But with a bit of lateral thinking, this chemical could easily be adapted to help manufacture methamphetamine. Some chemistry sets featured iodine solution, which was ostensibly intended to allow for children to test for the presence of starch. Yes, when you look at the sort of experiments kids were encouraged to try and the sort of materials they were encouraged to work with, it should be obvious why chemistry sets eventually fell out of favour.Īnd it wasn’t just health and safety fears that lead to their decline, either. The Inevitable Decline – or, Maybe It’s Not a Good Idea to Sell Poison to Children One set featured copper sulphate, which came packaged in a container featuring a skull and crossbones and the words “Caution: Poison”. The list of dangerous items that were once found in children’s chemistry sets includes blowtorches, glass-blowing equipment, hot plates, cyanide and even radioactive uranium ore. During the time of the Great Depression, and throughout the difficult interwar years, the idea that a bit of tinkering with chemicals might ultimately result in a stable and lucrative career was highly appealing for many parents.īut prepping kids for a scientific career often meant exposing them to the sort of materials and processes that scientists only ever handle with heavy-duty personal protection equipment. Chemistry sets were now designed to prime kids for a career in science. No longer was the emphasis on linking chemistry and magic. This was a time when manufacturers boasted that a chemistry set could be found in every house and on every street in America – and many of them were packaged with shockingly hazardous chemicals. The period spanning from 1920 to 1960 might be described as the golden age of chemistry sets. An 1881 copy of Boy’s Own Paper, for example, declared that “most so-called magical illusions are chemistry experiments.” As such, early chemistry sets tended to have a focus on producing reactions that result in flashes and bangs – the sort of stuff that delighted Victorian children in music hall magic tricks.Įxplosions, Poison and Radioactive Materials – The Golden Age of Chemistry Sets Indeed, early chemistry sets cast science in the best possible light through drawing strong parallels between chemistry and magic. The aim wasn’t so much to teach chemistry to children, but to make chemistry fun. And by the dawn of the 20 th century, people had already started to think of them as toys. One set from 1730 claimed to “facilitate and promote the Practice of Chemistry by putting a commodious Laboratory into the hands of Gentlemen.”īut it wasn’t until the 1830s that chemistry sets were developed specifically with children in mind. These ornate and expensive ‘chemistry chests’ were highly respectable pieces of kit for highly respectable people. The first chemistry sets were developed in England and Germany, and were mainly used for teaching science students. Science for Gentlemen and Chemical Magic – The Early Days of Chemistry Sets In this special festive post, we’ll take a look at the history of the chemistry set – their early beginnings, their harrowing prime, their slow decline and their potential return. Maybe you had a chemistry set when you were a child? Maybe you hold it responsible for your current passion for science? It’s a chance for them to ask their own questions, conduct their own experiments and make their own invisible ink. With a chemistry set, a child has all the tools they need to satisfy their curiosity while getting used to the idea that the world is there to be explored and understood.
We recently explored on this very blog various ways in which we might get kids interested in science. What better way to kindle a passion for science than by treating your children to their very own chemistry set?
Chem c3000 make iodine plus#
Cooled Carousel 12 Plus Reaction Station.Rotary vane pumps and chemistry-HYBRID pumps.Classic Open Bath and Circulation Thermostats.