NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Volcano Science Kit - Kids Can Build and Erupt a Volcano, STEM Science & Educational Toys Make Great Kids Activities

My 6year old asked Santa for a volcano kit and this is what he received. He of course needed adult help to make the mold and conduct the experiments, but he still really enjoyed it! I highly suggest trying the ideas on the instruction booklet trying out different ingredient mixtures to see what makes a larger lava flow. DONT forget to put a cake pan under the volcano before your experiment. It WILL be messy and there is red dye in the powder they provide. Also, if you plan on doing it several times, youll want a deeper pan to catch it all. After your experiment, some of the paint will come off from the volcano, but after it dries from your experiment, it can be repainted. The kit came with a generous amount of paint. This kit was TONS of fun, I highly recommend it! We are a homeschooling family with 3 kids. Ages 4,6 & 10 enjoyed it equally.Here is the sellers product description from the item page:COMPLETE SCIENCE KIT - Includes absolutely everything you need to create a volcano, paint it, and even make it erupt!• MAKING SCIENCE FUN - The perfect hands-on experiment for any science fair. Includes National Geographic's learning guide so you can write an A+ report• REAL VOLCANIC ROCKS - Includes pumice, an obsidian arrowhead, and a geode specimen. Learn all about each unique volcanic specimen• HOMESCHOOL CLASSIC - This is a classic STEM project that teaches kids about chemistry, geology, and earth science. It's a proven homeschool lesson your child will love!• RESPECTED QUALITY - Providing children with the best educational toys for 126 years, this kit is backed by National Geographic's 100% satisfaction guarantee

The item arrived on time and the instruction bootlet and full colored mini book about volcanos was nicely done. We bought bought this kit for our three year old son who wanted a volcano for Christmas. Yeah he is about 1/2 of the age suggested on the box but he was thrilled and all into it. When I read the book to him I had to summarize don't of the terminaligy for him so he got everything. He was all into painting it and couldn't wait to try it out. He stood there while it bubbled over and talked about the lava. We also tried baking soda and vinegar while we're we're at it. He still looks at the plaster mountain as his volcano. Oh there are three rocks that are included as examples of cooled lava. The arrow head lasted about thirty seconds before it hit the ground and cracked in half.... Bummer. I tried that I could to set it and glue it back together. It looks like it will stay. Overall this is a good product for the inquiringb little minds.

For the size of the volcano this was a bit proved. But you do get a lot of use out of it at least while your kid is still interested. This came with enough "chemicals" to do this experiment about 4 times. After that you can use the old baking soda and vinegar trick. Make sure the mold is tight and taped before you add the cement or you will end up with a mess oozing out like I did. We had to retake and add the cement back that seeped out before it set up. Probably use error and not the product itself. I gave this 4 stars because it was a nice 2 day project for my 4 year old and I and he enjoyed it and still has the volcano. NOTE: adults absolutely have to help a smaller child with this.

I purchased this for my nephew for Christmas - he loves science and interactive toys so I knew this would be perfect for him. He loved it - it actually ended up being a gift for all of us because he wanted to play with it right way - YAYYYYYYYYYYY. He and his sister were so enthralled with this toy that they were quite the rest of the night.The kit itself was well made, the instructions easy to understand, and the results wonderful. I am very impressed with the National Geographic series of toys and will definitely be purchasing more of these - not only for the teaching capabilities but more importantly for the peace and quite!

My kid wanted to build a volcano and this was a great kit for as inexpensive as it was. He is 9 years old and did all the plaster casting himself. After the plaster set we realized the eruption chamber was forgotten. So I had to use a 1 1/8" hole bit to drill out the top. Worked like a charm and after he slapped some coats of paint on we were making volcanic eruptions. All in all I was very pleased with this purchase. Directions were clear, parts were all there, and the end result was a solid product. It comes with 3 rocks as an added bonus. They aren't really functional to the kit as far as I could tell. Just something extra.

Honestly, I was disappointed when I first opened up the package. I guess I was anticipating a larger product. I purchased this for a homeschool science lab for 6 children. I realized right away that this volcano was WAY TOO SMALL to really make any impression with my students. Fortunately, I had 3 days before the lab, so after going to Hobby Lobby and purchasing extra plaster, I used the mold included in the kit and I made 6 individual volcanos for each student, so that they could each paint their own volcano(with paint I already had, since the paint kit included is pathetic!), erupt it, and be able to take their own volcano home. You need at least 2 days to let the volcano dry before painting and erupting, so take that into consideration when planning this project. Also, I cannot see how you would be able to let a child make this volcano...not kid friendly when it comes to the plaster/mold process. It's an okay project if you have the time to prep and you're okay with a very small, 3 1/2 inch volcano...not impressive at all.

I don't think Nat Geo cheaped out on this fun project. I did this with my 5 year old and I did the creating with his 'help'. It was worth the price from a 5 year old perspective because you have to slow down and teach him the importance of science lab safety. Even after we were done there's still more to learn with a little extra.