4 ms·

My daughter (6) loves experiments, but honestly all the chemistry sets and similar we've bought have been quite boring, except for the bog standard baking soda/

by croon 2y ago

My daughter (6) loves experiments, but honestly all the chemistry sets and similar we've bought have been quite boring, except for the bog standard baking soda/citric acid/green coloring snot volcano. I like chemteacherphil on YT, who does a lot of visually fun experiments, many involving fire, and I would definitely buy packaged products of some of those, instead of trying to source chemicals/metals/tools for home (not having access to our own lab).

alt227 2y ago
Thanks for pointing out chemteacherphil, looks like the exact type of thing Im looking for to watch with my kids.
7952 2y ago
My nephew is into this. The great thing about the bicarb style ones is that he can actually play with the ingredients. And this is what "experimenting" should be. Trying things out and seeing what happens. The fun is finding out what happens when you use the kit in an unexpected way and make a mess on the ceiling. The problem with the more exciting/interesting experiments is that play has a larger potential blast radius. And understandably adults impose more limits which then leads to less actual experimenting. And that actually makes it less fun. Because the best experiment is to start with random chemicals and seeing what happens. Not a carefully curated set with predictable results. The boring failure and the unexpected result are all part of the fun.
- 101008 2y ago
  You are right. You described the difference between a experiment and a recipe.
TheNewsIsHere 2y ago
> My daughter (6) loves experiments, but honestly all the chemistry sets and similar we've bought have been quite boring [...] I had chemistry sets as a kid, and I think I agree with this. As an adult I understand why these sets are boring, and honestly I'd be more likely to play with these sets as an adult. The instructions and guides weren't really very creative and they weren't engaging. At the same time, the chemistry sets of the (for example) 1950s were absolutely batshit insane and are rightfully taken off the shelves. It's a shame there isn't much of a middle ground other than finding YouTube demonstrations. Then again I haven't looked for a chemistry set lately...

by croon 2y ago

alt227 2y ago

Thanks for pointing out chemteacherphil, looks like the exact type of thing Im looking for to watch with my kids.

7952 2y ago

My nephew is into this. The great thing about the bicarb style ones is that he can actually play with the ingredients. And this is what "experimenting" should be. Trying things out and seeing what happens. The fun is finding out what happens when you use the kit in an unexpected way and make a mess on the ceiling. The problem with the more exciting/interesting experiments is that play has a larger potential blast radius. And understandably adults impose more limits which then leads to less actual experimenting. And that actually makes it less fun. Because the best experiment is to start with random chemicals and seeing what happens. Not a carefully curated set with predictable results. The boring failure and the unexpected result are all part of the fun.

101008 2y ago
You are right. You described the difference between a experiment and a recipe.

TheNewsIsHere 2y ago

> My daughter (6) loves experiments, but honestly all the chemistry sets and similar we've bought have been quite boring [...] I had chemistry sets as a kid, and I think I agree with this. As an adult I understand why these sets are boring, and honestly I'd be more likely to play with these sets as an adult. The instructions and guides weren't really very creative and they weren't engaging. At the same time, the chemistry sets of the (for example) 1950s were absolutely batshit insane and are rightfully taken off the shelves. It's a shame there isn't much of a middle ground other than finding YouTube demonstrations. Then again I haven't looked for a chemistry set lately...