Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

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. 2015 update: wow, i totally forgot about this one and only review i gave 7 years ago until a friend was about to buy this and asked if this was my review! i'm glad to see it saved some people from a regrettable purchase. i'm teaching high school science again and so i tried to add a comment with some other science kit recommendations but amazon deleted it due to me putting links to other websites (ok, i get that). looking again at these 5-star reviews makes me question so many of these highly rated products. one thing the "fake reviews" seem to have in common is they're pretty short and sweet-- "perfect for a 10-year-old," "great for my grandson!" or "great kids gift" or "cool!" or "awesome!" you get the idea. i think they target folks who just can't figure out what to buy that young kid they'll be visiting for a holiday or birthday. anyway, i have no agenda with these folks. i just want an honest set of reviews and hope you got one in mine.