Reviews

I noted the same problems with directions and measuring as the first reviewer and feel it is necessary to also point out that the goggles included are not safety goggles. The goggles had a tiny sticker that said they were only a toy and did not provide protection. Frankly, I expected better from something with the Smithsonian name on it.

I bought this kit to do with my 9 year old son. It worked great! We successfully grew three crystals just as the set says it does. The set comes with a poster that has a picture of a crystal and information about crystals that my son has hanging on his wall. We liked it so much that I am going to by the larger Electronic Growing Kit also by Smithsonian.

Here are some of the problems we encountered: 1) We went through our list of materials to make sure we had everything we needed and saw that we had an extra piece of plastic wire that didn't belong with our experiment. 2) The experiment consisted of three parts (yellow, green, and blue) and yet there were only two mixing sticks included - which promotes cross-contamination! 3) Since Science Experiments are supposed to teach children about exact measurements and being precise, I was disappointed to see the directions(step 2) simply say to use 2/3 of a bag of Golden Citrine. This is very hard to calculate, especially in a non-clear bag! 4) Step 4 specifically tells the child to measure 68 Milliliters of water. However, the measuring cup provided only gives ounces and CCs. Neither of these measurements were needed for the experiment. Are we to assume that milliliters are the same as CCs?? Not exactly scientific nor accurate. 5) Step 5 tells you to pour the boiling water into the size "C" plastic cup. When I did this, the water simply melted the cup and leaked boiling water all over my table and floor. My son could have been seriously injured with this part of the experiment. Using hot water should involve at the very least - heat rated plastic!! Safety should be a number one priority. In addition, it dyed my table blue and took off the wood finish!! 6) Step 7, we were told to put 2 of the Base Rock fragments into the plastic cup for the first experiment. Since there are only 3 rocks in the whole package, that means that you cannot repeat this step for the last two colors of crystals as there are no more rocks!! In conclusion, I would NEVER by this toy again and probably nothing else made by this company! I can't believe the Smithsonian would want their name associated with this product!

Reviews

Lab in a bag - blast of color was a good experience for my Grand-daughters ages 5 and 7. We did the many experiments and enjoyed seeing the changes in colors and the growth of little beads. We even made a form of snow! They loved it however an adult does need to be right there with children to do the experiments properly. The directions should be read ahead of time to make the process go faster as they are lengthy. The end result; it was a great memory maker for spending time together. All products are safe for the kids but there are some cautions on pouring some liquids down the drain as they could cause some problems so do read the directions.

This matching game is very durable, with thick pieces with beautiful pictures. Definitely a toy worth the money. Lots of fun.