Crystal Growing Kit

Product Description

We absolutely love this crystal growing kit from Thames & Kosmos. The 15 experiments progress from simple to complex, providing the perfect learning experience for new chemists. Grow dozens of dazzling crystals! A full-color, 32-page experiment manual guides your experiments in crystal chemistry.

Features

• Learn about the structure and geometry of crystals
• Grow dozens of dazzling crystals
• Mold fun plaster shapes and use dyes to grow a rainbow of custom colors
• Over 1 million kits sold world-wide
• Includes 32-page full-color manual

Top Reviews

Thorough Introduction To Hobby Crystal Growing
by Amazon Customer (5 out of 5 stars)
January 3, 2017

This kit is a very comprehensive introduction to growing crystals. I guided my 9 year old through the series of experiments and she and I learned a lot together. She ended up with a nice selection of crystals to keep and admire. I found some typos that can be pretty confusing but apply common sense and you'll be okay. Like it calls for 10-cm of yarn but the units are wrong and it should have been inches. It calls for a shadow pan but it should have said shallow pan. The methods are designed to use minimal equipment but if you read ahead and understand the point of the experiment you can substitute with better stuff. For example, use a long ice tea spoon to stir the solution instead of the wooden popsicle sticks provided and use a lidded dutch oven with hot water for the slow-cool method rather than wrapping the jar in a towel. You can also make your own plaster forms if you have candy moulds on hand instead of the lightening bolt and dolphin they provided because it's just plaster of paris. You can repeat the methods using other crystals around the house like epsom salt, table salt, and borax. Once you've learned the techniques from the kit you can try your own experiments.
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Step-by-Step Science Experiment
by Garbarino Family (4 out of 5 stars)
October 12, 2014

Some things you need to know before purchasing this product:
1. The experiments can not be done in your kitchen. They recommend a basement or other out of the way area. Each experiment needs to be stored for days in a place where it will not be disturbed.
2. You can not use any of your kitchen utensils. You will need a pot to boil water and use in the experiments. Once you use it for an experiment, it should not be used again in the kitchen. I purchased a second-hand pot because we did not have an old one.
3. You need empty glass jars with lids.
4. This science kit is recommended for ages 10 & up.

This is a really neat kit. It gives great, age appropriate explanations of how crystals grow. The directions are concise and simple. Each experiment concludes with a "what's happening" section to explain the process and what knowledge you can take away from it.

The safety instructions are very detailed. An adult needs to help the child with the experiments. This is largely due to the fact that you will be dealing with boiling water. The kit also contains some chemicals which present a safety hazard.

The kit has 15 experiments which need to be done in order. Don't expect to jump right into making geodes. The experiments start small and gradually increase in difficulty. My daughter enjoyed being a "scientist" and is excited about the kit.

Note: The safety goggles are terrible and hurt. If you have access to another pair, get them.
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Time consuming!
by Josiah Botsford (5 out of 5 stars)
October 18, 2018

I bought this for my son for Christmas. He loves rocks and gems and I thought "creating" some would definitely be a great idea. What I was not prepared for was the amount of time each experiment took. If you have time (days) to put into this and a child with the patience to go through it, this is worth the purchase!

My son and I went through some of the experiments, and he loved every minute of it. The formations it makes are really astounding, and it ends in hours/days of excitement for the child. From day 1, my son was wanting to create, and he and I worked on the things we made together.

Again, make sure you have time that you'll be able to set aside if you purchase this for someone. It is worth the time spent.
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She was super excited about the kit
by ohyeahkate (4 out of 5 stars)
January 17, 2017

Daughter got this for christmas from the big man. She was super excited about the kit, and begged us for days to get it going. We were quite disappointed that the crystals never grew. Could have been us, but we seemed to think that we did everything according to instructions. Will have to buy again and see if second time is a charm!
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The opposite of fun
by Abigail K. (1 out of 5 stars)
December 31, 2016

This is not fun. I had to do every part because the chemicals are to hazardous, you need a ton of items not included in the kit, every experiment is about 5 minutes of work, then wait days to see results. Disappointment all around. They refer to the ingredients as different terms thru-out - chemical compound, name of chemical compound, alum, alum salt... My kids had constant wth faces. Now I'm trying to find a way to sneak it out to the trash.., after 1 experiment. I'd rather assemble IKEA furniture.
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Pre-Christmas Review - Extra items Needed Listed
by April Gant (4 out of 5 stars)
December 14, 2015

This is a Pre-Christmas review designed to show the quality of packaging, whether the items come complete and undamaged and what, if any, extra items might be needed for it to function. After Christmas I'll update this review with more details and photos in use.

This came pretty well packaged and in good condition with no missing items.

You will need quite a few extra items to do some of the experiments. Most are easy to find but I still deducted a star since it's a large amount.

Extra Items Needed:

Distilled Water

Adhesive Labels, Pencil, Transparent Tape

Thermometer

Paper Towels, Pot Holders, Old Cooking Pot

Electric Hot Plate or Stove

Some Empty Jelly or Honey Jars With Lids

Yarn or Nylon String

Scissors, Old Newspapers

Empty Yogurt Containers

Small Pebbles

Sandpaper, Cloth Handkerchief

Knife, Rubber Band
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Messy, hazardous and doesn't even work
by Patty V (1 out of 5 stars)
January 22, 2019

The crystals didn't grow, and the materials were not only hazardous (warning not to do the experiments in the kitchen - so where does a kid without a garage or basement do them??) but the purple pigment is unbelievably messy. It's almost impossible to get the cap open and if you spill even a few tiny specks beware - you will be cleaning for hours. I just found another few grains of this stuff three weeks after we did the experiments and it caused another half hour cleaning session. In my opinion it's completely irresponsible to even include a substance like this in a toy for children.
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If you're afraid of kids using chemicals - or even using chemicals with your kids - just be aware.
by Jclayc (4 out of 5 stars)
March 6, 2017

Perhaps I should have paid more attention to the age recommendation but we bought this for our 6 year old and found it involves so many chemicals, we're going to keep it stored until he's older
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Grow crystals
by Double G (2 out of 5 stars)
June 26, 2019

How do you grow crystals? We followed the directions to a "T" and still didn't grow any. To get them to glow in the dark we had to use a black light. The cool factor was there initially but now it's been six months since Christmas and it is one of those presents that is taking up space on the shelf. Too bad because I want my kids to learn more about science and physics.
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The end result will be worth it...I hope.
by DB (4 out of 5 stars)
July 26, 2018

My 7 year old daughter was so excited about this b/c she loves rocks and crystals. Well, I didn't realize this kit would pretty much have me doing the first several experiments b/c they weren't very exciting. I get that it's a process that has to build up to the end result but it's hard to get a 7 year old excited about dissolving crystals. I'm on experiment number 4 I think and I feel like this stuff has been on my counter for forever.

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