Bandai STEM Kits – Crystal Growing and Sea Monkeys

A few month ago, we were announced as Bandai STEM Ambassadors and have been working with them to show off their extensive range of STEM kits for children. In the first month, we reviewed the National Geographic STEM Dig Kits and got to uncover fossils and bugs, and in the second month came the National Geographic Break Open 2 Geodes Kit which was a bit trickier but great for educating children about how crystals can form inside rocks. 

This month Bandai have sent us two more of their STEM educational kits for review. The National Geographic Blue Crystal Growing Lab (age 8+) and the Sea Monkeys Ocean Zoo (age 6+) and we took no time at all in getting both of these set up as they would bot take a few days to really see results.

Both kits, the Crystal Lab and Sea-Monkeys, need a lot of patience and they all need to be set in the right environment to grow so it was making sure we did everything right from the off.

National Geographic Blue Crystal Growing Lab

The National Geographic calcite crystal growing kit brings you an unparalleled crystal growing experience with a full-colour learning guide packed with fascinating crystal facts. It comes with everything your child will need to cultivate their very own crystal – this is the blue set, although there are different colours available. It comes with crystal growing powder, seed crystal rock, magnifying glass, wood stir stick, calcite, plastic display stand, instructions and a learning guide.

After T read the instructions carefully, we realised that this one would take a lot of time and patience to really get it right, and then we gathered a few extra supplies, such as a bowl and warm water, so we could get started. 

To start off, you need to mix the Crystal Growing Powder with warm water and stir with the stick until everything is dissolved, pouring a little of the powder in each time, until no more will go. This does mean that you might not use all the powder, but it is best to try and get as much in as possible for the best results. 

We used an empty glass jar and poured the mixture in, adding the seed rock and topping with cling film for the first day to keep it warm. We placed the glass jar at the boys bedroom window as this is the warmest room in the house and the crystal will form better with heat. 

Checking each day, the crystal slowly started to form, some around the edge of the glass too. After a week, this was our results which is quite amazing. The longer you do leave it, to more it will grow too. 

The Original Sea Monkeys Ocean Zoo

As a child, I remember sea monkeys being around back then, and now they’re back. And to bring them to life, all you need is water and some patience. 

Everything is included to grow your own Sea-Monkeys – the tank with magnifying windows on the side, a tiny measuring spoon, instruction sheet and 3 pouches containing water purifier, Sea Monkey eggs and Sea Monkey food.

We read the instructions and followed them exactly so we could hatch our own little pets, adding water and the first pouch to the Ocean Zoo Tank. We then left it for 24 hours before adding the second pouch, the sea monkey eggs. We saw the eggs float around but there was no sign off life initially, we were hoping to start seeing some of the eggshells hatch but nothing for that day. 

After a couple of days, the boys noticed something floating, and there they were, a couple of sea monkeys floating around the tank. It was so amazing to see that we had managed to hatch sea monkeys and the boys loved looking at them swim around. We carried on following the instructions, adding a spoonful of food on the fifth day, and saw a few extra sea monkeys hatch in this time.

On day 7, we came crashing down though as we woke to find all our sea monkeys floating on top of the tank. All of them had died. We didn’t quite understand why as we had followed the instructions, but I guess we were just unlucky with this. 

Both kits were very fun to do, even if one of them didn’t work out right in the end. It was a great time to talk about how you need to make sure to follow instructions, look after things, and that sometimes, nothing can be done.