Features:

  • Dig up Real dinosaur fossils that are millions of years old! Dig for dinosaurs, sharks, brachiopods, mosasaurs, ammonites and more!
  • Explore paleontology using the tools of the trade, chisel, brush and magnifying glass, to excavate incredible real fossils
  • 16-Page learning guide illustrates how fossils are formed and helps young scientists identify each specimen as it's discovered
  • A complete learning Activity that includes a dig brick packed with dinosaur fossils, a chisel, a brush and a magnifying glass; everything needed to guarantee kids keep digging for hours
  • 100% satisfaction guaranteed - for 129 years, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC has provided fascinating and fun educational opportunities to aspiring Scientists around the world.
Great hit with my son and myself

Bought for my 6 year old, recently dinosaur and archeologically crazed son. The excavation tools are excellent for kids, and he really enjoyed digging the fossils out and having me read about them. Usually he is very much an impatient, "instant gratification " kind of boy, but I warned him how fragile they were and he would diligently work for a while, then take a break-- without parental prompting-- until he felt he could concentrate and be careful enough to go back to work. This is our second National Geographic purchase and we continue to be very satisfied. The vendor communication was prompt, courteous, and shipping was quick and hassle free--always a nice touch when you are a procrastinator such as myself and do a last minute scramble to order online gifts in time for an occasion.

really cool

I gave these to my girlfriend's kids (girl 5 and boy 7) for Christmas and they both loved it. They had a blast finding and digging out and cleaning the fossils. The teeth were the clear favorites, as they love the Jurassic World movies and were super excited to get an actual mosasaur tooth, as well as a sharks tooth. I was impressed by the quality of the fosssils, they were easily identifiable using the included guide, and 1 was even cut so that you could see the cross section, while another was polished and could easily be made into a pendant. I would definitely buy this again.

Great, instructional activity for a young child

My daughter really enjoys this! Real fossils embedded in a man-made clay. She didn't have the muscle strength to do this alone, but enjoys both the task and the discovery. We enjoyed looking up the fossils online afterwards. Great gift for introducing paleontology to young children. Depending on size and maturity I'd say this can be appropriate for ages 5 - 8. Makes a bit of a mess, so best to have him/her play with it in an area you can sponge down easily afterwards

Delightful!

This was for an 8 y/o dino fan but her 11y/o brother eagerly got involved in the excavation too. I am half tempted to get another one to do myself it seemed so cool! I love that this gives a little taste of what real paleontology is like! I love that the fossils are real. Honestly I think this could sell for twice as much.

Fun activity

We purchased this as a gift for my 9 year old for Christmas. She doesn't typically ask for anything specific and and this particular toy caught her eye. I didn't think she would give it much attention once she actually got it. I've been pleasantly surprised! She has spent at least a couple hours on it so far, and I'd say she's collected about half the fossils so far. The only downside I see is that the "excavation" creates quite a mess, so make sure to put down a placemat or a tray.

AWESOME product, but read this for more pics and instructions!! Product is a bit confusing at first, but awesome in the end.

First to give a few key facts on dimensions... - The box itself is a bit smaller than an 8.5 x 11 inch piece of standard size paper. It's about 1.5 inches thick. - The inside product is a pre-molded, pre-cast square, that measures about 8x8 inches. - It comes with 3 tiny tools, a magnifying glass, a small brush and a small knife/hack **These tools are very small, like 2-3 inches in length and about as thick around as a chopstick. So adults, good luck actually using the tools... as you help the kids. SO, I would suggest you toss the little knife they include, and either use a metal or disposal butter knife. Still relatively safe but far more effective than the little toothpick they insert. Just a little humor.. Okay, here is where there is some confusion at the onset: The pre-cast mold is somewhat decorated on the top. It looks like there are shells, and that the mold around the shells needs to be picked off to get to the shells. And that the shells are the fossils. NO! The shells are imprints/stamped decorations and nothing more than that. SO, the fossils are all contained well inside the mold. Generally, the fossils are really hard so don't be shy about cutting away with the knife right away. See pics. To get to the fossils, you need to break this mold into hundreds, or even thousands of pieces. If your mold doesn't end up looking like the picture showing my meal tray, you need to keep breaking away. Useful facts: 1. Our kit contained exactly 15 fossils, as promised on the label. 2. It gets SUPER dusty. I mean crazy dusty. So do this outside if possible. We ended up vacuuming like crazy and it was like a mini duststorm. 3. Using a small mallet or hammer - gently - is not a bad idea. Saves a lot of time. 4. Some of the fossils look like little rocks. Look carefully, as you may accidentally throw away a 90 million year old artifact! 5. The fossils, while awesome, are about an inch to maybe two at most. So not something you'll hang up on the wall. We had two hours of awesome family fun. This really is fun for both kids and adults to do together and gets the imagination racing. It's also super dusty so I would recommend a place indoors that you can easily sweep up, OR, do it outside. I mean the dust gets EVERYWHERE. Ideally priced at $20, but still a good product at the 25-28 dollar range, too. Thanks for reading and don't forget to look at the pics..

Excellent Gift for the Science-Minded, Young and Old Alike!

This is one of the greatest gifts ever. My son received one for Christmas, and I wanted one for myself so badly that I ordered on here- then I told my father about it, and he got excited, so I ordered another for him. We all had a blast excavating our fossils and comparing. There's something so satisfying about digging/uncovering things, especially REAL fossils (unlike the plastic ones you find in most kits.) The accompanying booklet is great, too, though the dinosaur bone looks nothing like the example shown in there (but it's obviously still dinosaur bone.) A 9 year old, a 35 year old, and a 69 year old all had great fun with these kits!

A great product which provided hours of entertainment and gives kids ...

Bought this for my grandkids so they would have something to do during a school vacation. They worked at uncovering the embedded fossils with enthusiasm I've seldom noticed when the two of them are doing something together. A great product which provided hours of entertainment and gives kids a sense of accomplishment as well as being educational as they search for the identification of each fossil uncovered. It does take a bit of effort to dig through the medium in which the fossils are embedded and the provided tools are made for small hands.

Awesome! Fun and educational!

This was so much fun for my grandson and the family to do. Finding the hidden treasures was so exciting for him (he's 6). You get real bones, shells, and teeth, along with a booklet describing all 15 really cool fossils. He is now fascinated with fossils and has a nice memory and fossils to keep. Note that when you first start digging, the fossils on the surface are just for show and are not real so they break up as you dig. We thought we were breaking the actual fossils, but they are deeper and do not break. Awesome educational gift! Loved it!

Wonderful for budding paleontologists of any age

We had a lot of fun with this kit. At times, my daughter wanted to chisel slowly (and the chisel with this kit is excellent, as are all the tools). For times when she was more eager to uncover or chip away larger chunks, we wet the gypsum and it became like a creamy clay at its wettest and simply easier to chisel/carve and less likely to chip or flake with brushing water on its surface. The only suggestion I have is that simple goggles could be a smart idea, especially for those who like to get in close. The thickness of the tool handles would be nice for small hands and makes the tools easier to handle but slips are possible with any similar tools. The booklet helped us identify each fossil and is a keeper to help us remember what each fossil is. The photos were clear and the text informative. The fossils themselves were excellent quality given the price of the kit. The size of each piece is smaller than individually purchased fossils we have and each makes a nice addition to her collection (the ammonite is particularly nice). This would be an excellent way to start a fossil collection, in terms of fun and economy.

Full Reviews