Here’s a paid DIY STEM kit that provides a great introduction to chemistry and a fantastic way to spend an April shower afternoon! Jeff Edmonds, one of our Community Champions, suggests reading through all the activity cards a few days before getting into the experiments because extra items are required. Most of the items can be found around the house but it’s still worthwhile to plan – and a great life lesson for our future scientists! Jeff’s little one really loved the classic lava experiment but there is a wide variety of experiments including: mixing colours, dancing raisins, shiny pennies, etc.!
What: Learning Resources Primary Science Lab Set. Can be found on https://www.amazon.ca/. The is a great beginners to Chemistry set. The set includes:
Beaker, magnifying glass, funnel, eyedropper, flask, tweezers, plastic goggles, a 6″ test tube – with lid and stand, and two small test tubes – with lids and stands.
Ten easy-to-follow activity cards that focus on chemistry but also add elements of hand-eye coordination, making predictions, following instructions/directions, planning, etc.
Rating (out of 25): At 21 / 25 points, the rating is Buy IT (great present from Grandparents 🙂 or Borrow It! (Fun = 4 + Confidence and Curiosity = 4 + STEM Aligned = 5 + Time Value = 5 + Cost = 3)
Age: 3+
Cost: $30-$40. Free one day delivery with Amazon Prime
Kid POV: Julia (Almost 4 years old, loves skating and puzzles): “I like trying science with my Daddy. Mixing colours is soooo fun. I’m glad the pretend volcano lava wasn’t hot like real lava but it was so cool.”
Caregiver POV: Jeff (39-year-old dad, husband, Tenured Banking Professional): “These types of activity sets are an amazing way to spend an afternoon indoors. We do a lot of sport activities during the mornings on weekends, so this was a very easy activity to do later in the day. Not only are we both learning (or relearning, as it were for me) about chemistry but we also got to connect and bond over the funny, and sometimes frustrating, moments that come with making mistakes and having to redo an experiment a few times. It shows her that dad is not perfect and despite following instructions, we sometimes need to make several attempts at what we’re doing – and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. It’s how we learn!”