4M Kidz Labs Crystal Science

This kit was a great buy. The kit consists of lump of soft sandy plaster with some stones set in it, a tool for chipping away the plaster, a paintbrush, a magnifying glass, a pouch to put them in, a guide to the stones and a card to display the crystals on.On first impression the lump of plaster didn’t look that impressive, it was only about 3 by 2 by 4 inches long. But has taken ages to extract the stones with just the plastic tool supplied. Our five and three year olds have spent 20 minutes at a time, chipping away at it, which has been enough to extract a few stones each time. They then go and wash them and put it in the pouch to hide to stop anyone stealing themWe’ve already spent over an hour with this, and extracted 10 stones. The stones vary in size but averaged half inch cubes. The display card is supplied with some plastic covers which are a decent way to make a long term storage for the stones.You just have to cope with the mess and dust from the Sandy plaster type material, we found a large lid from a storage box helped contain the debris. The kids loved it. It's a great buy and definitely recommended.

We were unable to dissolve the solution. Also, it says on its packaging that the solution is dangerous for skin and eyes, after contacting with the chemicals need to wash hands for a long time with soap.

Good stones, good mix thereof, and the plaster wipes off solid objects easily. Not a fan of the card with plastic specimen inserts. Maybe sub the plastic implements with a little tap hammer/table knife (we did) and painting knife or scraper if you have some cheap ones about (ditto). Spread an oilcloth/coated tablecloth on the floor, make available a pair of goggles, a tea towel and a bowl of water......

You would never imagine the amount of joy that this simple block of plaster with a few crystals buried inside it has given to my 7 year old prince charming. Every time he discovered a new 'gem' in the block he screamed with joy and excitement and I couldn't resist not loving every moment of it. If your child shows any interest in gems or mining then this is most certainly the gift for him/her. Of all teh presents he received for his birthday and Xmas this one was by far the most enjoyed and celebrated. Seriously considering buying another one...My only gripe is that the little gem satchel that is provided with the pack is a wee bit tight for the 8 gems that need to fit into it. Come on fellas, you are making a serious profit on this product and 3p more spend on making that gem bag a little bigger will not affect the bottom line will it now?However, for the person who came i up with this idea I give you an unrestricted 10/10. Although the concept seems simple and perhaps even boring, it is thrilling for the little ones who think they are digging out real valuable gems. My little man now wants to be an archaeologist!!!

I gave this to my 8 year old son for Christmas and he had great fun with it on Boxing Day. He mined 13 crystals out of the plaster block and hacked and bashed away at it with great determination and glee. He completed it in a couple of hours so it is not a toy with longevity but he has carefully kept his 13 crystals, 6 of which were amethysts, as a prized collection. It came with a booklet showing the crystals and their names and there was value in identifying the crystals as they emerged from their plaster rock. Make sure to do the work in an easily cleanable area as the disintegrating plaster is a bit messy, but that was another bonus as far as my 8 year old was concerned. This is a great one-off toy and I felt it was worth the money for what it was and the enjoyment it gave.

I chose this for my son's 6th birthday, based on reviews, and was not disappointed.At first, my son complained because the block of plaster is very hard and takes a lot of hammering, with patience and persistance. This is one of the reasons I chose it for him, because I thought it would do him good to have something that might teach him to persevere. It needed my help to begin with.However, once he found a bit of his first crystal, he was hooked. He still needed a bit of help, but eventually, he was stuck in, hammering and chiselling for hours and whooping with joy every time he found a new crystal, or got one out. He was delighted with his little bag to put them in and couldn't wait to show his finds to friends and nanna. He has even asked me if he can have another one for Christmas so he can collect more crystals.I am very impressed with the quality of this toy. The crystals look very nice and all the tools provided are great and can be used again for something else. There is a lot of dust made, so watch out. We set it up on a tray, on a table in the garden on a nice day, and the tray had to be emptied out frequently.

Excellent set. This kept everyone chiselling away for hours. Only thing missing was the hammer and chisel! The plastic saw hammer just wasn’t up to the job. Everything else was good- nice collection of rustic gemstones.

Nice Cristal