Thursday, February 25, 2016

Throwback Thursday - Magic Rocks

Do you remember Magic Rocks?   These were sold at dime stores and in the back of comic books.  I remember buying a set at a Stuckey's on vacation to Florida one year.  The toy I remember looks like the picture above.  Here is a picture of an earlier Magic Rocks set:


How they work: you get liquid sodium silicate and colorful rocks (actually metallic salts).  You put the rocks in a pretty glass container, and then the sodium silicate (mixed with water), and the rocks grow.  I googled and this simple science toy is still around!

I always liked these ... they reminded me a bit of stalagmites (I liked caves, too!) and also a bit of those color drip candles at Italian restaurants back in the day.

Here's a little minute and a half time lapse video:



Who remembers this science toy?  I'd love to hear from you in the comments, below.

5 comments:

It’s Simply Lindsay said...

I love when you do these throwback posts - they make me so happy!!! We used to have a toy store by my house growing up with all sorts of science-related DIY type of projects and toys, so I definitely remember these. What a fun blast from the past.

Shann Eva said...

I totally remember these! That's so cool they are still around. My son would love them.

itsautumn said...

Wow, I've never heard of these but they looked like they were a ton of fun!

Pellerini said...

I remember that! We never had one growing up but I think I want one now!

Birdhouse Books said...

Thanks for the visits! I enjoyed reading your retro memories.