DANCING BEAR Rock & Mineral Collection Activity Kit (200 Pc Set) with Meteorite, Real Shark Teeth Fossils, Arrowheads, Crystals, Gemstones, Treasure Hunt ID Sheet, STEM Science Education, Made in USA

I got this kit for my child and they loved it. They're interested in rocks and gems and how they're formed, so I went looking for a good introductory kit. Dancing Bear's kit received rave reviews, so I figured I would try it. I was not disappointed. Dancing Bear's done a great job of compiling a kit full of interesting rock and gem samples. You get common gravel, ancient shark teeth, reproduction arrow heads, and a variety of polished stones and gems. You get several of each sample, too, so you get a good idea of what Red Jasper, for instance, looks like compared to Snowflake Obsidian. The kit comes with an identification chart with full color pictures of each sample. The chart is very handy and easy to use, so my child, who can't read yet, was still able to pick up different stones and gems and put them on the correct picture on the chart. The kit also has a small bag containing a piece of a meteorite from South America. My child was excited to hold something that was once really floating in space. That was a great moment. One thing some reviewers dinged Dancing Bear for was the packaging of the kit. You receive a cardboard box with a large Ziploc bag in it containing the rocks, teeth, arrowheads, etc all mixed together and the full-color ID chart. I don't mind that a bit. My child and I had a fine time separating them out on our own and identifying them using the ID chart. I assume more value in the packaging would only mean higher retail prices. Don't worry about the packaging. I would highly recommend this kit and I might consider it for other children in my life as a gift. I think home schoolers would also like using it as a teaching tool.

My 7 year old son is very nature-oriented, and recently said he wanted to start a rock collection. He received this as a gift for Christmas to get him started. He LOVES it! He sat for a good hour or more going through and matching them up to the guide, examining them and showing everyone his favorites. He was ecstatic to find out there were shark's teeth, and he found a good dozen or more. He found two arrowheads, which was fun for him too. I don't know much about rocks or geology, but this was the perfect gift for him. My 10 year old son was mildly interested, but my almost-4 year old daughter enjoyed looking through the collection with him for awhile. They came in a gallon size ziplock bag, which was in a plain white box. The white box had a label printed on it, so he had to read it to find out it was a rocks and mineral kit (as opposed to just seeing 12 rocks through a plastic cover like most of the "kits" on here), but this one contained so much, and I felt it was worth the price, even if it didn't quite have the visual appeal of the other kits.

I purchased Rock & Mineral Collection Activity Kit (Over 150 Pcs) with Educational Identification Sheet plus a genuine Meteorite fragment, Fossilized Shark Teeth and Arrowheads, Dancing Bear Brand as Christmas gift for my ten-year-old son. We love going on nature walks and he is always bringing home rocks, feathers, etc to put in his treasure box. This kit was a major hit! It comes in a plain white box, with a large zip lock bag of assorted rocks, a cheap magnifying glass, and a fact sheet to help you identify the rocks. The meteorite is tiny so I appreciated the fact that it was bagged separately in a tiny zip lock bag. The collection of rocks had good variety. These aren't large rocks. Most are somewhere between pea-sized to driveway gravel size. We dumped the bag of rocks on an area rug and had such fun looking through and sorting, identifying them using the chart. There were so many different kinds! He loved the real shark teeth (the kit included several). The kit included a small magnifying glass which is not great quality (cheap plastic) but okay, which we used sometimes but the rocks are large enough to not require it. Obviously this kit wouldn't be good for young kids because of the choking hazard. However, I'd highly recommend this product for any adult or child who is interested in geology and rock collecting. It's very basic, wonderful for beginning rock collecting, and worth the price!

I have enjoyed using this one in the classroom. I didn't give it a 5 star as there was a bit too much repeating and even with using the chart, I am not sure that I got one of each thing on the chart. My kindergarten students enjoy it well enough for me to give it 4 stars. For the price, I thought it made a nice center.

This is by far the best collection of stones I have ever received! So much amethyst! I am just starting out on tumbling and collecting rocks and have ordered other collections, but this collection exceeded my expectations! I received over 40 different types of rock, as well as, 2 10mm sized chunks of meteorite, 16 sharks teeth, 2 arrow heads, two geodes (already split in half), and a gorgeous cluster of dark amethyst! Some rocks are tumbled and polished to perfection and some will need to go through a few stages. Some are completely rough and need to go through all 4 stages and some are already shaped and just need to go through the last two polishing phases. The sizes range from 5mm to 30mm, which makes it perfect for jewelry making! I was thrilled to notice accidentally that there is a magnetic hematite that will cling to the meteorites. I've uploaded a couple pictures, one is of the stones I was able to identify (most are polished and some need to go thru the tumbler) and the other is of the unidentified stones that need more tumbling. I will be ordering more because as I said before, this is the best collection on the internet and worth every penny!

I bought one kit as a birthday gift for my 11 year old niece who has taken an interest in rock collecting. I opened and went through it to make sure it was good for a gift. I had a blast sorting the rocks and wanted to keep them for myself so I ordered a second kit so we could both have one. My niece opened my gift to her before her others and immediately started to sort the stones using the poster chart (Great extra!), ignoring the other unopened gifts. The little Identification Guide book was an excellent 101 education for myself as a budding rock hound. Highly recommended for education purposes as it comes with good literature and lots of specimens. Not recommended for someone wanting a 100% complete and perfect collection.

After reading multiple reviews that cited issues with packaging and included resources, it seems that Dancing Bear has improved this collection. The diverse range of samples included in this kit are the real strength of this product: there are usually multiples per mineral, and each specimen is clearly labeled on the included identification sheet and booklet (with no repeats, as one review stated). This provides HOURS of fun for curious kiddos (and their parents, lol) who like to engage in hands-on learning. It also shipped extremely quickly! Definitely a great purchase for a great price. If you're seeking more out of a rock kit, consider this one a starter. The sheer number of quality samples is enough to spark some lightbulbs over heads of all ages.

This is an awesome collection of rocks! Perfect for my kids to start their collections. You get everything listed and a chart with some filler rocks, which are cool too, not stuff I would find around here. There was enough of each kind to have 2 of everything so each of my kids got their own. Very simple packaging, it comes in a ziplock bag inside a cardboard box, your paying for a great rock collection not fancy packaging or a brand name. Way exceeded my expectations I highly recommend this over those name brand discovery type kits that you'll be lucky to get a few pebbles out of. I got the collection with the meteorite fragments which honestly are tiny, they come in a very small ziplock of their own so you don't have to find them buried with the rest. But they are small. I think they are cool anyway. This is a great kit for the price and I highly recommend it.