Chemistry kits without chemicals??

Awhile ago, I watched a PBS show called “Wired Science”. I didn’t especially like the format of the show, so I didn’t end up watching many episodes. However, the first episode had a segment they called “Dangerous Science”, which completely horrified me. The segment focused on how today’s chemistry sets don’t have any real chemicals in them!

I’m not advocating that we should go back to the days when there are radioactive chemicals and mercury included in a chemistry set, but I do think it’s too bad that kids nowadays can’t do much more than kitchen chemistry with these sets. I had received a chemistry set once when I was a kid, and I remember being a little disappointed with what sorts of experiments I could do. They weren’t anything especially exciting, but I think that I could do more than some of these kits included! (This was in the late 1980’s.)

Now, with my outreach activities, I know where to look to buy a bunch of chemicals and do REAL chemistry in front of kids, but I have a lot more knowledge about this than many parents would. I also am a lot more motivated to find “WOW” items!

So, in the interest of sharing my love of science, here are some of my favorite websites where you can find all sorts of fun and kits for some REAL chemistry:

• Educational Innovations
• Carolina Biological Supply
• Edmunds Scientific

I go to these quite regularly when trying to find something new for demonstrations. Enjoy!