Kindergarten

Kindergartens are facilities that serve to create Gems by using machines called Injectors. On Earth, there are two kindergarten facilities: the Prime Kindergarten in Facet Five and the Beta Kindergarten in Facet Nine. The Prime Kindergarten first appears in "On the Run" while the Beta Kindergarten first appears in "Beta".

Prime Kindergarten
The Prime Kindergarten is a vast, foggy canyon with numerous holes carved out of the dark, dull purple rock faces; which are the "birthplaces" of many Gems. Injectors dot the landscape, some of which have fallen to the ground and been destroyed. The site has a single Warp Pad, which is decoratively surrounded by gems similar to those on the Injectors. This was the first Kindergarten to be developed on Earth and has significantly better conditions than the Beta Kindergarten.

Beta Kindergarten
The Beta Kindergarten is first mentioned in the episode "It Could've Been Great". This is the second of the two Kindergartens built successfully on Earth (89 were planned at the beginning). It is the smaller of the two and is located in Facet Nine. The Beta Kindergarten is in a desert area where Gems emerged from red sandstone. It was first built halfway through the rebellion when Homeworld needed extra Quartz soldiers to fight in the war. Peridot describes it as a "rush job" where they "just threw down injectors wherever". As a result, many holes (and by extent Gems) created here are subpar, some even coming out sideways. Jasper is the only exception, as it was also revealed that Jasper was created here and her hole was nearly perfect. Other Gems created here were Carnelian Gems and several other unknown Gems. It is also revealed that the Beta Kindergarten is the insertion point for the Cluster.

Background
The Kindergarten appears to be the main reason why Gems invaded and colonized the Earth; to exploit its resources and produce more warriors via the Kindergarten. According to Peridot, the Kindergarten the Gems visit on Earth produced Gems mainly of the Quartz variety (such as Amethyst). It was once a flourishing center where Gems were grown and manufactured. If allowed to continue, it would destroy all life on Earth as the developing gemstone would incubate in the planet Earth's crust and sap the life force from its surroundings to form itself. Rose Quartz saw the error in this, founding a faction of rebel Gems and leading an uprising that caused the Homeworld to cease the production in the Kindergarten, driving them off the planet at the cost of being forever stranded on Earth.

It is currently unknown what happened to the Gems produced there but is possible that they were either destroyed, shattered, joined or absconded to Homeworld or became Corrupted Gems. Some Earth Gems, like Amethyst, appeared to have joined the Crystal Gems. Amethyst describes the reason for her joining the Crystal Gems as a desire to protect her birthplace.

Currently, the Prime Kindergarten exists as a ruined canyon. There is a single Warp Pad, which can lead to any Warp Pad on Earth. The Injectors are out of use, although it should be noted that if the Kindergarten were reactivated, then these could be turned on for the continuation of their previous project. However, Homeworld has different plans for the Kindergarten ever since their last project was scrapped due to the war with the Crystal Gems. Their uses for the Kindergarten mainly involve their experiments for a Gem geo-weapon as they use the location as incubation site for "The Cluster" and all its prototypes.

"Warp Tour"
Peridot briefly mentions re-activating the Kindergarten manually but is interrupted by a Flask Robonoid. After finding Steven's Crying Breakfast Friends sticker, she returns to Homeworld.

"On the Run"
Amethyst introduces Steven to this location. She reveals that she was made there and that Gems used this place to create other "bad" Gems, or "parasites".

"Marble Madness"
The Crystal Gems follow one of Peridot's Plug Robonoids here. They later cut Peridot's connection to the control room, at the cost of her discovering their existence of on Earth. Pearl mentions the Kindergarten has been inactive for 6,000 years and would destroy all life on Earth if reactivated.

"Keeping it Together"
The Crystal Gems go to the Kindergarten to search for Peridot. They find her, but she quickly escapes. Upon further investigation, Garnet discovers that Peridot wasn't trying to reactivate it, but instead she is checking on Cluster Gems, former Crystal Gems that Gem Homeworld shattered and forced to fuse, possibly as punishment for the Rebellion.

"When It Rains"
Peridot shows Steven to the Kindergarten to give him more information about the Cluster, as well as referring to it as the "Prime" Kindergarten. She assumes, since he is a Quartz, he is made there as well, only to learn about his hybrid status instead.

"Too Far"
Peridot, Amethyst, and Steven retrieve a drill head from one of the Injectors to use on their drill to the Cluster. Peridot also tells Amethyst about quartz and classifies her as a defective quartz.

"Beta"
Peridot shows Amethyst and Steven the Beta Kindergarten to cheer up Amethyst since the Beta Kindergarten is poorly made and thought out. They soon get to Jasper's Hole there, and it is revealed that Jasper was the only successful quartz made there. They soon encounter some corrupted gems in cages and find Jasper holding them captive.

"Earthlings"
The majority of this episode takes place in the Beta Kindergarten. During a fight with Jasper, Amethyst and Steven fuse to form Smoky Quartz. While some corrupted gems escape from their cages, Jasper fuses with one of the corrupted gems, but they are defeated easily by Smoky Quartz. Jasper and the corrupted gem unfuse, and Jasper herself becomes corrupted as the result of her fusion. She is poofed by Peridot, and the group leaves the Kindergarten, returning to the barn.

"Kindergarten Kid"
The Crystal Gems look around the Beta Kindergarten to poof and bubble any leftover Corrupted gems that were locked up by Jasper.After the trio fail to capture the Tongue Monster, Peridot laughs at how terrible they were at how they got outsmarted by a thing with bestial instincts. They eventually decide to let Peridot capture the gem herself, but she soon discovers that it's a lot harder than it looks. Many of her "Peri-plans" fail, and she gets frustrated. With the help of Steven, she eventually chases the gem off a cliff, and successfully poofs and bubbles the corrupted gem.

"Buddy's Book"
Buddy Buddwick begins to explore the marked areas Pearl had marked for him to stay away from, starting at the Sky Spire, the Lunar Sea Spire, the Communication Hub, and then the Kindergarten. He draws down the holes made from formed gems, and names the place, "The Many Hole'd Place" in his journal. Buddy feels a bit "off" about his journey until Amethyst comes onto the scene behind Buddwick. He shows Amethyst his accomplishments on the map, journeying to places unseen. However, from the looks of the Kindergarten, many people have been here, and since Amethyst's compatriots drew his map, he comes to realize he is merely a tourist rather than an explorer and adventurer and weeps over it. Amethyst suggest discovering the "Sand Castle" located in the arid environment known as The Desert. This brings back Buddwick's enthusiasm and begins his travel to the Sand Castle.

Trivia

 * "Kindergarten" means "children's garden" in German and it usually refers to a place of preschool education. In this case, it literally means a garden where children are grown.
 * In "Know Your Fusion", Sardonyx makes a reference to the former, joking that "[Jasper] should've gone back to preschool!"
 * The area was stricken barren of life by the incubated Gems around 6,000 years ago, as stated by Pearl in "Marble Madness".
 * In "How Are Gems Made?", it is seen that Gems suck the life out of their surroundings, and so mass-production of Gems in the Kindergarten left the location in a lifeless state.
 * It is unknown how many Gems were grown in the Kindergarten, and where most of them currently are.
 * Amethyst was grown at the Prime Kindergarten but joined the Crystal Gems sometime after the Rebellion.
 * Peridot has implied that the shards of Gems grown at the Kindergarten were used in the making of the Cluster.
 * In "Beta" it is revealed that Jasper was made in the Beta Kindergarten and her hole was the largest making her "the ultimate Quartz".
 * The person-shaped holes on the sides of the Kindergarten, as well as the manner in which Amethyst slid into hers, appear to be inspired by the Junji Ito horror manga, The Enigma of Amigara Fault.
 * Amethyst's hole is one of the few holes at ground level.
 * This is because she emerged 500 years later than all the other Gems grown there.
 * The Injectors resemble bacteriophages. This alludes to the fact that when a bacteriophage or just any virus invades another cell, the cell will just create more viruses until it is destroyed, much like how when a gem is inserted into the ground by the injector, the ground will become barren and lifeless.
 * The body of the rig encases a structure that resembles an organic heart, which is attached to the head and feet via red and blue tubes resembling arteries and veins respectively.
 * The Prime Kindergarten created Gems of the Quartz variety, as revealed in "Guide to the Crystal Gems" and indirectly mentioned in "When it Rains".
 * Amethyst is a type of Quartz, and she was intended to be a (much larger) Gem warrior.
 * Peridot assumed that Steven was created in the Kindergarten because his gem is a type of quartz.
 * As revealed by Peridot in "Too Far", Gems that stay in the ground for too long have stunted height when fully grown. An example of this would be Amethyst.
 * In "Beta", Peridot revealed some details that make a quality kindergarten/gem hole.
 * The surfaces must be flat (curved surfaces result in gems emerging sideways).
 * The holes must have even spacing and consistent depth.
 * The gem must not come out of the hole at an angle, and leave a strong clean silhouette.
 * Good quality holes have frictional rock melt. (Jasper's exit hole has frictional rock melt therefore turning red sandstone into glass.)


 * The Beta Kindergarten seems to be located in the Grand Canyon.
 * It also bears a strong resemblance to Antelope Canyon, located in Arizona.

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