Chemistry Sets

About Chemistry Sets

Children's chemistry sets have changed a great deal during the C20th and into the C21st. According to an article (dated Aug 2012) on the BBC website, early chemistry sets sold for use by children included "dangerous substances like uranium dust and sodium cyanide". Some professional scientists have pointed to their enjoyment of unsupervised use of kids' chemistry sets in the 1950s, 60s and 70s leading to careers in chemistry and other scientific disciplines. Times have changed. In many places around the world health and safety regulations now prohibit many of the most 'exciting' (dangerous) possibilities that enthused children of previous generations.

As chemistry sets became safer yet also less exciting from the point of view of many of their users, sales of chemistry sets declined in the 1970s. By the end of that decade and into the 1980s, some large sets were still available. Many still included chemicals and enough pieces of equipment to create the impression of a scientific laboratory-like environment. Even so, the sense of possibility and associated 'risk' was diminishing.

Today's chemistry sets for primary and in some cases early secondary school aged children are less likely to contain racks of test tubes, complicated instructions and many tubes or vials of colourful, or just 'plain white', crystals and powders. Of course there are still some products with very simple versions of such things featured on colourful packaging but they are nothing like the 'real thing' sets of the 1950s and 60s.

Instead, today's parents and teachers have the reassurance of extensive safety testing - but do read the packaging, different regulations apply in different places. Manufacturers still seek to appeal to younger children, perhaps the scientists of tomorrow, although the resulting products probably don't feel quite as 'grown up' as those enjoyed by their grandparents and perhaps some parents.