Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

So, this kit had a lot of potential but it's mostly hype, marketing and fad. So many of the glowing 5-star reviews here are not very helpful: "My kid was so excited to get this!" That is not a product review. We got this for my daughter's 9th birthday. My wife is trying to get her to be interested in science, so they have been watching the cartoon. And yes, my daughter was "sooo excited" when she opened this present. Here are my thoughts coming from a Dad with 5 very bright kids: PROS --The plastic pieces are pretty solid and larger-sized. This is important because normal-sized test tubes and petri dishes are going to be a little too small for many kids. --It appears inviting and does not look intimidating. --It's cool cute---not sugary "My Little Pony" cute. --The experiments (if you can call them that) are fun and made my daughter want to try them. CONS --Overpriced--this really should be in the sub $25 range. --I'm sorry but counting 15 pH strips towards your "30+ additional pieces" is really lame. (see photo) --The 4X microscope is a joke. They should not have even included it. You need more like 40X at the minimum and 300X for things to be really interesting. Advertising a microscope and then making it so weak is a cruel trick for a kid. Don't plan on seeing cells in an onion slice or hairs on a fly. --The microscope requires three LR44 batteries which are NOT INCLUDED! And at the time I write this review it is not mentioned anywhere in the Amazon description here. Nor is it obvious on the box and packaging--the notification is located on the BOTTOM of the box. (see photo) --The booklet of projects is pretty small and the typeface is really tiny and narrow. They really cheaped out on this. (see photo) --There are no materials for the projects included. This is not a traditional science or chemistry kit. They do not advertise it exactly as such, but you might assume it is. --And my biggest complaint--this doesn't teach kids science. The whole idea behind MC2 is to get girls to think science is cool and get interested in it. Not one of the 16 "experiments" teaches anything. WHY does the vinegar fizz then you mix it with baking soda? What is a base and acid and how do they change pH litmus paper? I'd like my daughter to know that baking soda has carbon and oxygen atoms in it making a solid powder; the vinegar is an acid which reacts to break down the molecules and releases CO2 gas. This same gas in soda, etc, etc. I'm a scientist but my wife is not. She and my "budding-scientist" daughter need a little more than a booklet of projects written in tiny writing. Kids need to be challenged. The kit sounds great in the description but it is quite underwhelming. I would rather we bought a real science or chemistry set with a more powerful microscope. There are several better kits here on Amazon.com.