A perfect gift! Bought this as an activity for Grandma and (5-year-old) grandson time together; he and I loved it! We had lots to talk about as he learned how to carefully chisel and brush away the rock in anticipation of which gem he was uncovering. The direction sheet included pictures and information about each gem -- just enough information to match our gems for identification and spark conversation. Now he has a great gem collection!

Great science activity for rainy days! Our grandson love rocks and this was a perfect gift!

My son enjoyed this activity but it was hard for him to dig out the gems on his own and we had to help a lot. I wish the tools made it easier for younger kids to do it on their own and keep them busy longer.

This was perfect for our Sunday School lesson. PLENTIFUL. They loved it. I will say, the sticks were really hard to use. I had to help almost every kid.

I bought these for my grandsons who had looked through your catalogue and told me what they wanted for Christmas. Your photo of the gemstones in the catalogue are bright and colorful and shows two of the same gemstone in each rock. First of all the stick you gave them to dig out the gemstone was not adequate to break up the rock easily, we found other tools that worked better. Secondly the gemstones varied drastically in size, most being very small and not impressive. Most of all the color was far from being bright and colorful. I had a hard time comparing the gemstone to your paper guide and be able to recognize what the gemstone was. These kits were a TOTAL DISAPPOINTMENT to my grandsons and to me. I take a lot of joy in giving my grandchildren things that make them happy and these gemstone kits did not make them or me happy. Christmas is suppose to be a happy time but your kit made them upset and unhappy when they were playing with the kit. They haven’t used the foam paint yet. Now after what we experienced on the gemstone kits I am apprehensive about a good outcome with the foam paints. This leaves me with a bad taste for ordering or buying from you in the future. You advertised your products opposite of what it turned out to be.

an absolute hot with my 4 and 7 year olds

My 5 year-old had great fun excavating these gems. It was a bit messy, as to be expected, but it kept him busy for awhile and was very exciting to find the reward inside.

My 5 year old loved these so much he wants another set! The do make quite a bit of mess, so I had him do them outside. He loved the surprise of seeing what gem he was going to get.

My granddaughters love digging for gemstones! They had lots of fun trying to find all the gemstones. Make sure you do this outside it is messy.

My 6-Year-Old daughter loves all things gems and stones, and she loved the reward at the end of the hard (messy) work. We did these either outside or inside on a rimmed cookie sheet. It goes faster if they are wet, or takes up more time if dry!

I got this for my nephew and I just know he'll love it. He super loved the dinosaur one. Can't wait to give it to him!

I have purchased this set from Lakeshore 5 or 6 times now. My Pre-K students and my summer campers love chiseling/digging and discovering which gemstones they have in their clay rock. For my summer campers that were 3 year old I used a small hammer to crack the outer rock to help them with the chiseling process. My older campers (5 year old) could do independently. The clay dust can get a bit messy, but definitely worth it. Great guide comes in the box to identify the gemstones and learn more about the stones.