I’m getting picky here, but the two measuring spoons provided are called small and medium in the instructions, but are not actually labelled themselves. It can be quite confusing, as they are both similar in size, especially if you are looking at them separately. Referring to them using the relative terms ‘small’ and ‘medium’ seems like an opportunity lost to refer to their actual quantities (1\/4 teaspoon, 1\/8 teaspoon, etc), which would add a nice little bit of maths into our play. And obscurely, why is the larger one called ‘medium’ if there is no ‘large’?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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The Nitty Gritty: What do I really think? What do my kids think? Would I buy it?<\/h3>\n
Jewel got over her initial disappointment very quickly once the actual science fun began. She enjoyed following the set activity suggestions, particularly the feverish fizz one where she got to experiment with different temperatures, but her heart lies in the free play that she did (for days) afterwards: making up a story to herself while she mixed a bit of this and a bit of that, without restriction. Because she’s familiar with the names of many of the ingredients from our previous science activities, and has learnt to anticipate certain reactions (she knows for instance that baking soda + citric acid\u00a0 will bubble up, and that cabbage powder will add a colour changing element), she can weave this knowledge into her imaginative play.<\/p>\n
Personally I love we now have a child-friendly test tube set to add to our home science supplies: I can see us using this in all sorts of ways!<\/p>\n
I think the activity suggestions are well laid out, and follow a logical order. It introduces kids to easy and impressive science experiments that they can do mostly by themselves at home. I also think the child-led experimentation with the materials afterwards is invaluable, as is relating the materials back to everyday ingredients that are in your home or grocery store. I fear that many parents and carers might focus too strongly on following the prescribed activity list, and skip the fun free-play part, which is more likely to be where a love of chemistry is nurtured.<\/p>\n
If you do all the activities once only, then this kit will provide maybe two hours of fun (or possibly two hours of frustration, depending on how well your child likes to follow set instructions). But if you keep going, using the rest of the ingredients as part of experimental science \/ imaginative play, then the amount of ‘play time’ that this kit can provide increases dramatically.<\/p>\n
I’d happily buy this set as a gift for a 5-8 year old boy or girl, especially if I thought it might spark an interest in science or chemistry. But I’d also consider whether there was a parent or carer who can cope with messy play, and would have time to set aside, both to do the set activities together with the child, and also to supervise free play \/ experimenting time afterwards.<\/p>\n
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For a very close friend, I’d personally prefer to give a gift basket that contains all ingredients in their ‘regular supermarket’ form, rather than this boxed set. It would mean a fair bit of effort to source the ingredients, and I’d have to explain (or they’d have to look up) how to do each of the experiments, so there are many instances where I think a chemistry kit like this one would be more appropriate.<\/p>\n
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