Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I've been on the fence about this product for like a year. My son is 4.5 and when this recently went on sale for $33, I snagged a set. I'm usually the kind of parent who isn't a "spend money on the kit when you can find everything you need at the dollar store/probably have something I could sort of use for the same idea already/make it yourself" type. But in the case, I'm so glad I did because for once I don't have to go looking all over kingdom come to find ideas and materials which saves me a ton of time, and it's visually enticing and appealing to a child, which is part of his enthusiasm towards using it. I get asked to do something in this set every day now and that's pretty sweet. The gift went over well with my kid who's a sensory experience lover. I definitely lead the expirement, but he's the one following my verbal instructions and doing all the action because it's safe for little hands, there's a decent margin for error, and he gets to really connect concepts like "do what your mother says because MAYBE she actually knows wtf she's talking about" and I love how he's learning about the process of science and expirements and concepts (sorry, dad and I are both science majors so it's an enjoyable aspect for us too) . He's got a good attention span for his age, the expirements are definitely dynamic for this age and I'd say up to maybe 7, if the child hasn't done stuff like this with you already or in school. Even so these activities have a wide range of quick experiences to longer ones requiring more patience, think like something that would sit for a couple days vs something with an immediate action. The instructions and concepts are explained simply on the cards, however some of them might be better further explained for engagement of concepts. For example, one of my son's favorite shows is DIY Sci on Amazon Prime with Steve Spangler. So when we did the expirement involving density ("Fireworks") after having watched DIY's episode discussing those concepts, it was a good way to tie in what we'd learned on the show already and my son loved it. As for the stuff you need, you'll probably already have all of it, but I went through the expirement cards and here's what's listed besides stuff like measuring spoons/water: Gummy bears Salt Egg Vinegar Paper towel Food coloring Paper cup Thread/twine Large paperclip Baking soda Cooked spaghetti Baby oil Vegetable oil White washable paint Glitter Sodium bicarbonate tablets Honey Milk 1 celery stalk w/leaves 1 white flower (carnation) Liquid dish soap Cotton swab Sensory items/foods with texture/outdoor items to view under scope Ice Half and half Sugar Vanilla extract M&Ms