NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC Break Open 10 Premium Geodes – Includes Goggles and Display Stands - Great STEM Science Kit, Geology Gift for Kids, Geode Crystals, Toys for Boys and Girls

My daughter loves National Geographic sets. This set was fantastic fun and she received a number of beautiful geodes, book, protective glasses, magnifier and plastic stands. A great value set and so interesting for young prospective geologists. Well packaged and arrived quickly.

Geodes come in a solid cardboard box with safety goggles. Some were surprisingly tough to crack so the actual cracking of them does require adult help/supervision. My son was very happy with them and likes displaying them in his room (pack contains two small display stands). Only one geode was a ‘dud’ (no crystals), so decent value for money.

I couldn't give it 5 stars because all of the geodes were the identical, and clear in appearance, however it kept my rock-obsessed son busy and he still talks about it now, so it's obviously a winner!

My son got these for Christmas along with a small hammer and chisel set. He is 9. It was harder than I expected to crack open some of the geodes , particularly the solid ones, however it was good to teach him how to use a hammer and chisel also,The geodes are great- a good variety and he really enjoyed breaking them. We got a small UV torch as some of them fluoresce.I would recommend for older children and adults as it’s really interesting.

Got this National Geographic 'premium' geode set for my daughter. She loves crystals and really loved this. In fact it was her favourite Christmas present. This is the educational equivalent of all of those over-priced 'surprise' bag toys that you see everywhere. She couldn't wait to break the geodes open to see what was inside. Whilst my daughter was really impressed by this product I wasn't quite as impressed. I don't think that these are really 'premium' geodes at all. Four of the ten geodes I received were solid inside, and two of those had no obvious crystals visible (the other two were solid crystal). Of the six that were hollow and contained crystals, all apart from one were quartz and the one that wasn't quartz only contained one tiny crystal. I'd say that in total, we got four decent geodes out of the ten that came with this product. Whilst those four are very pretty, that makes each one very expensive!!!Note that it's not actually that easy to break into some of the geodes. I tried the method described in the pamphlet that came with it (tapping with a hammer and chisel around the circumference of the geodes to split them in half) and this didn't work. I eventually managed to open them all using a chisel but a child wouldn't be able to do this. I used a really hefty chisel and a really heavy hammer.

Lots of fun for budding geologists and scientists.

My 8 year old newphew loves these geodes. I think he was a little bemused at Christmas and wasn't sure what to expect but once his Dad got the hammer out and they started to have a go at cracking them open he really loved it. There is much excitement waiting to see which of the perfectly adjusted hammer hits would crack it open to reveal the treasure. So far they have opened 5 and they've all be quartz (is that right? the clear crystals) and the rest are proving to be a bit more difficult to get into. This however is not a bad thing, it adds to the excitement.There is a level of skill needed to ensure you use the right strength to get them open but with adult supervision it's great. The goggles were strong and protective. Would definitely recommend if your little person has a fascination with rocks and crystals!!

Item received very quickly, well packaged, and was beyond expectations! My granddaughter will love this experience!