Rock Breaker Geology Crew

We each of our sons and nephews one of these kits for Christmas, in memory of a trip we took together earlier in the year to Carlsbad Caverns. They were all so excited, They ran outside right away and cracked them open. Some geodes took more time to crack than others. None longer than 15 minutes. Some, boys were more precise and careful about their hammer whacking than others, and they naturally took longer too. Out of a total of 8 geodes, (4 boxes) They all have interesting and unique results after cracking. I really appreciated that the kits came with an informative booklet, goggles, and a display stand for the "coolest" cracked geode. The boys were all impressed with their personal geodes.

Birthday gift for my 10 yr. old grandson. He loved it. Needed some help from dad to break the bigger one open but tons of fun. Every rock had beautiful crystals. He was delighted. I always buy my grandkids gifts that they would never expect. Not electronics! What kid or adult for that matter doesn't like breaking plain old rocks to find something so special inside. Thanks National Geographic you were a hit.

We bought this for our boys who are 4 1/2. They loved the goggles and the magnifying glass that came with the kit. Breaking open the rock was a little more difficult than I thought. My boys definitely couldn't do it. You will also need to make sure you have a hammer and chisel to break them open. The rocks we got looked very different which is great! One was black on the outside and one was a creamy white brown color and the insides were very different as well. The lighter colored one was also much easier to open. The rocks are so much prettier in person and they really sparkle in the sun. It comes with a nice picture book as well. Great activity! Definitely recommend!

My son loved it. We used the hammer and chizel method and got a clean break into two pieces for both geodes - one quartz and one drusy quartz.
I recommend studying each geode to find a natural weak looking break point. Then chizel around the weak belt that you have identified. Start with gently taps. One of ours split with just a couple gentle taps. The other split after about 20 medium taps about half way around our imagined 'belt'. It's tempting to go for the largest 'belt' to maximize the visible area, but we went with shorter, weaker belts with good results. As you hold each geode you will notice that they are lighter than you might expect due to being hollow. Compare the weights of each to hypothesize how hollow you think each one will be when you open it. The kit includes a nicely illustrated information guide on different geodes and how each forms as well. Overall it was a fun project, educational, great galue, and yields some great little display worthy rocks that spur the imagination.

This kit was originally bought for my daughter as a gift from a friend and now I have purchased for my niece. This kit is so awesome! Includes safety goggles that can be used by the kids for other messy projects and they feel like scientists wearing them! The rocks themselves were sized between quarter to fist sized. Our first kit came with at least 5 rocks that turned out to be gorgeous geodes! The smaller rocks did contain geodes but they were smaller and less impressive. All geodes were clear/white crystal except one beautiful lavender colored one that we display! I recommend doing this outside on a cardboard over concrete with a sock-covered hammer and a chisel/ice pick, which is not included. The color pamphlets that come with it to describe the geodes are beautiful and full of information!