Experimenting with fun STEM kits at home

Over the last few weeks we have been kept busy reviewing some of the wonderful STEM kits from Bandai. At the start of half term we were gifted some STEM kits which required a little time and patience, so we set them up and waited. We had never seen the Blue Crystal Growing Lab from National Geographic or The Original Sea Monkeys Ocean-Zoo kit so were excited to try them out at home.

Blue Crystal Growing Lab from National Geographic

The first kit we tried was the Blue Crystal Growing Lab from National Geographic. Big Brother wanted to try this one as he just loves learning about crystals. The kit looks so much fun, containing 1 bag of Blue Crystal Growing Powder, 1 Seed Rock, 1 Magnifying Glass, 1 Stir Stick, 1 Calcite, 1 Display Stand and a Learning Guide.

My son read the instructions carefully and we gathered a few extra supplies, such as a bowl and warm water. We mixed the Crystal Growing Powder with the warm water and stirred the mixture with the stick until everything was dissolved. We used an empty glass jar and poured the mixture in, adding the seed rock.

We placed it on the kitchen windowsill and left it for 10 days. We’ve grown crystals before so knew what to expect. There was some growth from the seed rock which spread along the base of the jar.

The Original Sea Monkeys Ocean-Zoo

We also received The Original Sea Monkeys Ocean-Zoo kit to try. This fun little kit lets you hatch your very own Sea-Monkeys. Everything is contained inside the Ocean Zoo Tank – 3 pouches, a feeding spoon and instructions.

Little Sis was happy to try this kit out. We read the instructions and followed them, adding water and the first pouch to the Ocean Zoo Tank. We left it for 24 hours before adding the second pouch. We were hoping to start seeing some of the eggshells hatch but nothing. We carried on following the instructions, adding a spoonful of food on the fifth day but there was still no sign of life.

We’ve kept an eye on the Ocean Zoo Tank all week but unfortunately there is nothing in it. I’m not really sure what happened.

Thankfully my children enjoyed the process of each kit. They both know that half the fun of a STEM kit will be experimenting and learning so we had a good chat about what could have gone wrong. We love some hands on learning and had fun exploring geology, chemistry and biology!

Blue Crystal Growing Lab from National Geographic costs around £10, The Original Sea Monkeys Ocean-Zoo costs around £9.99, both are available from all good toy stores.

You may be interested in our other Bandai STEM Ambassador posts:

National Geographic Break Open 2 Geodes kit

National Geographic The Shark Tooth Dig Kit

National Geographic Gemstone Dig Kit