STEM Toy Mineral Science Kit Geology Rock Specimen for Young Geologists

I got this kit when I was 12, now 72 I have a great grandson who is into rocks. I got it for him. I started doing lapidary when I was 16 and started selling jewelry I made when I was 20. Every relative I have has something I made. Right down to my grandchildren. It started with learning about the hardness of rocks, the steak test, and the magnetic test, in this kit and a basic rocks and mineral book. I highly recommend this book for any kid interested in rocks at any age 5-105 and please don't limit it to boys I was not a tom boy but I loved rocks and still do. I was involved in a Christmas give away to children they had science projects like building a robot out of an a can or a weather station out of a 2 litter bottle she said "oh that's for the boys not the girls. We give beads to the girls and dolls". When I took over the girls got science projects and some of the boys asked for beads.

I bought this kit and another one from a different company for our homeschool geology unit, and this one is by far the better kit. It has 15 different rocks, 5 each of the three types (igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic). Each rock is in its own compartment in the case and is very clearly labeled as to which type it is. There is a number tag on the rock, and there is a sheet that comes with it that identifies each rock by number. Each rock is a decent sized sample (roughly 1" diameter for each) and shows the unique characteristics so you can get a good idea of how to identify it.I am very happy with this purchase and would highly suggest it for homeschool or anyone interested in learning more about rocks and geology.The case is plastic and would probably be very flimsy, but it fits perfectly in the box which is a rather sturdy cardboard, so as long as you leave the case in its the box for storage or display, it shouldn't be a problem.

I homeschool and coming up with science experiments/labs isn't always easy. My 5th and 7th graders are currently studying rocks and minerals, so I thought ordering a mineral science kit would give them ahands-on lesson. I paid less than $10 for the kit and it came with a nail, strike plate, and 15 minerals. The kit also contained a magnifying glass, which as you can see from the photo, is tiny and pretty much useless. There's nothing clear in the magnifying glass - it's just a plastic, blurry lens.The minerals are labeled and can be found with descriptions in the included pamphlet. The booklet that came with the kit is pretty useful as it discusses topics such as luster, mineral hardness, among other things one could benefit in knowing about minerals.I wouldn't say $10 is a bargain, but at the same time, it provided us with a hands-on learning experience. Just make sure you have or buy a magnifying glass so your child/children can examine the rocks up close.

I bought a couple of these kits for my Science Club students to use in their mineralogy study. The mineral specimens were approximately 1 inch in length, and were in good condition upon arrival. They are packed in open cells and jostle around a bit in transit, but they have numbered stickers on them to identify each mineral, so you can figure out which one is which and reposition them. The stickers do not tend to stick very well, and I replaced a couple of them. I like the fact that these minerals are in their natural state and not polished or cut. Instructions come with the kit, and there is a chart which identifies the hardness and streak color of each mineral. The kit also contains a scratch plate, nail, and plastic magnifying glass. I added other items from a Rock Mineral Test Kit (also available on Amazon at a reasonable price), and had a wonderful little mineral identification/test project for my students.

Great value, super fun, easy to use, and clean with great information.

I got these for my students thinking the samples would be a good size, but unfortunately they were very small. We were able to complete the tests on the different minerals, so it still worked out. I would probably look for one with bigger samples, as the students were a bit disappointed with how small they were.

bought these for a rocks class I taught. Some of the rocks are smaller than what is in the picture on the front, but i don't think it detracts from the total package at all. The kids loved them!! This is a great resource to have and I would definitely buy this again. One note though: Don't expect the magnifying class it comes with to actually do anything. It's really worthless as a magnifying glass. This didn't bother me as I brought my own to class anyway.It does however, have a nice little ceramic plate to test streak color on, along with a steel nail.Additionally, I made my own little Moh's hardness testing kit to accompany this box that easily fit inside it. I went to the dollar store and purchased some glass decorative marbles (one side is flat) and a small bag of magnets. All in all, inside the plastic bag that comes with this kit, I was able to put it's own ceramic plate, the nail and added a penny, a marble, and a paper clip (just to have one more magnetic item for fun.) It all fit inside the bag in this box and was a great success. Fabulous resource!

Great rock specimens for our homeschool rock unit.