Friday 26 April 2019

MBE STEM Science Kits Review and Giveaway (age 8+) Sent by Thames And Kosmos

I like science toys best of all and I'm delighted that my boys love them too. Thames and Kosmos have a huge range of science, mind and exploration toys, games and puzzles. Their brand new MBE range of science kits includes 8 different sets designed to allow your child to explore their world and learn something new and exciting, and at only £8.99 each, they make a great birthday gift for friends.

The new kits are designed to introduce different scientific topics, with fun facts and interesting hands-on experiments, and Thames and Kosmos have sent us 2 to review - Amazing Minerals and Crystal Geode.


The Amazing Minerals Experiment Kit is a nicely presented digging kit with 2 tools, magnifying glass and the familiar chunk of plaster containing the hidden treasure.

Thames And Kosmos Amazing minerals STEM kit box contents

The instructions suggest you behave like a real geologist or archaeologist, marking your area into squares and working in sections. My son really liked this idea and it was around 30 minutes before he had proudly excavated all three of his precious stones.


Each kit contains a purple Amethyst, a milky white piece of Mountain Crystal Quartz and a stony, glittery piece of Pyrite, or Fool's Gold. Before you uncover them though, you really have no idea what shape or size they'll be, or just how pretty.


I think we did very well and my 9 year old is very happy - especially with his Fool's Gold!

Our second kit is a bit more complicated, but only slightly. The Crystal Geode Experiment Kit has everything you need to actually create your own geode, and I love geodes, so I was particularly excited about this.


First you need to dissolve one of the sachets of chemical 'Crystal Powder' (Potassium Aluminium Sulphate) into warm water to create a 'seed crystal', and leave it to sit until the 'seeds' are ready to be taken out. I had expected the 'seeds' to be more chunky, but here they are, small and beautiful.


Use the plaster of Paris to create your geode 'rock' and scatter the seed crystals onto the damp plaster. Let that dry for 24 hours.

When the 'rock' is dry, mix up the second sachet of Crystal Powder and add in the colour dye sachet. Pour the dyed chemical mix into the rock, sit back and wait for your crystals to grow. Once you are happy with your formation, you can remove the plastic mould and tip away the excess liquid and crumbs of tiny loose crystals that are created.

It takes a few days and it's entirely my fault that we haven't yet been able to complete this... I promise I will post our progress on my Instagram account!


I love these kits. They're carefully thought out, interesting and the instruction leaflets are very clear and easy to follow. My children needed a little help with the Crystal Geode kit because you have to heat your mixture, but it's well worth 5 minutes adult supervision to be able to do a more tricky and 'grown up' scientific experiment, and my children learned a lot about how to be safe and sensible while heating and moving chemicals.

The full range of MBE STEM kits available are: 

Amazing Minerals – excavate minerals like a real geologist!
Bouncing Planets – space fans will love making their own bouncy-ball planets in various colours.
Crystal Geode – this kit includes all the ingredients and instructions needed to grow your own crystals in a self-cast plaster mould.
Crystal Growing – from white crystal salt and water, this pack shows children how easy it is to create their own fascinating crystals.
Prehistoric Sea Dogs – an unusual ‘pet’ for Easter, this experiment kit lets kids breed their own prehistoric crustacean.
Molecule Beads – As if by magic, turn liquids into slimy giant molecules!
Monster Putty – make playful monsters or funky aliens with this amazing ‘Intelligent putty’.
Magic Tricks – Each pack includes a collection of magic ingredients

There are 8 different sets in the Thames And Kosmos MBE STEM Kit range and they are newly available now priced £8.99rrp. You can find loads of Thames And Kosmos kits online on Amazon (*affiliate link).

Thames And Kosmos have kindly offered my readers a chance to win an MBE STEM Kit (chosen at random) for yourselves. Entry to the sweepstake/giveaway is via the Gleam form below and it is open to UK entrants only. The giveaway will end at midnight Sunday 19th May.

For a link to help with Gleam or to see my other current UK Giveaways, please see my Giveaways Page...

MBE STEM Science Kits Giveaway (age 8+) Sent by Thames And Kosmos

We were sent our kits for review. *Amazon links are affiliate, which never costs you anything more, but earns me a few pence if you buy through my link. I'm not paid to cover children's STEM, so it helps keep the website free. 

42 comments:

  1. During a recent holiday on the Isle of Arran, I saw a kingfisher hovering over a stream! It has to be the prettiest of birds I have ever seen - it's feathers were so vibrant!

    ReplyDelete
  2. A bottle filled with all newspapers - dates from 30 years previously ! So many great finds on beaches

    ReplyDelete
  3. I would also be Fossils that I found.

    ReplyDelete
  4. It was a sunset one evening. The weather that day wasn’t particularly spectacular, but I walked down the road to be greeted by those clouds. Beautiful pinks fading into bright yellow. It was certainly the most sublime combination of colours I have ever witnessed. I’ve never seen a sunset that compared since.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I saw a pineapple plant in St Lucia, up until then I had thought pineapples grew on trees

    ReplyDelete
  6. Robert Mark Ward28 April 2019 at 04:22

    We found a layered pink stone on a beach near Tenby, when I split it there was a pattern traced through it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. We found old coins in the ground

    ReplyDelete
  8. All the lovley rocks on the beach , the shapes and patterns from the water hitting them

    ReplyDelete
  9. old coins on the beach x

    ReplyDelete
  10. I found fossils one day when adventuring, it was nice to see!

    ReplyDelete
  11. The toads in our garden which we absolutely did not know were there

    ReplyDelete
  12. Natalie Burgess1 May 2019 at 19:42

    It was a few,months ago.it was a tree that looked just like a human. My little girl was fascinated xx

    ReplyDelete
  13. I think it has to be fossils for me too - fossilised fish, in a quarry in Caithness. It's so exciting to split open a piece of slate and see the remains, knowing you are the first person to see it for many thousands of years

    ReplyDelete
  14. Margaret Clarkson
    Various fossils including ammonites and belamites

    ReplyDelete
  15. A ghost of an old lady picking flowers in the garden.

    ReplyDelete
  16. I used to love fossils as a child but could never find any! I did find loads of beautiful shells and stones on the beaches tho

    ReplyDelete
  17. i once found a huge stash of old pennys in the forest which i donated to our local museum

    ReplyDelete
  18. I have a large box of jet found when I was little in the 1950's from Robin Hoods Bay Beach. Used to walk miles on the coastline with my great uncle who lived there

    ReplyDelete
  19. my husbands boss found a fossil in a quarry before he sold it on for loads!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I found £7 in 1982! that was a lot of money then! My mum and Dad were thrilled ;0

    ReplyDelete
  21. Found fossils along the north Norfolk coast

    ReplyDelete
  22. We found a fossil whilst digging a huge hole in a friends garden when we were younger, we were trying to get to the other side of the world :)

    ReplyDelete
  23. I saw lambs being born as a child- I was fascinated!

    ReplyDelete
  24. I found a shell on the beach, it was one of the big ones, it was awesome

    ReplyDelete
  25. mu son found roman coins while metal detecting

    ReplyDelete
  26. we often go to an abandoned quarry to hunt for fossils we are yet to find any tho i did once find a cool rock in the shape of mans bits but it was huge so couldnt take it home lol

    ReplyDelete
  27. Hermit crabs, the kids were fascinated by them.

    ReplyDelete
  28. My daughter is always spotting things on the floor and collecting them. One of the most interesting was an old piece of pottery that she found in the mud.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Found fossils on the north east coast

    ReplyDelete
  30. We are lucky enough to live right near the beach and I love all the weird and wonderful shells and rocks we see on our walks

    ReplyDelete
  31. I loved to find beautiful pebbles on the beach 🐗

    ReplyDelete
  32. We climbed a volcano in Tenerife. The landscape all around was fascinating.

    ReplyDelete
  33. pretty stones in Cornwall when we were kids

    ReplyDelete
  34. The most I've ever found on a beach is shell's.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Some pretty seashells on the beach

    ReplyDelete
  36. Seen the northern lights that was amazing

    ReplyDelete
  37. I always thought that pineapples grew on trees

    ReplyDelete
  38. Blue button jellyfish which aren't actually jellyfish

    ReplyDelete
  39. I like this blog very much so much superb info.

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment. I read every one and try my best to reply!