Toysmith Ant Universe Educational Kit

We ordered Harvester ants online and since we got them they've been digging tunnels like crazy every day. My 7yr old and 3yr old love watching them, and so do I! We've only had it for about a week and I imagine the ants will only live for a few months, but for now it's been a lot of fun to check in on their progress throughout the day. **** Two months have passed and I'm writing a follow-up. The ants dug some incredible tunnels for many weeks and it was lots of fun to watch. Eventually the ants started to die, as expected, but what we didn't expect is that the live ants abandoned the tunnels where the dead ants were and for some reason also stopped digging new tunnels. For the past three weeks or so all of the living ants (maybe 15 out of the 30 original ones) just stayed at the top of the gel and basically tried to get out by gnawing on the sealant on the lid. It was obvious they were never going to get through, but all the same it got kind of depressing as they slowly died out. We decided we'd bring the ant farm outside and take off the lid to let the remaining live ones escape. We will probably try to rinse out the tunnels and see if we can get out all the dead ants then maybe order some new ones, but now we know that the lively lifespan of the ant farm is only about a month.

This was a birthday gift that was a hit for our 3 year old. We bought harvester ants and put them in and they went to work fast. It was a lot of fun to watch. When we needed to open the lid we would put it in the freezer for a few minutes first so they wouldn't swarm to the top. Daddy accidentally left them in the freezer twice for an extended period of time but most of them survived remarkably. They did end up dying after a few months but this could have been due to the freezer incident. When they were all expired we tried to rinse the dead ones out so we could order some new ones, but the gel disintegrated. We may have used hot water, I don't remember.This came with a little magnifying glass that worked great and 2 little legs to help the thing stand up. The legs fell off all the time so we just stood it on it's own and it was fine. You could really see the ants clearly and they dug great tunnels, it was fun.

If you want something where you can just dump the ants in and never have to open it again until they start dying of old age, well, this is it. It's got two tiny air holes in the lid, not large enough for regular sized ants or harvester ants to get through, so you don't have to open it to let in fresh air like some other farms. The gel is translucent and clear enough you can see ants moving through the tunnels on the "back" side (whatever side is not the one you're facing). The gel acts as food and water for the ants, so you don't need to feed them anything extra. After I ordered the ants and put them in, I left them alone in a shady spot, and they lived for nearly 6 months before dying, which is a very long lifespan for worker ants.

this is the first ant farm i have owned... and like anything new i get into, i try to do a lot of research. so i looked around A LOT for the largest size ant farm.. i think the giant uncle milton type is somewhat larger but i wanted to use the gel habitat instead of using soil. so i came across this.. and i was like wow! a great deal and its a nice size...i recieved mine super quick(via fed ex) but even while inside the box.. IT WAS NOT THE DIMENSIONS SPECIFIED. so i hope amazon or someone fixes that soon. the CORRECT DIMENSIONS ARE (of the ant farm itself) 6.5 X 5 X 1.... which in my opinion is a big difference than what is listed. it did come with the gel premade in it though. i think ill just keep it since it would be too much trouble to send it back. i guess if you want a gel habitat ant farm.. its not going to be too large.

The ant universe was a great educational idea, and a novel thing. I did order some great ants from a different company that was highly recommended. The ants were large and healthy in appearance. I do find myself feeling bad for the ants, for I don't think that they are really"happy" because some of them keep trying to escape. Some ants are always close to the top, seemingly trying to get out. They have becomeslow and listless. Perhaps they will soon die and this is the life of an ant.Once again, the ant farm is very educational, and it is supercool to look at the ants through their spyglass. I am glad that wemade this purchase for the educational benefit!

We like the this product. My little scientists were 4 and 6 the first time we got this product and now at ages 6 and 8, we are on our 3rd habitat and my boys still love it. Before ordering it the first time, I had been afraid the ants would escape at some point but the top holds securely and my kids would have to work very hard to pull it off. This is a non-issue. The only tricky part is transferring the ants from the test tube into the gel farm initially. After that, they are in to stay. They are easy pets - we don't have to feed them or clean up after them. They do not stink. I feel very confident in recommending this ant farm for any age of curiosity. The ants begin digging quickly (over the course of hours). My kids like watching them tunnel, as do we! The blue gel is very cool - transparent and very slick. Each time we've gotten them, the ants have lived for several months. I gladly recommend this product. It is a fun bit of activity to add to a home.

A bit smaller than I expected, this little ant farm was a perfect gift for my curious 10 year old nephew. He checks everyday to see how their holding up, and it makes for a nice little talking piece for other kids who see it. They're full of questions, so it's been a great way to educate them on the life and habits of ants from the perspective of one of their peers. I do NOT regret this purchase in the slightest!Note: Ants not included although there is a coupon in the box. Because I didn't want to wait to purchase the ants since I wanted him to be able to use his gift as soon as he opened it, I purchased them ahead of time from AntsAlive.com and paid less than $5, including free shipping!

Cute but a lot smaller than I expected.