Mineral Rock and Fossil Kits for Kids

Do you have a little gemstone or dinosaur detective at home? Does your Indiana Jones go digging in the garden for treasure? There are some very interesting rock and fossil kits for kids that you can buy to keep the kids busy for hours and help them feel quite accomplished when they make their find.

As a parent, I know that educational toys are best for our kids, and if they engage with toys that teach them about their universe, you know that they're on the right track. It isn't easy to get kids interested in science, so why not introduce them to fun science kits for kids at an early age?

Your kids will find that playing with these mineral rock and fossil kits is a fun way to learn about a vast number of minerals and dinosaurs. Whether playing alone or with friends, they can hunt and dig up pieces and then polish them to add to their collection.

Here's a tip to make digging less messy. Since the fossils are set in sand or plaster blocks, things can get gritty and dust could irritate your eyes. Wearing goggles is a good idea, but if you also want to reduce the mess, sprinkle the block with a little water. Not only will this solve the problem, but digging won't be very hard.

One word of warning though - these kits contain small pieces that children younger than 3 should not get their hands on.

A budding paleontologist would be thrilled to get a dinosaur fossil kit. The kits will usually have the bones of a dinosaur hidden in a sand or plaster block and the child can use the tools provided to excavate them. Once he has all the pieces, he can assemble them to make a nice model.

The next time you take your kid to see life sized dino skeletons at a museum, he'll be more knowledgeable about them. Just be warned that he'll probably want more kits to grow his collection of these wonderful models!

The Tyrannosaurus Rex is the most fearsome of all dinosaurs and this kit from the Smithsonian is one of the most popular ones for it. The bones are made of plastic and hidden in a sand block. The kit makes it fairly challenging to dig up the bones and then find the right pieces to assemble together. A marsh pick and brush are included, along with detailed instructions for excavating the bones and then building the T-rex model up. Your kid will feel even more important when he wears the safety goggles provided!

Another great T-rex dig kit. In addition to the dinosaur parts in a plaster block, excavator tools and instructions, there's also a neat little quiz to add to the educational aspect of the toy. Use the hammer and scraper to uncover the bones and then the brush to clean them before assembling the skeleton.

Why settle for one dinosaur when you can gift a child a pack of three? This set contains a T-Rex, Triceratops, and Stegosaurus, dig tools, instructions and educational information. The pieces are plastic and set in a plaster block.

Whether you're a parent organizing a dinosaur birthday party, or a teacher looking to teach your students about dinosaurs, this classroom dinosaur dig kit is great for a fun and realistic archaeological dig.

If you have access to a sandbox or yard, this kit is perfect for getting many kids to excavate the 30 realistic pieces from the pit. These pieces include the dinosaur skeleton, a herbivorous dinosaur jaw fragment, and plant fossils. There are stakes and grid tape to divide the sand box into separate zones for each child, and trowels and brushes to dig and clean the fossils. There are full-color posters, instructional guides and lesson plans to help students learn all about dinosaurs.

This kit would make a cool activity for a dinosaur or Indiana Jones themed party!

There's no better way to learn about rocks, gemstones and crystals than to actually dig for them. It's like finding treasure in your very own archaeological project! These kits have these rocks embedded in a large plaster rock which can be uncovered using the provided tools. A child will be eager to add each one to her growing collection while learning facts about them in a fun way.

You'll get 8 genuine crystals of different sizes and colors embedded in a plaster block, digging tools, a display tray for showing off the crystals, and a leather drawstring pouch for safe keeping. The way the crystals are embedded in the block means that your child will be engrossed for hours. This is not a kit where he'll be done in a few minutes!

This one includes 10 real gemstones, a digging tool and excavation brush. A full-color guide will help your child learn about and identify all the gems.

A budding geologist will love this kit! Not only does it contain 12 different minerals, but they come from the three different layers of the Earth. The block is multicolored in layers replicating the actual Earth layers, and you'll get a digging tool and brush along with an identifier chart. This is great for an older kid, as it can help with learning about minerals and the Earth's layers.

When your child unearths a rock, you may find that the gemstone or crystal will be a bit dull looking from being buried in sand. If you want to get a polished look, you can also get a standard rock tumbler that polishes the rocks for you.

Turn gritty rocks into polished stones with this electric tumbler. The kit includes a small bag of semi-precious stones, enough grit for one batch of stones, some jewelry making findings, and a colored poster with complete instructions.

Budding scientists will like the challenge of excavating and examining different kinds of fossils. These kits feature sets of fossils, crystals and rocks for a complete learning experience.

This award winning set of three kits includes a crystal kit to grow a salt rock garden, rock candy and string crystals. The mineral kit includes a large geode that can be broken open to reveal 5 minerals that need to be identified using specific tests. The fossil kit includes a real plant fossil and a cast and mold for making a fossil.

This wonderful kit includes 15 real fossils from millions of years ago! Each specimen comes from various regions of the world, and a complete guide is included to explain each one. The fossils come in a display tray, so it's not really a dig kit, but a nice kit to grow your child's rock collection.

The 10 included genuine fossils can be dug up from a soft block using the provided tools and brush, and identified with the help of the included guide. The guide also includes plenty of fun facts about fossils.