Pete's Expert Summary
My human, in a fit of what they call "enrichment," has procured a box of glorified, lumpy gravel from a brand that typically deals in glossy pictures of volcanoes and faraway jungles. The idea is to violently smash these perfectly good, rollable orbs with a hammer to reveal some shiny trinkets within. While the resulting shards might catch the light in a moderately amusing way, and the original, un-smashed rocks have a certain heft perfect for batting under the sofa, the entire noisy, dusty process seems like a tremendous effort for something that isn't even tuna-flavored. The only redeeming feature is the tiny display stands, which are clearly designed to be knocked off a shelf in the middle of the night.
Key Features
- DISCOVER CRYSTAL TREASURE - Break open these rocks to reveal amazing crystals inside! Geology doesn’t get more exciting than breaking open rocks and finding crystal treasures. This great STEM activity makes an excellent gift for girls and boys!
- COLORFUL VARIETY – Geodes can form with a wide variety of crystals inside. These geodes have been hand-selected to bring you the best variety available.
- 100% NATURAL GEODES – These real specimens may be as big as a tennis ball, or as small as a ping-pong ball. Kids will love the thrill of cracking them open to see the natural beauty inside. This STEM activity emphasizes fun and discovery!
- 16 PAGE FULL-COLOR LEARNING GUIDE – You’ll learn all about the fascinating science behind how geodes are formed in the detailed, full-color Learning Guide. National Geographic educational toys make science and learning fun, and are the perfect STEM gifts for boys and girls!
- HIGH-QUALITY EDUCATIONAL TOYS - We're proud to make the highest quality hands-on science toys, and all our products are backed by exceptional service. If your experience is less than stellar, let us know and we'll make things right!
A Tale from Pete the Cat
The box smelled of dust and deep places, an aroma that tickled a primal nerve somewhere behind my whiskers. The human presented one of the spheres to me. It was cool, gray, and vaguely rough, a silent, stony promise. I gave it a cursory sniff and a testing pat. It rolled, but with a weighty, ponderous quality unlike the flighty plastic balls I usually favored. This was not a toy. I knew, with the certainty of a thousand generations of ancestors who had stared into the night, that this was a vessel. A container. My human, in her blissful ignorance, thought it was a rock. I knew better. It held a secret. She laid the sphere upon a towel on the floor, a sacrificial altar. Then she donned the ridiculous plastic goggles and retrieved a small hammer. My fur stood on end. The fool! She was going to break the pact! Whatever spirit or ancient energy was bound within that stone, she was about to release it with crude, percussive force. I let out a low growl, a warning she predictably misinterpreted as "playing." I backed away, seeking the high ground of the armchair to observe the coming cataclysm. What would emerge? A puff of foul air? A vengeful ghost? A thousand tiny, biting insects? The suspense was unbearable. *CRACK.* The sound was sharp, offensive. The sphere split into two jagged halves. I braced myself. The human child shrieked, a sound of delight, not terror. I crept closer, peering over the arm of the chair. There was no spirit, no swarm. The inside of the rock was… sparkly. It was lined with a cluster of pale, glittering crystals, like frozen sugar. It did nothing. It said nothing. It simply lay there, broken and glittering under the lamp light. All that ceremony, all that dramatic potential, for a common disco rock. It was the most profound anticlimax of my week. I descended from my perch, yawned to show my utter lack of impressment, and sauntered over to the discarded box. It was sturdy, smelled faintly of the outdoors, and was the perfect size for a nap. They could keep their shiny pebbles; I had claimed the true prize.
