Blue Marble NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Break Open 10 Premium Geodes – Includes Goggles, Detailed Learning Guide & 2 Display Stands - Great STEM Science Gift for Mineralogy & Geology Enthusiasts of Any Age

Padrisimoooo mi hijo se divirtió muchísimo abriendolas!

Great set but be warned, these are quite hard to open. With the regular hammer, I probably had to hit it for a good 20min! I guess it attests to their authenticity

We've gotten two of these kits, one several months ago for my daughter's 7th birthday (first image, with the organizer), and one for Christmas for her older sister (second image, by request after seeing her sister's birthday geodes). Both times we were very happy with what we had gotten, and I love the educational value, not just the geodes inside. The kids were fascinated and really enjoyed seeing what was inside. It's kinda like those kinder eggs/surprise toys, but naturally created! I have since bought a 3rd set when it was on sale (not opened yet). Yes, for the most part they are all white, however the first kit did contain crystal that was very pale purple (possibly amethyst?), and the second kit contained a milky pink mineral with a small crystally agate section. The first kit we had were mostly around 2 inches, the second kit had a wider range, of a couple really small 1 inch ones but a couple in the 3-4 inch range. Both kits we had resulted in a variety of hollow and full geodes, and varying size of crystal points, some small very glittery looking ones, and larger clearer ones. The second kit we had did contain a kind-of-dud, where there were tiny crystals, but mostly rock, but that was only one out of now 20 geodes we've opened from NatGeo. We have tried a different brand of break-your-own-geodes in the past, and they resulted in very few crystals (only around 20 to 30% had crystals), so I was very pleasantly surprised at what we got with the NatGeo kits. I might try to sand/polish a couple at some point. They were difficult to open, and did require adult assistance. I used a dremel to score the perimeter and provide a groove for the chisel to sit in (my dremel/dremel bits weren't strong enough to get through the crystal, just the outer rock), and then we used a chisel and hammer to crack it open. My kids were able to hammer some of the smaller ones open (with assistance holding the rock and chisel). But some, especially the solid ones, were still very difficult to crack open. Those took more time, but I (a petite, but persistent, female adult) did manage to crack them open with the chisel and hammer. In terms of "giftability" it really depends on the recipient/recipient's family.... as long as there is a willing (and patient?) adult to do most of the work as kids won't be able to do this themselves, it's a wonderful gift! But if not, they might not enjoy this as much.

Wurde als Geschenk für einen 9 jährigen gekauft. Nach kurzem Zweifeln des Kleinen (Was soll ich mit ein Haufen Steine??), kam aber dann schnell Begeisterung auf, nachdem wir zusammen dann mit Meisel und Hammer die Steine vorsichtig geteilt haben. Manche Steine sind innerhalb 2-3 Minuten offen und sind auch von Kinder leicht zu öffnen. Die anderen, wesentlich härteren, sind nur durch ziemlich viel Kraft zu öffnen. Aber es geht. Wie gesagt, alles mit Hammer und Meisel :-)

Great fun! We got some really nice ones and a couple of rocks with only a small amount of crystal or non at all (not pictured). We got a giant one which I though would be a dud but it's one of the best! All only white crystals but when you read the info book that comes with it that is to be expected.I bought this as a school holiday activity as we had been looking at geodes and made some at home using egg shells Alum and laster and wanted to show what the real thing was like. Follow the instructions to make sure you get a nice cross section and not a just a bunch of pieces. Happy with my purchase and with how quickly it arrived. Note the cardboard box is not the actual product , I've seen reviews which complained about the plain cardboard packaging, open the plain cardboard and the product is in a box as displayed.