Check out Endangered Species - the chemistry set
Read the comments, they are interesting!
Are such chemistry kits available in India? I don’t think so. I used to play with chemicals a lot - with material sourced from the medical store and from a chemicals dealer nearby who was unwilling to believe that my requirements were for purely scientific and peaceful purposes. I don’t remember how I made my father accompany me to the `Vidyarthymithram’ store near the municipal stand to purchase concentrated H2SO4 and HCL - but he did come with me, and the dealer reluctantly gave me the stuff. My first experiment was to find out whether sulphuric acid can *really* burn you - it was a great success - the scar from the experiment remains to this day! Experiments to create fire and boil liquids were extremely satisfying - concentrated acids, bits of cotton, potassium permanganate, small aluminium pieces etc were the usual ingredients.
The most exciting thing about Pre-Degree (plus-two) was that for the first time, I had access to a good chemistry lab. Small amounts of chemicals were smuggled on lab-days from the college lab to my `home lab’ so that I could concentrate on my `research’ better! I was (and still am) a big fan of Sherlock Holmes; the fact that Holmes too was a great chemist provided further motivation.
Children learn a lot during play - in fact, we can safely say that they learn only when they play. The western world has utilized this knowledge very creatively - the modern Lego robots and the Basic Stamp controllers and the old chemistry and `erector’ sets all came out of this understanding that great scientists and engineers are NOT built by stupid B.Tech/BSc/Msc/PhD courses but by instilling the spirit of experimentation and discovery in students at a very young age through the medium of play.
It would be interesting to hear some of my reader’s experiments in science during their school days …
Update: Check out this link! Instituitions like Jodo Gyan are truly doing great work.
1 response so far ↓
1 kurian // Nov 30, 2007 at 6:34 am
my experiments were never in chemistry i hated the subject then and still do.But i liked physics.and sherlock did inpire me on that count.Predicting theories based on reasonable assumptions and deducting observable conclusions came tome via sherlock.I was never the daring type to do experiments involving fire or injury.But i had intutive grasp of vectors and their behaviour even before they were taught at school.
Leave a Comment