Mine for Gems Science Kit

STEM Skills targeted: Earth Science, Archaeology, Geology
Recommended age range: 6-15 years

When I was a kid one of my favorite activities was digging in the garden to find old bits of broken pottery. Searching for beautiful stones and shells at the beach was also great fun. There’s just something really elementally enjoyable about digging in the dirt and making discoveries!

So it’s no big surprise to me that this gem discovery set is a favorite with homeschoolers, teaching geology in a fun and exciting way.

This kit includes quartz, amethyst, hematite, calcite, geode, tiger’s eye and other semi-precious gemstones, embedded into an “excavation brick”. The kids’ job is to use the digging tool and brush provided to uncover the 10 gemstone specimines and identify each one using the provided guide.

This is a really fun way to start or add to a rock collection (indeed one of my most treasured childhood posessions was a box of rocks!) and the thrill of discovery makes this a really fun educational experience for all involved.

As well as the brick with embedded stones, there’s also an activity guide written by teachers for identifying and learning about each specimen with additional puzzles and games.

It does end up being a little messy! But worth it for the fun experience and the rocks can be cleaned and even polished in a rock tumbler after excavation.

Whether you’re homeschooling your kids or just want to add some fun educational activities to their play, this kit would be a great choice for a wide age group.