"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."
02 August 2012
Chemistry Kits ~ BBC on State of DIY Science!
BBC's Alex Hudson asks Whatever happened to kids' chemistry sets?