Thames & Kosmos 626039 Thames and Kosmos 606084 Mint and The Hidden Island Adventure, Explore Sun with Pepper, Solar Energy, Experiment Box for Ages 8 to 11, Multi

The screws don't properly work and there are several mistakes in the instructions. The snapper doesn't works at all. Disappointing.

Mmm...I do get slightly 'put off' when I get a something like this that, when opened is obviously in a very oversized box.The box is over selling the product, which makes me think the product isn't up to the claims made about it?Don't expect the 'experiments' to be the size they appear in the pictures. they are much smaller. the figure of 'Pepper' for example is only about 1 inch tall.As for the experiments, I don't know. They have not been put together yet. My granddaughter was so underwhelmed by the contents [after the initial 'Wow' at the box] she's not bothered with it.The box gets the 3 stars not the contents.

I gave this to my eight year old daughter. She was able to read the instructions and assemble the tree house all on her own! I will be purchasing more from this line!

My 8 year old daughter really enjoyed doing this STEM kit. She was able to do almost all of the projects on her own. The only difficulty she had was putting the solar battery onto the boat and I was called in to use the included sand paper to make it fit. There are 7 projects in this set. The instructions are easy to understand and are combined in an on-going story about a young adventurous girl named Peppermint. Included is a cute Peppermint figurine to play with when you complete the wood island.There are 7 projects in the kit, all with scientific explanations:1. Build a wooden island and beach hut. My daughter loved making this and still plays with it.2. Assemble a simple wood sundial. This is still being used to check the time on sunny days.3. Make a black paper volcano that heats up and spins a solar wheel. Really cool.4. Make salt water and evaporate it in the sun it to create salt crystals.5. Using an evaporation process, gather fresh water from salt water.6.Learn about solar energy with a solar cell and motor.7. Use the solar cell and motor to construct a wooden boat that vibrates and moves. My daughter and hubby could not stop playing with this one!

Wow, that's amazing, simple though very entertaining. I like the idea of following Pepper girl while doing experiments. My son loves it. Look forward buying other sets of the same series. The quality is pretty good. The only thing I replaced provided robe with thinner tread so the Pepper figurine floats easier.

Bought it for a Christmas gift for my granddaughter. At 8 years old, she was able to assemble it without much help. It truly is a STEM product. It is very well made, not flimsy at all. A fascinating learning tool for youngsters. Highly recommended.

The focus of this Peppermint Mars Expedition is magnetism. There are 7 projects in the kit. My 8 year old daughter enjoyed doing this set. She was able to do most of it on her own. The only issue she had was with building the Mars rover vehicle which had a burr on its axle that needed to be sanded off.The projects follow along with a engaging story involving the Peppermint girl character. Instructions are easy to follow and at the end of each lab is an in-depth explanation of what is happening. The seven things to make are:1. Assembling the wooden Mars spaceship.2. Using iron fillings in a test tube and a magnet to check magnetic fields.3. Building a compass out of water,a foam disk and a magnetized needle.4. Making a paper Peppermint figure float weightlessly in the air using a paper clip and the magnet.5. Assembling a Mars rover wooden vehicle and using it to glide a magnetic ball from the space ship into the Mars rover vehicle.6. Using the included magnetic ball and magnet to make the Mars rover move forwards and backwards.7. Creating magnetic slime. Overall, a really enjoyable experience for my daughter with lots of re-play.