Customer Reviews

Scientific Explorer's Disgusting Science - A Kit for Studying the Science of Revolting Things

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

after reading some other posts, i thought i'd buy this for my 5-year-old daughter. at the very least, i thought we could grow a few cultures of bacteria and mold from her hands, feet, the sink, etc. i'm a former biology teacher so i thought it would be a fun experiment. well, after following the directions to make the gelatin, the solution still was too watery. we tried it again, doubling the gelatin, and still encountered the same problem. (by the way, one petri dish came cracked) the other "experiments" are a total joke--mash up bread and vinegar in a balloon and squeeze it out on a plate? that's supposed to show you about digestion? mix gelatin, water and a drop of green food coloring to make snot? really, i can't believe some of the other reviews that talk about doing this with their class and learning vocabulary?! the vocabulary i saw was "eeeewwwwwhhh! grooosssss!" and it really wasn't gross. i'm at a loss for how this thing gets so many stars... big waste.

I bought this for my grandson and the following is the review I received from my son, his father:

Let me say thanks for the absolutely nasty s**t I had to put my hand into. It was like a bowl of cold snot! Isaac loved every second of every experiment. Lisa will have to give you the rest of the details. Thanks again. Maybe he can do some to (for) you.

Yes, the price is a bit much considering what comes in the box - that's why 4 rather than 5 stars. However, I don't know that I've ever come across guar gum or valerian root powder in my routine shopping or otherwise. So you pay a few extra bucks for convenience - big deal. The kids have an absolute blast and they are loving learning about science with hands on experiments. Bacteria, molds, snot, gag, digestion, blood - what's not to love? We've completed all but two of the experiments and they've all been easy with results as described. We're waiting for our cultures (snot, dog slobber, toilet rim stuff, and a little girl mouth swap) to grow out so we'll have to wait and see on that one. Unlike one of the other reviewers, our prep of the gelatin for the petri dishes went beautifully. Plus, there are enough supplies to do all of the experiments more than once if you are willing to rinse out the balloon and a few other easy things. We all highly recommend.

I'm using this kit in my classroom - the students are having a great time with the experiments. As a teacher, I love the "interesting facts" and the vocabulary. My kids at home want me to get one for them, too. Fun, hands-on learning that grab kids' attention.

This was a birthday gift for my 10 year old granddaughter. She loves science and all the yukky stuff that goes with it. And she loved this kit; she's having a party so she can share with some of her friends. What a HIT!!

I've been shopping for this kit on other sites and none of them even come close to this price. I don't endorse any site but one such site has a title like Discover This. This same kit is almost 40% cheaper.
thanks and good luck

This product was a big hit with my 9 year old nephew and with his 8 year old sister as well, as evidenced by the HUGE issue that SHE didn't get one as well! Skip Barbie for her if this is under next year's tree for the boys on your list - I think this is an adventurous toy that will appeal to both girls and boys.

Scientific Explorer's Disgusting Science - A Kit of the Science Of Revolting ThingsDisgusting Science
The previous reviewer is correct, this price is much higher than elsewhere. I wish I had checked first.
The kit just arrived, and I looked at the contents. I paid twenty dollars for 4 petrie dishes, 1 magnifier, 4 cotton swabs, 1 oz suger, 1 oz baking yeast, 2 oz. gelatin, red and green food coloring, a baloon, a plastic bag, and a booklet. I could pull all the items except the booklet out of my kitchen for nothing. I resent paying a premium price and getting such small returns, all in a box which could have been much smaller.
I will present it, and perhaps write again with the giftee's views on the subject.

The box is eye catching for kids, but what you actually get in the box is a joke. Included is small envelopes of sugar, yeast, red an green food coloring, and gelatin (all available at your local grocer if not already in your kitchen), a balloon, a few q-tips, and 4 plastic petri dishes. That's it. You'd be much better off saving your money and downloading experiments off the internet or reading ideas in a book. Waaaaaayyyy overpriced and not very much fun. We've had much more fun finding slime recipes and science experiments online. What a waste of $20.00.

From a parent's perspective, wow, what a bad deal. Someone is making a killing here charging 19.99 for a bit of sugar, some gelatin, a balloon and 4 cotton swabs, etc. The "science" experiments were underwhelming from the adults' point of view. Also, not really gross or disgusting. There is also a bit of prep time involved for the experiments involving gelatin. But from a kid's perspective? My 5-year-old daughter thinks it's awesome. She really enjoyed coming up with ideas for germy things to put in the petri dishes. And making the bloody scab. So far that's all we've done, but she's psyched for more. So, while I think the price point is out of line for what's offered, I will probably buy another kit at some point (but on sale) because my daughter likes it so much. She is very proud of her experiments and she gave the kit a five out of five for fun.