Come and explore the world with Pepper Mint who goes on a mission to Mars, making all sorts of out-of-this-world scientific discoveries along the way! This STEM experiment kit will help your child to discover the basic principles of magnetism and invisible magnetic forces in a fun and engaging way. There are a total of seven exciting experiments to do: magnetic field detector, weightless Pepper, a compass, magnetic elevator, Mars rover and magnetic slime. This kit is suitable for aged eight and above.
This kit comes with an awesome looking rocket, which also acts as a test tube display. It didn’t take us long to construct the wooden panels of the rocket together but Ms C required my help putting the rover together. The rover is quite fiddly to put up and I did accidentally snap a piece of stick into two, which we use for the rover’s wheels, but luckily there are spares included. They also provide a small piece of sandpaper to make the slots wider or the tabs narrower.
This part-colour part-wood rocket model is very beautiful and sturdy which makes a great display and Ms C loves it. There is a coloured manual included containing the experiments. The instructions are clear and concise. Ms C (she is partially visually impaired) does require my support to read the text as it is too small for her.
We first started off playing with the iron powder (sealed in the test tube) using the magnet provided. It was fun seeing the iron filings changing shape and we managed to lift the iron powder towards the top!
Next, I helped Ms C cut out the paper Pepper and we glued it together with a paper clip. We then carefully threaded the paper Pepper with the string provided to create a weightless Pepper! It was really satisfying watching Pepper hover in the air using magnetic forces! Ms C was impressed and this is one of her favourite experiments!
We also managed to do all the rest of the experiments, like the magnet to control the Mars rover, making magnetic slime and many more! We love that all experiments work and they are not overly tricky to do!
This kit engaged Ms C right from the start and immersed her into the story with science. It helped her mind to get working through play. It is educational with plenty of hands-on interaction too. It does require adult supervision at times, especially mixing the slime and assembling the rover. Otherwise, Ms C is happily working independently.
This Pepper Mint Magnificent Mars Expedition kit is part of the Pepper Mint’s range (they also have the hidden island, underwater voyage and treehouse adventure) and it is designed to encourage young girls into STEM. Of course, for young boys too! I would definitely recommend this interesting kit and they make great gifts too!
Disclosure: We received the sample for the purposes of writing this review, however, all thoughts and opinions remain our own.