Green Kid Crafts Review – Volcanoes, Crystals & Gems

We got the Green Kid Crafts Volcanoes, Crystals & Gems discovery box a little while ago (November, I think)! My kids really loved this box so I wanted to make sure we shared it with you!

If you're not familiar with Green Kid Crafts, Green Kid Crafts delivers 3-4 eco-friendly, educational activity kits for $19.95/month or less! This box ships via USPS and can be addressed to your child!

This Green Kids Craft box included 5 projects this month: a Create Your Own Crystal kit, a Rock Excavation pack, a Make Your Own Volcano experiment, the Eruption Abstract Art kit and a Geode kit. Each project is neatly packaged separately in zip lock bags (no need to dig around the box looking for materials!) and includes an illustrated instruction card.

Project: Eruption Abstract Art

Here are the materials for the Eruption Abstract Art kit. It included a strip of paint pots, a paint brush, a marble, and black paper.

This Eruption Abstract Art, also known as marble painting, was a huge hit! Noah loved being in charge of just how much of each color was used and where they were placed.

He could hardly wait to add the marble to the box and start shaking it all around. We found that dancing really helped shake it the best. 😉

After removing the marble, Noah decided there wasn't nearly enough paint. We dipped the brush, held it between the box top and opening and tapped the brush on the edge of the box. This really helped give his masterpiece the Jackson Pollack effect, and using the lid as a shield helped us keep any splatter outside the box to a minimum.

We were given just the black paper with the kit, but Noah wanted to see what it would look like on white, so we tried it. He was so proud of his creations and couldn't wait to display them in his room.

Project: Crystal Growing Kit

The materials for the Crystal Growing Kit included a pipe cleaner, white yarn, borax powder, and a round stick.

Noah chose a spiral shape for his pipe cleaner, and wanted to make it “super green—just like the TNMT Mutagen”.

After bringing that water to a boil, we transferred it to the measuring cup so Noah could add the Borax all by himself. He said it was like he was a scientist cooker (chef).

He added some drops of the green coloring and stirred. It wasn't quite green enough, so he added a few more drops. And then, a few more.

All mixed up and ready for the pipe cleaner.

And now we played the waiting game. We taped the stick to the top of the jar to hold it in place and keep the pipe cleaner from touching the sides.

The hardest part about the crystal growing kit was finding the patience to wait the 24+ hours for the crystals to form. But this actually worked!

Project: Rock Excavation Kit

The materials for the Rock Excavation Kit included a rock mineral and gem embedded in plaster, wooden “chisel” sticks, a magnifying glass, and instructions.

This excavation kit was a smashing success! When we first examined the craft kits included in the box, this was the activity Noah was most excited to get to. I did love and appreciate that this project was small and could be done in one sitting – and we had the Green Kid Crafts box handy to keep the mess contained!

His older siblings have tried other rock digging kits before, so he was ecstatic that it was finally his turn (as you can tell by that huge grin).

This activity was a bit more time consuming than anticipated, but that was not an issue whatsoever. Noah really enjoyed every minute of chipping away at the block, anxiously hoping that the next chip would reveal which gems were hidden. Dig, chip, scrape, brush, repeat.

After much digging and being dust covered from head to toe, he was now the proud owner of two beautiful rocks—an aventurine (brownish glass containing sparkling particles of copper or gold) and what we believe to be an amethyst. He carried around those rocks and the excavation tools (pick, brush and tiny magnifying glass) for days.

Project: Erupting Volcano

The materials for the Erupting Volcano project included Crayola Model Magic Clay, baking soda, lava rocks, a cup, and a food coloring tablet.

As most kids will tell you, there isn't a more exciting simple science experiment than creating your own volcano! Liam used the molding clay to form the volcano around the top part of a water bottle, and used the included lava rocks to decorate around the bottom edge. He poured the baking soda inside the volcano and was ready to begin.

After placing the coloring changing tablet in the vinegar, he used the cup that was included to pour small amounts of the vinegar into the top of the volcano. He and Noah were delighted as the pink “lava” erupted down the sides of the volcano, covering the rocks and pooling up at the bottom of the dish. With the amount of baking soda given in the kit, each child was able to create the eruption multiple times; squeals of joy and laughter erupting from the kitchen table with each pour.

Project: Geode Kit

The Geode kit included 2 small geodes, ready to be smashed to see what was inside! My 8-year old rock lover and daughter, Sage, whisked these away to her room so we didn't get to take a photo of the finished product!

My kids loved this month's Green Kid Crafts! All of five projects had some element of science, so I love that they learned something while having fun! All of the projects were appropriate for my 4, 6, and 8 year old!

You can save $60 Green Kid Crafts on a 6-month subscription using this link!

What do you think of Green Kid Crafts?