Educational Insights GeoSafari Day 'N' Night Ant Factory (Glow Ant Factory) STEM Learning, Ages 7+

I got this for my grandson last years who turned 2 The ants are still alive and it’s enjoyable to watch them underneath the gel . I do recommend this for the value of the money. It was easy to put together and the quality is good.

*UPDATE: 1 star for the product BUT the seller delivered as promised so this review is no reflection on the seller. This is a horrible product. It arrived with the gel settled in a block in the middle (not attached to side walls) which I didn’t realize was a problem until the ants went in, had a long fall down the sides and couldn’t climb back up. They were just piled on top of each other desperately trying to climb up the plastic sides. So I had to turn the habitat on it’s side in order for them to have a chance. I didn’t think I’d care about ants until I had these ones to look after. They don’t tunnel at all. They tear away parts of the gel for consumption but also to bury their dead. Yes - they bury the dead in a mountain of gel bits - likely to protect the colony from whatever killed the others. They seem like they’re just waiting to die. They sleep allll the time. There’s nowhere for them to go. The gel is so sticky that when they walk on it or brush against it - it’s a death sentence. Seriously - they get covered in sticky goo and either slowly suffocate or die from exhaustion trying to free themselves. I’ve been able to reach and rehab 3 of them. Yep - I put them in a cup of room temp water, swirl them, take them out and put them on a Kleenex and repeat a few times. Then they can rest in a dry cup with a piece of screen taped over it. When they start wandering in the cup, I know they’re strong enough to rejoin the colony. I use the plastic stick (provided) to take them out & return them. I put them in away from the others so they don’t get swarmed as an invader because I figure I washed off their scent. It’s a lot of work and most can’t be saved - the tiny opening and the flimsy plastic stick just can’t reach them. My niece doesn’t understand letting nature take its course - that’s how the rescues began. Then it was sheer guilt on my part. I put them in this sticky unnatural environment where they barely have any room to live and I dunno - I feel bad. I NEVER would have gotten this had I known it was actually pretty cruel. The ants are huge. Not your typical yard ant. They’re large red Harvester Ants which leads me to my next few points. DON’T include the kids in transferring them from vile to habitat. Harvester Ant stings rate 4 out of 5 on the pain scale! Also - the top is ridiculous. A slight breeze can knock it off or ajar and you’ll have huge ants with horrendous stings loose in your house. Tape it down, if you decide to get this. So we don’t see any tunneling but we do get to see ants slowly dying and other ones being killed by the others in an ant version of Hunger Games. They dismember and spread out the dead too so there’s no escaping the sad inquiries from the kids. Leg here, abdomen there, etc. Even buried under gel bits - you can see it. It’s nice to give them some food like tiny bits of lettuce or apple or carrot - they LOVE that - it beats the sugar gel that only temporarily keeps them alive. Just know that what they don’t finish, can mold and threaten them. So have a way to fish the remains out. I haven’t had the molding issue with the gel that others have mentioned but like I said - it’s so sticky - it’s deadly either way. I thought this was such a cool gift but really - it’s just mean. If you must - go with a traditional sand ant farm. I wish I did.*Haven’t set it up yet because I can’t order the ants until after winter but it looks well made and my 4 year old niece is very excited about it. Nicely constructed. Shipped right away.

My kids love this! We had so much fun doing this project together. We're waiting for the ants to start digging. I found only one flaw in the design of the container. I had to hot glue the top on because it is not a tight enough fit and the ants were able to escape. It was an easy fix and I would certainly recommend to buy.

It seems to be a good STEM project for preschoolers since we are all in the pandemic lockdown. My 4 year old was more interested in poking a hole in the gel than waiting for the ants to dig the tunnels (honestly it does take days so kids this age do not have the patience).I noticed moisture built up in the container perhaps it was because we had a heat wave. We caught some ants in the garden but they were all dead in a day. While they were alive, they seemed to be more interested in the leaves we put in than the gel food. Perhaps the breed of the ants matter. Buyer beaware! We are ordering ants from the company to see if we get a different result.The 3 lights in the bottom are not brighter eough to reach the top. Overall it was a fun activity.

UPDATE: I updated from 2 to 5 stars because I received my new habitat in great condition. The supplier responded very quickly and sent me a new habitat with fresh gel - I am excited for my students to see how wonderful and amazing this is!I bought 3 of these habitats for my colleagues and myself. We have been using gel ant habitats for years in our classroom and this year I wanted to try this new shape. Two of the habitats were fine but one of them had gel that was dry and was pulling away from the sides. I returned it and received a new one, which turned out to be worse than the one I sent. The gel had about an inch of space between it and the sides of the habitat. I will not need to return this one and get another one. Can they product be checked for quality before it is shipped, please?

This ant habitat is made really well. I love the details of the magnifying circles. I love that the light isn’t super bright so that it doesn’t heat it up and cause condensation. I love all the holes so they get plenty of air. The part that doesn’t work well may have to do with it being round. The ants would crawl down the rounded sides and get stuck between the gel and wall. I had to tear the gel apart with a stick to get the alive ones freed. That never happened with the square ones we have had in the past. If that didn’t happen, more than once, I would give it 5 stars.

I was nervous to buy this after some recent reviews but we really wanted a no-maintenance ant farm so we took the chance and bought it when it went on sale. So glad we did! My 5 year old and 3 year old love it!We did have a little gap between the gel and the wall as other reviews mentioned. Two ants did almost immediately fall in and get trapped, but the other ants performed a rescue mission and dug them out! It was actually pretty incredible to watch!They started tunneling right away that day and haven't stopped since. We've had this 3 weeks now and a few ants have died but their colony just buries them in the gel they dug up.It's seriously so fun to come home every day and check to see what they're working on! Tunnels go all directions (see picture) even front to back through the gel. Overall a big success for our house!