Magic Rocks: Shark

by Smithsonian

Product Features

• The Original Magic Rocks with Shark Figurine (1 Each)
• Instant Crystal Growing Kit
• Create a Brilliant Underwater Garden
• Display Tank and Model Included.
• Includes: Shark Figurine, Shark Background Print, Aquarium and Detailed Instructions

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 2.6 x 5.8 x 8 inches ; 12.8 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000H6HBEK
• Item model number: 2928
• Manufacturer recommended age: 10 years and up
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #34,761 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
  • #65 in Toys & Games > Learning & Education > Science > Geology & Earth Sciences
• Average Customer Review: 2.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

Product Description

This simple and fun project has been around for decades and is still as amazing and entertaining as ever. Simply place colored stones into a solution and watch them grow into beautiful, colorful crystal formations within just ten minutes. Set includes rocks in multiple bright colors, growing solution, display tank and plastic shark figurine.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Magic Rocks...more like magic dissapointment, February 8, 2007

By 

Sarah Smithers (Carbondale, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magic Rocks: Shark (Toy)

I was extremely excited when I finally found magic rocks could still be purchased today. I remember them from my childhood. My family and I would gather around, mix the magic solution, place the rocks, and eagerly wait for them to start growing. I would check the daily and watch my minature underworld come to life. Amazingly, the magic rocks would grow all the way to the top, and I would delight in the magic.

My recent order proved other than magic...
I followed the directions to a tee, waited for the magic. Nothing other than a couple weak stalagmites grew in my underwater world. The rest of the rocks turned into a sludge of dissapointment. Maybe next time I'll spend my fifteen bucks elsewhere.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars This suggestion might help, January 9, 2009

By 

Juggler (Palatine, Illinois) - See all my reviews

= Durability:1.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:2.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:1.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Magic Rocks: Shark (Toy)

I loved this as a kid, but I've been twice disappointed when I bought it for my own children. Just like others, we have gotten the sludge at the bottom of the tank. However, I have a few suggestions that might help.

(1) Mix the solution really well. The gel that they provide is so heavy that it sinks to the bottom of the tank and promotes growth spreading out along the bottom, rather than up.

(2) Use 1/3 of the rocks to make the bedrock for the second batch. We did get the sludge with these rocks, but it is true that the second batch needs to be placed on this bedrock rather than on a sludge-free place in the tank.

(3)Our most useful discovery was when we suspected the rocks are old and oxidized. I scraped the surfaces of each rock with a nail file to expose new material.

(4) I haven't completely solved the problem of the rocks growing up and spreading out across the surface of the water, but I suspect that scraping all of the surfaces will promote multiple slender columns rather than one chimney that reaches the water's surface and then spreads out.

(5) Because the rock scraping is time consuming and I am still experimenting with the product, I have not yet poured out the old solution and replaced it with fresh water. If I had been more on top of that (growing them in a day rather than over the course of a week), I might have been able to preserve the intense colors of the rocks.

I hope these suggestions help, or at least spur new thinking on how to make these rocks grow beautifully like they did in the 'good old days!'

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome! (But follow the directions!), February 25, 2008

By 

A Reader (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

= Durability:2.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Magic Rocks: Shark (Toy)

I had these Magic Rocks as a kid. I had fun all over again growing these rocks with my 8 & 9 year old kids. There are some important details in the directions that if you don't follow them exactly, you will end up with gooey sludge (i.e. grow the rocks in two batches--the first batch is the bedrock for the second batch--,and poor out the growing solution after 6 hours with the second batch of rocks). If you follow the directions, these rocks are like magic!