 
Discovery Exclusive Whodunit? Kids Forensics Lab
Rating:  -
My 10 year old daughter got this for Christmas this year and it is by far her favorite gift. She and her dad have been doing the cases together (she may be able to do it on her own but it is helpful to have an adult supervise). The microscope is not the best but they got it to work well enough for the cases. We just discovered that there is an extension kit with 4 more cases and we're definitely going to buy that. It is a fun and educational toy. I highly recommend it!
Rating: -
This is a quality toy. I would only recommend it for children who have a real interest in this science, though. My husband and son did all the cases and did not require a better microscope. The one that was provided worked just fine for them. For $80.00, you aren't going to get a state of the art microscope. They both felt it was a very enjoyable activity.
Rating:  -
I have 2 sons aged 10 and 11 who received this for Christmas. They love science and games like Carmen San Diego on computer so we thought this would be great for them. It has 6 cases to work on and everything is provided to solve cases. They are pretty intelligent boys but were practically in tears when they tried to do the first case. So I sat down with them and we began to work on it. Even I was frustrated. The first case involved using a microscope. The one provided in the kit is USELESS. Luckily, we had a microscope and used that instead, but this toy is pretty expensive and to provide a cheap microscope is uncalled for.
My other frustration was the layout in the magazine of the cases. You are flipping pages around for clues and further instructions. It seems like a waste of time. They could have written the book in better story form. For example, it will say, "If you think the handwriting matches So and So, turn to page 26. If it doesn't match, turn to page 11." It would be better if each of the 6 cases had their own chapter. My sons get so confused by the lay out of the instructions.
But that said, we did case 5 today and my sons are at me to do case 6. Once we figured it out, got a better microscope, and I read the cases to them, my boys love this game. Their favorite so far is the blood analysis. They even tested their own blood to find out what blood type they were. They are in 4th and 5th grade so felt pretty superior when they told their friends about doing blood tests. I will order the refill kit when we are done with case 6.
So all in all, major frustrations with this at first but we ended up liking it. This would be a superior product if it was redone - provide a better microscope and redo the magazine with the cases. Better yet, a computer CD format would be great.
I wanted to add my long review so that another parent would know what to expect before paying big bucks for this. It's a fun science game, but you must be willing to do this with your kids if you want them to really enjoy it. And have a spare microscope available!!
Rating: -
I saw this on sale in a Discovery Channel store and had a feeling my 7 year old son would love it. It is a very elaborate kit, and the materials are well constructed, with high-gloss printed instructions, "confidential" sealed envelopes with the answer keys, vials with hair, fiber, blood and ink "evidence" for various forensics tests. It's applied science--getting kids engaged and learning without their even realizing it. The cases are all very cool--the kids are special agents for the "Installation" (a secret government crime-fighting agency). The only problem I found is that the microscope is not great--you will need to move your slides up closer to the lens by stacking eight or so slides on either side of the slide you are viewing (like a bridge)--and then it works great. My son absolutely loves this and we just ordered the additional cases. It is also a great activity that parents and kids can do together (and it's pretty fun for both!). This gets my highest recommendation.
Rating:  -
I really want to give this 5 stars, but we have had major problems with the microscope this comes with. First we couldnt get the battery compartment open, and now we are having a terrible time focusing it. Did not see any instructions on the proper way to focus...nearly impossible for a 7 year old to do, considering 2 intelligent adults with science backgrounds cant do it. We have found it necessary to buy another microscope to use with it which is a shame considering how much money it cost to begin with. Having said all that, everything else is wonderful and my daughter and I are having a blast with it.
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