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Explore a variety of topics – crystals and rocks, tornadoes and even volcanoes with the National Geographic’s Earth Science Kit.
Among the items included is a collection of rocks to jump start a collection, including one encased in a “gold” brick that must be chipped through to reveal. But it was the “grow a crystal” and “erupt a volcano” experiments that piqued my son’s interest the most.
Unlike many other all-included science kits, you’ll need to set aside a few days to complete these activities. The crystal growing activity is simple – pour the crystal-growing powder packet mixed with water into the crystal growing chamber along with the seed rock and find a warm place to let it sit undisturbed for at least 48 hours. We let it sit for almost a week for this creation. We checked on it daily to monitor the progress.
For the volcano, we mixed up the plaster of paris from the kit and poured it into the provided volcano mold. It was a bit messier than expected. We ended up using a few extra clips in addition to the rubber band provided to keep the mold tightly together. Then, as the directions suggested, we placed it in a warm oven to set. Then we painted the mold. We let it sit for a day to dry before taking it outside for the grand explosion.
The National Geographic Mega Science Series Earth Science Kit includes the supplies for more than 15 experiments and an age-appropriate learning guide introducing the science behind them. It is available at Amazon.com for only $30.