Martian Matter Alien Maker

I really liked the Martian Matter Alien Matter primarily because of two reasons. One, it's hard to find a good craft kit which boys feel isn't too sissy to play with. Two, it is really well organized and the materials and pieces tuck away nicely within the main holding container. Most importantly, the kids had a great time playing with this nifty alien maker and didn't want to stop.

The Martian Matter Alien maker kit comes ready to play, no assembly required. You get a spaceship shaped alien maker which also doubles up as the storage container for the assorted gels, alien molds and dough you need. There are alien shaped molds which can be mixed and matched to create different types of aliens. There are three colors of gel, green, orange and pink, which is the key element involved in the making of the aliens. There is also a play-doh type compound which serves as the base for holding the gel.

It's pretty easy to set up and use the Martian Matter Alien Maker kit. The actual making of the aliens involves fun activities like rolling, cutting, molding and shaping. You have to stamp out an alien shape into the play-doh like mold, fill it with gel, wait for a few minutes and voila! Your alien is ready. You can choose to let it dry for a longer time if you need a firmer alien, or take it out quicker for an alien with gooey insides. Boys especially will love cutting up and squishing the aliens after they're done making them.

I found the quality of the kit to be great with thick, heavy plastic accessories and holder. There is a fair amount of gel provided in the three bottles. The only thing I wish there is more of is the molding dough. Once used, it tends to dry out, so one has to make sure that it is put back into the containers right away. This is not always possible with kids, though.

All the kids who tried it out loved it and wanted to do more. It's was fun to watch all of them create different colored aliens and mix and match the pieces. Overall, I found the Martian Maker Alien Maker to be a good choice to keep the kids busy and happily occupied with minimal mess.