christmas for one of my sons and one for myself and my youngest son to see what it would be like. IT WAS AND IS A BLAST. It grows really beautiful crystals."

>> See the full reviews here

This concludes our Ultimate Crystal Growing Science Kit review, hopefully you can now decide if this is the right kit for you, if you still aren’t sure though then head over to Amazon.com and look through the other scientific kits they have on offer.

What young child doesn’t like the idea of magic?! Being able to conjure up things with your magic wand and turn people into frogs! That is the clever idea behind this science kit, instead of you just doing normal ‘science experiments’, then instead you have a magic wand and make magic potions!

This is the Magic Science Wizard’s Kit by Scientific Explorer who make a wide range of fun and interactive kits for young children. Each experiment is simple and easy to do, although you would be advised to give adult supervision in case they need help, and to stop them making a huge mess! But the experiments are made to be fun and to give a little bit of ‘magic’ so they change color or bubble up like a true wizard’s potion!

It is aimed at 7 – 11 year olds, but I have heard of children as young as 5 enjoying the experiments, of course they will need a little help, and although it says it is for a ‘wizard’ then young girls like this just as much! That is probably because Harry Potter made the idea of magic cool, but whatever the reason is then this is a well loved kit which can give your child hours of fun.

It has great reviews on Amazon.com, receiving mostly 4 and 5 stars, but some people complain that the magic wand is fiddly to make, although it has to fit together tightly so the blue liquid inside it doesn’t leak, which would make a huge mess! So don’t give up on that, an adult will need to make it up for them and you might need to fight with it a bit to get it together, but once that is done you don’t need to take it apart again.

>> See the full product details here

Here is what some of the other people who have bought this are saying:

"My 7 year old received this as a Christmas gift, and it has been his favorite toy. The whole family gets involved with the magic experiments. The wand is difficult to make, but not impossible."

"My 11 year old has absolutely enjoyed this kit. The wand fit together fine…it’s snug, but you don’t want the liquid to leak do you? My daughter liked the jiggly jewels that formed in the wand as well, so it has been opened and closed many times…still no complaints. The instructions were simple and my daughter could do most of this without help."

"This Magic Science Kit is FABULOUS!! My daughter just received this for her 5th birthday and truly feels like a Wizard!! She had help with Daddy (certainly needed at this age and way more fun!!) and LOVED every spell, potion, etc.! The test tubes are super and very sturdy…the holder is perfect as well. This kit can be used again and again (even with other ingredients if need be)…highly recommend, the pictures and moments are truly priceless."

>> See the full reviews here

This concludes our review of the Magic Science Wizard’s Kit by Scientific Explorer, hopefully you have found it useful, but if you are still struggling to decide what to choose then head on over to Amazon.com and browse through their full range of science and/or magic kits.