don't waste your money
after reading some other posts, i thought i'd buy this for my 5-year-old daughter. at the very least, i thought we could grow a few cultures of bacteria and mold from her hands, feet, the sink, etc. i'm a former biology teacher so i thought it would be a fun experiment. well, after following the directions to make the gelatin, the solution still was too watery. we tried it again, doubling the gelatin, and still encountered the same problem. (by the way, one petri dish came cracked) the other "experiments" are a total joke--mash up bread and vinegar in a balloon and squeeze it out on a plate? that's supposed to show you about digestion? mix gelatin, water and a drop of green food coloring to make snot? really, i can't believe some of the other reviews that talk about doing this with their class and learning vocabulary?! the vocabulary i saw was "eeeewwwwwhhh! grooosssss!" and it really wasn't gross. i'm at a loss for how this thing gets so many stars... big waste.

Educational and Gross!!
My husband and six year old really enjoy doing these experiments together. This is a decent value for the money. I would suggest that a parents help is the best bet for enjoying this set to the fullest.

disgusting!!
We swiped some toes (after running around sockless in rubber boots), toilet water, teeth, the kitchen sink, and left one open to the air for 1/2 an hour. The winner was the toes! Truly gross. It takes about 10 days to get some good cultures going, but we kept a chart and it was VERY educational. The other 'experiments' were just play, but the swabs and cultures in the petri dishes were really worth the money. And there was anough gelatin left to do more experments so we passed the kit on to friends. :)

Fun for all
This toy keeps kids occupied for hours. What did doesn't like to learn about gross things. Depending on the age they will need a little adult supervision.

Great Fun for 7 and 4 year old
Yes, the price is a bit much considering what comes in the box - that's why 4 rather than 5 stars. However, I don't know that I've ever come across guar gum or valerian root powder in my routine shopping or otherwise. So you pay a few extra bucks for convenience - big deal. The kids have an absolute blast and they are loving learning about science with hands on experiments. Bacteria, molds, snot, gag, digestion, blood - what's not to love? We've completed all but two of the experiments and they've all been easy with results as described. We're waiting for our cultures (snot, dog slobber, toilet rim stuff, and a little girl mouth swap) to grow out so we'll have to wait and see on that one. Unlike one of the other reviewers, our prep of the gelatin for the petri dishes went beautifully. Plus, there are enough supplies to do all of the experiments more than once if you are willing to rinse out the balloon and a few other easy things. We all highly recommend.