If your children like to build things and explore the world around them, check out these great products from Discovery! With these kits they will learn about interesting concepts, and learn some new skills. From identifying stars, and crystals, to making their own mini safari! My kids love to use their hands and create things, and I am sure yours will love to also.
Tinker Crate
Calling on all astronomers and budding scientists for this cool hands-on project! Here your kids can wire up a working planetarium and have fun learning about space. They can observe the motion of the stars and the changes in the night sky. KiwiCo and Discovery #MINDBLOWN really have a cool kit here, plus a bonus magazine and additional digital content.
My son sat at the table until he was completely done with his planetarium. He was so engrossed in his work, and seemed to enjoy the challenge. He did it all by himself and then we all went into the dark bathroom to check out how it lit up the walls and ceiling. It was fun to look at the star dots on the ceiling and decide which constellations we were seeing. This is a great kit to help kids learn about stars and other space topics in a fun, interactive way.
Discovery Galactic Fizzing Kit
This excavation kit has three fun galaxy shapes for your scientist to explore. It comes with the tools you need, and real gemstones to unearth. This is a fun way to spend an afternoon engulfed in science. With a wood mallet, chisel, and magnifying glass your kids can excavate green fluorite, white turquoise, lapis lazuli, red jasper, blue crystal, and amethyst.
It is fun to dig into these space rocks and chisel away the colored material. The anticipation of finding a crystal makes the work well worth it. Plus this takes a lot of time, so it will engage your children for hours! Since some of us lack the patience to chip away all the rock until the crystals are fully free, you can also submerge the molds in warm water. Then like a bath bomb they will fizz and bubble until all the outer material is gone.
Once the bubbling, fizzing reaction is done, you can fish out the two crystals. Dry them off and explore them up close with the magnifying glass. Due to the chemicals used to fizz and react, this kit is to be used by ages 12+ with adult supervision. My kids love gem digs and they collect crystals, so I knew they would love the chance to unearth some more in this kit.
We just did one of the molds so far- the pretty pink space rock. From that one we found fluorite and white turquoise. My daughter cannot wait until she sees the crystals in the other two galaxy shapes. Since I know it will take her an hour or more per rock, I am saving them for when I need a bit of quiet time. Therefore we both win- I get a break, and she gets a fun science gem dig!
Animal Planet Safari Crochet
If you have a crocheter or knitter on your Christmas list this Animal Planet Safari Crochet Kit will be a hit! It comes with 12 cute patterns and a step-by-step instruction book with over 80 full color photos. The kit comes with the supplies to make two projects, including yarn, stuffing, eye beads, crochet hook, embroidery floss, and a tapestry needle.
My daughter knows how to knit already, and is super excited to learn to crochet. She wants to get some pink and teal yarn to make a bright zebra, when she is done with the yarn that comes in the kit. The kit has the materials to make the lion and the warthog to start with, so she can hone her skill on those two. Then she can get creative on the other patterns which include: baboon, crocodile, African buffalo, elephant, giraffe, hippo, honey badger, ostrich, rhino, and the zebra. I love to listen to all her grand plans, and cannot wait to see her crochet works of art.
Which of these Discovery Kits catch your eye?
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