NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Purple Crystal Growing Lab - DIY Crystal Creation - Includes Real Amethyst Crystal Specimen

In the day and age of numbing our kids brains with apps and iPads - National Geographic offers excellent and outstanding kids activities, which are so well designed to stimulate and engage kids. As a parent of four elementary school aged kids, don't kid yourself on how damaging smart phones are, invest yourself and your wallet in your next generation, and spend some time with them exploring the world of science and discovery with tactical, hands on experiments and activities. National Geographic offers the best - high quality (equipment isn't cheap which means it lasts), real science - not just baking soda and vinegar - and excellent and interesting supporting materials which provide interesting and relevant context.

I’m always looking for a moment to teach my son something new but also spend some time together. I’ve tried out a few different National Geographic science kits and this is one of my son’s favorites. It takes awhile but it’s all hands off time I think like 10 days to grow. It grew to a decent size and glowed well after being “charged” with an led flashlight. Overall my son was thrilled and I think this is the perfect gift for any elementary school aged child or a parent looking to teach something new.

The reason I give this product 4 stars is due to the seller's kindness. The first time I grew this with my son, I dissolved the powder in 1 cup of water as directed to in the booklet. I got a cloudy solution, and I remember at the time thinking if I should strain it or not to avoid crystallization points in other areas besides the seed rock. Unfortunately I didn't, and after letting it cool for 15 minutes, I added the seed rock and noticed a rim of "snow" already. After 5 days there was nothing other than a crystal snow, which although impressive, was not our goal.The seller sent a second package with the instructions:Please take these steps with your next experiment in order to achieve optimal results:1. Use a clean (be sure there is no soap remaining after you wash) glass jar as a growing chamber. A wider mouth works better as it allows for more evaporation during the process.2. Use VERY hot water as indicated by the instructions (adult supervision required). (Filtered or distilled water will work best because it will be free of other dissolved material)3. After dissolving your crystal growing powder, let the solution cool for about 15 minutes before adding the seed crystal.4. Once the seed crystal is added place your prepared growing chamber in an out-of-the way place where is won't be disturbed for the during of the growing process.Here are the alterations I used:I used 1.25 cups of water instead of 1 cup. This fully dissolved the powder into a clearish solution. I then quickly filtered it with an Aeropress (which can handle hot liquids). This gave a very clear solution. Then after cooling, I added the seed crystals. I am unsure if you can just gravity filter with a funnel and some loose coffee filters, but the Aeropress was easy.This worked much better and the crystals are slowly growing on the seed crystal. I suspect the process might be faster if I used less water and had a saturated solution, but I didn't want snow again.This experiment was less of a sure-shot than the Ice Age kit that we got (which grew both snow and large single crystals). Here is the ice age kit: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0039N4JAC/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I got this last minute on a whim. It's the best Christmas present she got. She's obsessed with the "Crystal book" that came with the kit. That was a nice added bonus. My 3yo now wants to be a scientist when she grows up. I'll definitely be checking out more NatGeo products in the future.Kit takes less than 10 min to put together. Just enough time. I definitely recommend letting it sit the extra time as recommended. And with this color you cant watch it grow because the purple is so dark. Didn't bother us because it was an awesome surprise when we poured out the liquid.Word of advice-- use a wide mouth glass container. I had to bust the mason jar to get the crystal out because it was so big!

My kids (ages 5 and 7) and I had a lot of fun with this kit. The instructions are pretty easy and the steps are pretty kid friendly, as far as stirring and mixing goes. An adult does need to help, though, since there is hot water and powdery elements involved. Be mindful of the glass you use to grow the crystals in. Make sure the top of the glass or jar is as wide as the base. I used a tulip glass and found myself breaking the glass with a hammer in order to get the crystals out. The crystals themselves are pretty cool, too. I let them sit in the glass for about two weeks. And, yes, they do glow in the dark. The kit also includes a large flourite crystal and some education on crystals in general. The kids really enjoyed it and would check on the crystals' growth every day.

I love the concept of the National Geographic science kits. We got a kit that included several experiments, they all worked except the crystal did nothing! These kits are fun to do with children but an adult supervision is necessary. The crystal activity I followed the instructions I thought exactly using purified water, boiled in stainless steel, set the project in a glass heat-proof vessel. No crystal. We now have done this 3 times. Success only once, the very 1st try. So now I wonder if the "seed" is not good? I know this can work but it is unpredictable and disappointing for the child. If you get the one with the numerous crystals and the light stand, it is too difficult to scrape away the bottom of the crystal to have the light show through thus the crystal cracks and falls apart. Anyone want to add suggestions to have a successful crystal each and every time with these kits?

I read a bunch of reviews before deciding on this one because it was reasonably priced and seemed to work well. We were not disappointed. I got this for my son’s birthday and he was so excited to check on it every day as it grew. We even fumbled the directions a bit and I accidentally bumped it at one point but crystals still formed. I remember trying to grow crystals as a kid from directions in a science experiment book and was so disappointed when they didn’t grow so I wasn’t very hopeful. Great kit!

I bought this (and about 60 other "like" items) to hand out to kids at a company Christmas party. You should have seen the excitement when they picked these out. I don't know whether or not they worked, easy or hard, messy or not... but I can tell you it got children excited in a project. I intentionally purchased items that would be fun to do as a family. I would definitely recommend again.

Worked very well

Gift was received and enjoyed.

Impresionante - funciono de maravilla. Lo unico es que despues de hacer el cristal, hay que guardarlo en un sition donde no le de el sol para que mantenga su color. Pero de verdad era genial!

Abbiamo acquistato il cristallo di colore verde ma è arrivato quello incolore. Però in compenso il cristallo è cresciuto bene, a differenza di altri kit comprati.

I bought this kit for a Christmas present for my 7 year old grandson so I can't write a review about how well it works yet. All I can say is that I was happy with the speedy delivery as it arrived a day earlier than expected and the box and all its contents were intact. I bought a blue crystal growing kit for my grandson last year and he really enjoyed watching the crystal grow, it was he who asked me if I would buy him a purple one for Christmas this year. I have no doubt that he will enjoy watching this crystal grow also.