Magic Schoolbus Science kits?

[happyWImom]

Has anyone used these, and how were they? They look good, and I was thinking they would be good Christmas Gifts. Multiple dc can use them at once, correct? (I don't want to have to get 2 of the same ones)

[happyWImom]

Oops! I somehow did a duplicate thread-not sure how to delete it!

[Farrar]

I've done them with my kids. They can be used by multiple kids, though there are a few things in them that are geared to just one kid using it - but nothing that we found to be a big deal. They've got a nice "scope and sequence" to them - the experiments build on each other. We've done a number of different brands of science kits and this is the only brand I would recommend without reservation. A grandparent gave us the first one we used along with the accompanying book and I thought that made a nice gift.

[CandaceC]

I kind of have mixed feelings about the one that I have purchased. I got the Human Body kit and that is the only one I've purchased thus far. I was very excited about it, but was a bit disappointed. I just didn't feel there was a lot in the box for the price I paid. There was a human body with stickers for organs/bones, etc. and that is great! However, I was highly disappointed in the activities/experiments they suggested or had to do in the kit.

 

I think if I had paid less for it I might have been a little less disappointed. :confused:

[happyWImom]

I kind of have mixed feelings about the one that I have purchased. I got the Human Body kit and that is the only one I've purchased thus far. I was very excited about it, but was a bit disappointed. I just didn't feel there was a lot in the box for the price I paid. There was a human body with stickers for organs/bones, etc. and that is great! However, I was highly disappointed in the activities/experiments they suggested or had to do in the kit.

 

I think if I had paid less for it I might have been a little less disappointed. :confused:

 

I did read a few negative reviews on the Human Body Kit on Amazon, and that was the one I was really leaning towards. I think I may hold off on them for now.

[Farrar]

We did the human body one and while it was okay, I would say that's one of the worst ones we've tried (though I saw that there was a dinosaur one now and I thought that looked a bit subpar). I still thought it was pretty good compared to other kits we've tried. The one about flight and the one about polymers... oh, and the one about germs - those were all really good. The one about space was similar to the one about the body in that it was okay. I don't know what the target age range says on them, but I think by about age 9 or 10 kids would probably be too old for these - maybe 8 or 9 if a kid is really into science and does a lot of experiments.

[Veritaserum]

My dd8 recently did the Space kit. She loved it! I'm not sure it would really lend itself to multiple children using it. Her sisters participated with some of them (like creating the phases of the moon with a flashlight), but she enjoys working by herself and I know would not have been happy to share her kit. Science is by far her favorite subject, so she's jealous about not getting to enjoy every part of an experiment or activity. :) We recently purchased a Science in a Nutshell kit, which specifically includes enough materials for six uses.

 

We had a good experience with the Magic School Bus Space kit, though. :)

[Down_the_Rabbit_Hole]

We just finished the Rainbow kit. I was very surprised at the quality of the supplies they sent, as well as how much was in the box. All the experiments worked which is amazing, I don't know how many times I would do science experiments curriculums suggested that fizzled out. Dd really enjoyed this kit, she would do the experiment as suggested then she would try different things to see if it helped or made it not work. This was our first Magic School Bus kit and I was not disappointed. We will be purchasing the Dinosaurs kit next. I am using these as out Science this year (K).

[Tonia]

We've used two of these so far. I'll agree with the other reviewers about the human body kit. It's alright, not spectacular. We have the space kit too (I like the space kit more than the human body kit) dd is looking forward to using it for our space studies in January. I plan to purchase more of these in the future - dd really likes them and I like that it's something she can do pretty much independently.