Yes, we really bought this. We built a cloud chamber for a 6th or 7th grade school science fair and were looking for things to test. I wanted to find some uranium glass, but that was harder to find, expensive, and the delivery times were all too late. We also opened up a smoke detector to find the americium (we didn't break it out of its casing). Sure enough, we were able to see the tracks in the cloud chamber, which was pretty cool. We did NOT bring the ore to school!!! but we did bring the little tin. If you're looking for an impressive and cool, but really easy, science fair project, go with a cloud chamber. They are easy to build and they work. If this freaks you out, find some uranium glass (also called vaseline glass). If you do the project right, and make the kid do some serious research, it is also a great learning experience. As for safety concerns, the ore comes in the tin and in a tiny zipper bag inside that. We never opened the zipper bag, since it is the dust you might breathe in that is probably the biggest issue.