National Geographic Break Open 10 Premium Geodes – Includes Goggles & 2 Display Stands - Great STEM Science Kit, Geology Gift for Kids, Break Your Own Geodes with Crystals

We recently purchased this geode kit to do with the family as a Christmas gift! and it exceeded all our expectations! The kit included everything needed for a fantastic rock-breaking adventure: 4 rocks to smash and/or chisel, clear instructions, protective glasses, and a magnifying glass to examine the treasures within. We were thrilled to discover 3 amazing geodes, each with beautiful, sparkling crystals inside. One of the 4 rocks turned out to be a solid piece of crystal, which, while smaller than the rest, was still a delightful surprise and not at all a deal breaker. We used the chisel method for two of them and had to use the towel and smash method for the hard to open ones. Our 8 y/o kid absolutely loved the experience! This kit provides an excellent hands-on learning opportunity, perfect for children and adults alike. Overall, a wonderful purchase that brought joy and excitement for family fun. Highly recommend for anyone interested in geology or just looking for a fun and educational activity. Will buy again for sure.

So cool! The kids absolutely loved getting to smash open rocks. It was a super fun experience for everyone and we opened some pretty cool rocks!

My 5-year old great-niece (and her daddy) LOVED opening the geodes to see the crystals inside! The kit was a big hit at Christmas. The Nat Geo kits offer learning opportunities that are engaging for both kids and their parents!

My 12yr old kid enjoyed breaking them open. 3 were tuff to crack- ended up clamping in a vice & using a chisel. Good value 80% had crystals.

We have only opened the smallest geode using the pointed end of the tool shown in the picture. He found it easy to open. However, we tried to open one of the larger ones, but it proved to be more challenging. I’m glad I bought the tools because using a hammer alone wouldn’t have worked well. We’re excited to open the rest of them. I did not find the process messy.

Extremely fun project! Must wear eye protection! Though, they are EXTREMELY hard to open. We read the directions and reviews in order to not shatter them. It took over an hour to open the bigger ones. Still unsuccessful with the smaller ones. We tried the hammer and chissle, drill, etc. We were very careful at the same time. I wished we had more colorful ones, but these still turned out beautiful!

We were excited to try the National Geographic Break Open Geodes set because it sounded like a great hands on science activity. The idea is fantastic and it definitely creates excitement for kids. What we liked: It comes with 10 geodes, goggles for safety, and display stands, which is a nice complete package. Breaking them open feels like a real discovery moment, and it is a good way to introduce kids to geology in a fun way. What could be better: The results really vary. Some geodes were interesting inside, but a few were smaller than expected or did not have very impressive crystals. It also requires adult supervision and the right tools to break them safely, which is something to keep in mind. For the price, I expected a little more consistency in quality. It is still a fun activity, but not every geode will be a wow moment. Overall, I would give it 3 out of 5 stars. Great concept and educational value, but the experience depends heavily on what you get inside each geode.

This was a gift for one of my grandchildren who is into rocks and semi precious stones. I’m always trying to find things to peak his interests. This was great.

Padrisimoooo mi hijo se divirtió muchísimo abriendolas!

Super produit pour les enfants qui aiment les pierres précieuse.

Un coffret bien rempli avec des géodes de bonnes tailles. Pas encore ouvertes.

Great set but be warned, these are quite hard to open. With the regular hammer, I probably had to hit it for a good 20min! I guess it attests to their authenticity

We've gotten two of these kits, one several months ago for my daughter's 7th birthday (first image, with the organizer), and one for Christmas for her older sister (second image, by request after seeing her sister's birthday geodes). Both times we were very happy with what we had gotten, and I love the educational value, not just the geodes inside. The kids were fascinated and really enjoyed seeing what was inside. It's kinda like those kinder eggs/surprise toys, but naturally created! I have since bought a 3rd set when it was on sale (not opened yet). Yes, for the most part they are all white, however the first kit did contain crystal that was very pale purple (possibly amethyst?), and the second kit contained a milky pink mineral with a small crystally agate section. The first kit we had were mostly around 2 inches, the second kit had a wider range, of a couple really small 1 inch ones but a couple in the 3-4 inch range. Both kits we had resulted in a variety of hollow and full geodes, and varying size of crystal points, some small very glittery looking ones, and larger clearer ones. The second kit we had did contain a kind-of-dud, where there were tiny crystals, but mostly rock, but that was only one out of now 20 geodes we've opened from NatGeo. We have tried a different brand of break-your-own-geodes in the past, and they resulted in very few crystals (only around 20 to 30% had crystals), so I was very pleasantly surprised at what we got with the NatGeo kits. I might try to sand/polish a couple at some point. They were difficult to open, and did require adult assistance. I used a dremel to score the perimeter and provide a groove for the chisel to sit in (my dremel/dremel bits weren't strong enough to get through the crystal, just the outer rock), and then we used a chisel and hammer to crack it open. My kids were able to hammer some of the smaller ones open (with assistance holding the rock and chisel). But some, especially the solid ones, were still very difficult to crack open. Those took more time, but I (a petite, but persistent, female adult) did manage to crack them open with the chisel and hammer. In terms of "giftability" it really depends on the recipient/recipient's family.... as long as there is a willing (and patient?) adult to do most of the work as kids won't be able to do this themselves, it's a wonderful gift! But if not, they might not enjoy this as much.