02 August 2012

Chemistry Kits ~ BBC on State of DIY Science!

BBC's Alex Hudson asks Whatever happened to kids' chemistry sets?
"The early chemistry sets for children played on the idea of impressing school friends with a magic performance. By the 1920s and 30s children had access to substances which would raise eyebrows in today's more safety-conscious times. [...] In the 1950s, booklets offered lists of instructions like "how to make an explosive mixture". Now, even mildly explosive chemicals have been removed. [Today's] kits are not capable of the experiments of old. "What used to be in chemistry sets that are not in there anymore are actual chemicals," [...] "Given the right instruction booklet, the older set would allow the user to create all sorts of experiments -- blow things up, create smoke bombs, create stink bombs."
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