National Geographic Rock Tumbler Deluxe Series

So far, we have really enjoyed this rock tumbler. At first the drum would not spin and we had to add a rubber band to the outside to create friction for it to work, but later the rubber band came off and it worked fine so this may have just been user error. We kept it in our garage and ran the tumbler for about five days on and off with the first step and they have come out beautiful and polished already. We are looking forward to completing the next two steps over the next few weeks. It requires patience but if you set expectations about how long it will take it is a great activity for kids.

We got this tumbler for the kids for the rocks we have collected over time. This tumbler is great for beginners but the worst thing about it is the lid is extremely hard to open. The tumbling does good and doesn’t leak. Just takes up several tries to get the lid off to change out grit. This one is pretty noisy so may want to stick it somewhere you’re not going to have to hear it constantly. Simple instructions and easy to use other than the lid.

Wonderful gift for curious kiddos. They love that they can put their own rocks in with those provided. I will be gifting them additional grit packets for their birthdays so they can polish another round

My kids, 10 and 6, were really excited to use this, especially our 6 year old who is an avid rock collector. It was easy to set up and seems pretty sturdy and the instructions were straight forward. I took off a star for noise, but as long as you put it in a more "sound proof" room it's not as bad.

Its a fun little rock tumbler set and comes with everything you need for one round of rock smoothing. It is a little loud, so be prepared to put it somewhere that you dont mind hearing the tumbling sound for weeks, or I hope you have a sound proof room. We had no problems with it until the last round when the drum couldn't seem to tighten all the way and it leaked a little. We had to scrub around the top and eventually got it tightened, but I don't think a child could have gotten it. It is definitely more of a family activity, especially with younger kiddos.

The idea is a great idea but once we did it where do you get more. Also it said it had to go for hours to fine smooth the stones. Also have to buy more of the stuff that grinds them . Seems like my grandson wanted to play more but that was all there was

This has been such a fun activity for both kids and parents to work on! Helps kids understand tumbling and weathering over time. We have discussed how the different sands can change the rocks too. We managed to put a couple extra rocks in that we found outside to see how they turn out. We put the tumbler down in our basement on my husbands workbench- away from small hands. We were still able to hear it running on our first floor but it wasn’t too bothersome.

This was a really fun stem project to do with the kids. It takes a very long time so if this is something you want to do in an hour or two it's not gonna happen. It also is very very, very loud. You have to leave it plugged in for hours if you want your stones to be polished well. If you only leave it plugged in for 23 hours, they don't look good, I think it be fun if you had the time and opportunity to leave it plugged in for a few days

My kids loved using this rock tumbler. The instructions are clear and easy to follow and the box contains everything we needed to get pretty, shiny rocks. It took a little more than a month to complete all 3 steps but it was worth the wait. My kids enjoyed using the specimen chart to try and identify their new rocks. The added jewelry kit was a fun way to show off our new treasures.

First let me say I thought this was the coolest thing ever! Until I opened the box and realized just how long it would take and my impatient kids thought it would be a like one day process but each step takes days. The constant tumbling was driving me absolutely insane so I moved it down to my basement. That didn’t even solve my issue because every day I would think what is that noise only to be reminded that it was the tumbler. The first tumbles weren’t so bad but after awhile I had trouble opening and closing the red canister. I didn’t have it on all the way for one tumble so it got on my counter. I had to ask my husband to help me out because I couldn’t for the life of me open it. Still a cool idea but I wish I loved it just a little more. The excitement died down after the first day for my 10 and 7 year olds.

The tumbler operates quietly and safely, making it perfect for home use. It includes clear instructions and a variety of rocks to get started, ensuring hours of engaging fun. Kids not only learn about the polishing process but also gain patience and excitement as they watch their creations come to life. A great gift for curious minds!

I've used other rock tumblers in the past and find them fussy and difficult. This one is much more kid/hobby friendly and fairly easy to use. Realize it will take a month to get any finished, polished rocks. Really, a month, when if you use the shorter time frame time each stage of tumbling. Definitely put this in the garage or basement as there is a fair amount of noise, which is too be expected. This is a solid entry level tumbler which will last about as long as a kids' interest in the hobby. First main issue is the box didn't have enough rocks for the tumbler to actually work. We had to basically double the amount of rocks to even get it moving- pretty disappointing it didn't even have enough rocks. As we moved through each stage, the lid seemed to get harder to get on correctly. It will leak if it's not on right. Overall, it's a decent basic tumbler. You can get more rocks and grit various places. Haven't tried making jewelry yet, my son lost interest about the time we finished the first batch of rocks...

I thought this would be more like a toy, but it is the real deal. It is a multi-step process that takes many weeks. They give you multiple grits to take the rough rocks to polished and pretty. It is quite loud, so we moved it to the garage.

This rock tumbler is amazing, it even comes with different types of rocks and jewelry accessories for the rocks you really loves, It is really easy to use but can take weeks to complete, it comes with different powder packets to help smooth and round and polish the rocks, all you have to do is put in rocks and powder mix and water then close cap and tumble for a week or more then rinse off and do thw same with each of the other packets, it can be a little loud, so i keep it running in the garage,

My boys really liked this tumbler at first. The rocks definitely were polished and smooth but after the second time using this the liquid started leaking out and just got worse over time. I now have a mess in my garage from it. So it did the job I just can’t recommend it because of the defect.

I was excited to try this out with the kids. When reading the instructions I realized this project takes a few weeks. Each step is at least a few days long. Step 1 great, step 2 I had trouble locking it but got it done. I still need to start step 3. It’s very noisy when running. I put it in our laundry room with the door closed. Be prepared to be in it for the long haul.

This is a neat little rock tumbler. My kids think it’s really cool to see the rocks all nice and shiny. It is very time consuming though. I wasn’t expecting to be doing this for like a month in order to get the rocks fully polished. It’s a bit loud but we put it in the basement and didn’t hear it as much upstairs. I did have to look up instructions online since the ones they had weren’t very clear.

This is an incredibly fun project for children AND adults. I have always enjoyed National Geographic products and am very excited this is being offered. Growing up, I was a rock collector. And when I saw this, I thought it would be a great activity to do with my nephew. It sure was! The product allows you to select the length of tumbling. Prior to opening I thought it was a quick tumble activity- however, and very excitingly, the product (can) take ten days to tumble. Everyday was fun anticipating the final result!

This is quite a unique science project to do with your children or on your own if you really love unique rocks. It comes with a tumbler, a bag of rough rocks, 4 bags of different grits, a strainer, a bag of jewelry bases you can use with the processed rocks and the instrucitons. Initially when we took everything out of the box my daughter was quite excited. We put a few rocks in the tumbler, filled it with water, put some of the bag 1 grit in and then all the excitement died down when we read that phase 1 of the process takes 3-5 days off tumbling. After that phase 2 and 3 takes 6-9 days and phase 4 takes 7-10 days. This seems like a complaint but considering that this process is trying to mimic what occurs in nature after thousands of years this time frame is not that bad. However, this does feel like thousands of years to a child so either they will learn patience or lose interest very quickly. After each cycle you have to drain the water and grit and then add back new water with the next bag of grit. You have to do all of this outside because you do not want to put any of it in your pipes. This all seems like allot but after the entire process you do end up transforming jagged and rough stones into something that looks like river rocks.

This rock tumbler is a cool concept and the kids liked the end result, but the process is long. You have to keep it running for a few days and the tumbler is hard to make sure itvis sealed. Several times it leaked. Also, the motor seemed to struggle on keeping the tumbler rotating. I had to manually get it moving several times.