4M KidzLabs Crystal Mining

I purchased two of these kits for my local Boys and Girls Club (where I volunteer). I thought they would be an interesting way to get kids excited about science (and a lot of my kids show ZERO interest in school, so that was hoping for a lot out of them). I had NO idea how big of an ordeal these kits would become! A few kids took interest right away. And to be honest, they were the kids who liked science class in school. But soon after they dug out a rock or two- a dozen more kids showed up. And then a dozen more! Soon every kid was clawing their way into the rock, shouting "I found one!" and getting excited to look up what kind of rock they had gotten. It was an interactive experiment that got them involved and excited about science! I was so excited for them! These kits are made for only one child, but we had to share ours amongst many kids. This was okay- but at the end of the day only a few of the kids had rocks to take home. I have more listed on our Amazon wish list in the hopes we can do this again and end it with everyone having rocks. Each kit comes with a large block of what seems to be hard-packed sand. There are also a few tools to dig with, and a brush to 'ease' the rocks out of the block. There is a small leather pouch to safely keep your rocks in, and also an identification sheet which lists out all of the rocks with a picture and a short description. The blocks are relatively easy to chip away at. With one kid I'd say it'd take a good hour to find all of the rocks. With multiple kids it took us about ten minutes. But the ten minutes was well worth it! There were so many things we were able to discuss. We got to talk about excavating things- and how people also do this same exact thing with dinosaur fossils (which was awesome!). We got to discuss different kinds of rocks, and identifying them (also learning where they came from and how they were made). And most importantly, we got to get excited about science! Of course, the kids didn't realize it was 'Science' (the same thing they despise in school). And once I explained that it was- a few even noted that they actually enjoyed science now. And science was fun. I seriously cannot even begin to describe how awesome of a toy this is. I recommend it to EVERYONE! Granted it may not be as cool as a race car or as intrigueing as an xBox game. But it is really really engaging, and most of all- educational!

I must mention that we haven't tried very many of these digging sets before, but that being said, my kids loved it. They're 10, 6 and 4. And honestly if you throw in a few plastic butter knives, you don't have to worry about rationing out dig time. (Yes, they shared one block.) Anyways, the plaster was a good enough consistency that it wasn't extremely hard to get through and not so sandy that it crumbles in between your fingers. The rocks were a bit lumped in together, but (in my opinion) had enough plaster in-between. Also it's worth mentioning that the older the kid the faster they seem to go through it... Should seem obvious but I think sometimes people buy this thinking it's going to keep a 10 year old entertained for hours. It won't. The box says it comes with 8 crystals. I believe we ended up with 11. I've including pictures of just a few I could track down, kids hid the rest. We got a few amethyst, rose quartz and just a single dolomite and clear quartz. I was actually impressed by the size of most of these. Only about three of them were chip sized. The tools were decent enough, the hammer/scraper combo was alright I guess, the hammer isn't very heavy, it's plastic but I don't think you'd want it to be heavy because the rocks are real, quartz will break! They did the job just fine. All that being said, if the price point is less than $10, this is the best bang for your buck.

Worth it, as expected my son enjoyed digging out the stones. And he's played with them for years. Keeps them entertained for an hour or so originally but something they play with for years to come. Worth the purchase

I bought this for my almost 5 year old for Christmas. She was very excited about it. Since the weather is cold here we had to do this inside. I wish we could have done it outside because it was very messy. When I bought it I thought it would be a brick of coarse sand. It was actually more like plaster. When we dug in it there was a very fine dust created. I put the brick on an old baking sheet but the dust quickly covered the table and chair. Not the end of the world, but parents should be aware. My daughter liked digging in it but her arm got tired before we found the first crystal. We had to take numerous breaks. The kit contained a plastic paintbrush and a plastic combo hammer/knife. The hammer was pretty useless but the knife was handy. A metal butter knife is better. She was very excited when we found the crystals. The kit comes with little plastic things to put your crystals in. There is also a small bag made of felt to put your crystals in. The bag is small and cheaply made. The guide and instructions were very basic but the crystals were easy to identify. There were 8 crystals in the brick and they were around an inch in length each. Another note of warning for parents: the instructions warn the child should wear an apron or old clothes because the dust can stain. We used an apron but she was literally covered head to toe. The dust turns a greenish yellow colored when it gets wet. I'm hoping it doesn't really stain.

Just to start off this is my husbands account and I am the mother of 5 children and bought this for our 7 year old daughter and 9 year old son. My only regret was not buying one for our 4.5 year old son who watched on and was pretty upset he didn't have his own, but was able to get a few turns from his siblings. A few tips…. #1 I would definitely say this kit is best used outdoors. It makes a lot of dust or sand like particles. Its almost like a powder at times and can get messy. Don't wear your best. We found putting the plaster brick on a gallon size plasticware lid was perfect for occasionally dumping the dust off into the grass from our deck table where they worked. I don't think I would use this indoors, but it may work for you. #2 I would start with a gallon size container or another storage device to store the brick and the tools/card/sachet it comes with in case your child needs a break. It was very easy to set in the gallon plastic container and come back to it and keep away from younger siblings. You can even store for another day if needed. #3 This probably isn't for a child who gets frustrated easily or lacks patience or does not like tedious tasks. My children only used the tools it came with and my daughter excavated a good 30 minutes before even seeing a piece of a crystal. When she did it made it that much sweeter. She squealed with delight! She also found 3 crystals in the time it took her older brother to find 1. It really just depends where the crystals are placed and you are mining. #5 After the above tip it should be obvious this isn't a project to be started if you have to stop in say 15 minutes. Just to read the instructions and set up and really get started I would at least give a good 45 minutes. That being said it took several hours to mine all the crystals. My son did it in a few days. As a homeschooling family this was a great spring activity. They sat out on our deck at the table and as they started to complain a tad about how warm it was with the sun beating down on them I was able to talk with them a bit about archaeologists and how hot that can get in some climates and how they used to "dig" vs how they have more tools at their disposal now. I reminded them that this was a sure thing for them and not always the archaeologist. The stones are very large compared to other sets I have read about I would say the stones probably are worth at least what you paid for the kit. I wish I had looked into making wire necklaces out of them. My daughter liked them in the little brown pouch it came with so she could feel them and look at them. My son chose to put them in the display card and ID them. It comes with an ID guide. Something I read in another kit was absent. I will say I will be buying this kit for gifts this year. Such a great deal. The price has gone down $3 since I bought it and I still feel we got a great product at a great price! Have Fun! Liz

Both of my kids have this kit, ages 6 and 8. Neither have fully excavated all the crystals in this kit but they have a lot of fun working at it. They did get a little frustrated when "nothing was happening" but once a crystal started to peek through their excitement grew. They loved getting a crystal out and then researching it in their rock books. My kids are rock hounds so this is really suited for them. Those who have no idea about rocks, gems, minerals, etc. will likely not enjoy this. I like that there isn't instant gratification like some toys or activities. Gratification in this is earned in effort and diligence. Some reviews seem to indicate their kids didn't like having to work at this to see the end result, which is sad. Science is a process, not always an instant thing so I guess if a child is given this and expects something without working for it then they will miss out on the process, which is a huge part of learning and cognition. And if the adult can't seem to help them child work through this, then that's even sadder. There are millions of things for kids to do that require no work, no effort, no imagination, and certainly don't enrich in the way this type of activity does. But if you want something fun, educational, requiring patience and effort, and a little out of the ordinary, this is highly recommended. Plus with the price, you can't go wrong!

My son loves rocks and digging so naturally I thought this would be a great gift for him. He had a great time with it, chiseling away a little bit each day for about a week. When it was all said and done he had a total of 9 crystals that looked nothing like the picture. It's very messy!! I had him do it outside which wasn't ideal since it's winter and quiet cold out. There was dust everywhere..... Just a warning. Also, I washed them up and one soaked in the water a little longer than the others and it turned into gel. Very strange and had me questioning the quality of the stones. I probably wouldn't buy it again but it was fun while it lasted.

I got this for my young nephew that has been really interested in geology. He loves learning about rocks/Earth, so I thought it would be a good gift. He rarely sits still and moves from one thing to the next but he was able to sit down and work on this for hours. It kept him entertained and interested. The rocks are nothing special, but still cool. The pouch included could not fit all the rocks that were in the kit, but it was still nice to have for his favorite ones. Also, it can be a bit messy so I would recommend putting it on a tray. I would definitely gift this to anyone who is interested in geology or rocks!

Ideal para regalo, para niños, mi sobrino quedo encantado.

It was a great way to keep him engaged with a reward at the end !

Includes all the tools required to dig out your crystal treasures. Fun kits for kids. Recommended.

My kid loved it

Has not yet opened it . Gift for a child to Christmas.