AWARDS WON: Brain Toy Gold Award - Academic's Choice 2013
Besides being an awesome concept. This is a great tool if you're homeschooling. This was a great hands on opportunity for us to work on insects and also proper tool handling.
It starts off as a green beetle, activity book, and information book with the tools one needs to chip and dust the plaster away from the hidden treasure inside. There are three about nickel sized bugs trapped in a plastic resin. It is scratchable so you might want to be a little careful in when chipping away at kit.
It is possible to just smash the bug and steal the hidden bugs - which is what happened with the last one because we couldn't get it out! LOL. But it's fun watching the kids hack away at the beetle trying to figure out just what they'll find inside.
The magnifying glass it comes with is small, but works great at allowing you to see the amazing details of the bugs themselves. It's also great how the information book and activity book tie perfectly to the bugs as well as what you might find in your own backyard.
Since we do homeschooling, my 7 and 3 year old kids LOVED it. It was a great lesson time and we were able to talk about the different critters we might find in our yard and what they do for the yard. It worked good with my son (7) and daughter (3), even with the age gap.
This is a great kit! I'll definitely be getting some of the other kits. Both my kids were SUPER excited when they realized the company had other ones! Dr. Cool gets ***** from us! We highly recommend it!