Happy Atoms Magnetic Molecular Modeling Complete Set | Intro to Atoms, Molecules, Bonding, Chemistry | Create Thousands of Molecules, 216 Activities, Plus Free Educational App for iOS, Android

We homeschool and I’m always looking for fun ways to add enrichment to our studies. My kids have been playing with this for several hours this afternoon. I purchased as a Black Friday deal for a little over $100. There are smaller sets, but I decided to go ahead and buy the biggest kit thinking there would be more to do with the larger kit. It’s a really high quality set. There’s a free app that goes with it and a lot of great info in the app. My kids have literally been mesmerized by it. The app is engaging, provides a lot of information, and continues to build on itself. The app does sometimes have trouble recognizing different atoms, but it allows you to correct any scanning errors by holding down on the atom and switching from say hydrogen to carbon, etc. For reference, my kids are 10 & 7, but I think this could even be helpful for kids in high school or maybe even those in organic chemistry. If you’re looking for a fun way to incorporate chemistry into your homeschool or if you’re kids love science, I highly recommend this kit!

I LOVE, LOVE this set! I wish I would have had something like this to study chemistry when I was young. The atoms are durable. I love the fact that atoms like sodium have a clear tube holding the "electron" indicating that this atom wants to give up its electron. This helped my children understand this very quickly. Oxygen has 6 white tubes with electrons. Four of the electrons are paired. The other two are paired with receptors for other atoms to connect to. It is very easy to attach another atom and show how the electrons are shared or gained. The app is great! Sometimes the scan does not correctly identify the atoms in our molecule. It is very easy to correct it to the atom that was used. For the molecules in its database, the app shows the types of bonds, the matter state at room temperature, how molecules bond together, and whether or not it is toxic. It also has images with descriptions of how the compound is used. I hope that the company plans to continually add molecules to the app. I have a 10 year-old girl and an 8 year-old boy. My daughter dove into the set the day it arrived. That night she put a water molecule into her father's cup. Later she made a salt molecule and hid it on my salt lamp. She has had a ton of fun seeing what works and what doesn't. My son was slower to inspect the set. Maybe he didn't want to do it with his sister. Once he started, he was unstoppable. He loved it when he made sodium fluoride. I showed him the ingredient listed on his toothpaste. Then he had to check every other tube in the house. Both of them loved making "cow farts" (methane). I was reluctant to spend the money on the set. I am SO GLAD I did. I can see using this set for many years to help them understand our amazing world.

I can't recommend this kit enough. I got it for the kids a year ago and they are still working their way through it, exploring atoms, and learning chemistry. I hear the first grader say things like, "I'm going to make a double bond with carbon and oxygen" or "we need to pair the electrons" and I'm just so :D. You see, we're a really nerdy family. The kids get told about atoms before they're in preschool. So they're absolutely starting from a place of higher-than-average science knowledge, and there is still plenty to learn and practice here. They're playing and learning at the same time. As a chemistry major, I really recommend the kit. It's a great way to represent electrons and bonding and molecular geometry and have a hands-on exploration of a section of the periodic table and the many, many compounds that come from it. The 10 year-old declares you should buy it because "it's super fun." Cons, because nothing is perfect: * You'll need to install a phone app to get the benefit from this kit * The app doesn't always scan molecules correctly, but at least you can edit to fix its best guess * Triple bonds are hard to construct, ... but I suppose that reflects their real-life high energy

I wouldn’t go so far as to say the molecule set and app it works with are for kids up to 17 years because by then hopefully they’ve learned chemistry that moves beyond this set. It is still a good molecule kit with an engaging support app; together they provide a good basic visual understanding of bonding as well as the structure and significance of common molecules. All in all a great learning tool for kids. The scan feature is very limited, however. It had difficulty distinguishing between the yellow Silicon atom and orange Phosphorus atom. It also was particular as to where you selected on the molecule. Fortunately, the app comes with a feature to manually select the correct atom where recognition fails. I’d say it’s a good buy.

Bought these for my 6 year old. She's bright, but it's not like she's a super genius. She had no trouble starting to picture the metaphor we use for atoms and molecules. She was making connections, learning names, and predicting what would happen in her Volcao with Sodium Bicarbonate and some free H+ ions from citric acid. She made an easter card showing covalent bonds as a metaphor for connection to her fam. It was a solid buy. Really, we should start with physical models of things and explain what's happening, like in organic chemistry, before we ever start with all the pure text chemical formulae and math. We could teach calculus in elementary school if we just did it the right way.

The set itself is nice. But I have a major issue with how the sets are sold. You can purchase the introductory set, or the complete set. I purchased the introductory set from Target a couple of years ago or so, to see if my child would enjoy it before committing to a whole set. My child loved it and then got to a point where more pieces were needed so I started searching for an expansion pack - no such thing. One has to buy a complete set after buying the introductory set, in order to make more molecules. That will be the last toy I get from this company, that I used to love (we have a lot of toys from them and have gifted a lot of toys from them over the years). Not cool at all. Save yourself from having to buy two sets, and go straight for the complete set if your kid loves chemistry.

This was a birthday gift for my grandson and he loved it!! It was on the top of his list. That's enough for me.

I purchased this when my son was 5. While he enjoyed putting together the molecules, the app is not meant for individuals who can not read so it required a lot of adult assistance. He is 7 now and is able to use the app independently. He loves completing the scientist's missions and reading the descriptions of the uses of molecules. We love Happy Atoms!