Customer Reviews

The Dangerous Book for Boys Classic Chemistry Science Kit

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Bought this kit for my 8 year old grandson (he's a very bright student), however, found it to be written more on a high school level. I am a chemist and a teacher, so I know this could have been done better to make science more fun and exciting for a child that was eager to use it. Way too much detail for easy experiments and you had to work through too many "ho-hum" exercises before you got to some of the more interesting projects; by that time, kids lost interest.
It had some good educational information, however, I think this is marketed to the wrong audience.

good product if you're getting your kid interested in science. it was a little more geeky than i expected from the ad. the ad mentioned smoke bombs, stink bombs, slime, ect. in reality there are only about 4, maybe 5 of these fairly simple experiments that will get most elementary kids excited. the rest of the book and experiments are considerably more time consuming (frequently take a week of waiting for results) and more basic science that would appeal to someone already into science heavily, but not the kind that would interested or intrigue more small kids.... in all fairness my little boy is younger than the recommended age of the product, but i wanted him to think of science as fun because he's not getting those ideas from his school currently.

This is a neat little chemistry kit. If you are looking for a full-fledged chemistry set, I suggest looking at one of Thames & Kosmos's larger chemistry kits. But I see why they did this one: it lets parents convert a child's interest in the Dangerous Book for Boys into an interest in chemistry. The booklet that comes with this kit is really nice: it is well written, and packed with content... very dense with lots of chemistry explanations. The illustrations are nicely done.
Some of the experiments are easy and quick, but some of the experiments are pretty involved and actually require MORE materials. Most of these items we have in the house, but some items we don't have, so we are going to skip those experiments.

At $32.60 with the Thames and Kosmos name we expected more than cardboard parts, and few at that. The 9-volt battery clip without a battery included was also a pretty cheap cost saving move. Won't be buy another Thames and Kosmos toy in the future.

These are just the same old "child proof" chemistry experiments which have been circulating the internet for over a decade. It is ironic that they used the "Dangerous Book for Boys" name for a kit which is generally less dangerous than cooking! (creme brulee anyone?). Timid science experiments reinforce the "Science is boring" stereotype.

No one sells real chemistry sets for kids anymore because, despite being educational, they aren't safe. Ironically, they sell children's snow skis and dirt bikes which are unsafe and non-educational. So I suggest that parents wanting to introduce their child to chemistry first find a manual from an old chemistry set, order real chemicals, and spend some quality time with your budding scientist.

Very nice introduction to chemistry for older children. My nine-year-old son can do some of the experiments on his own, and he loves that aspect. Others do require adult supervision.

Purchased this set for my nephew along with the Dangerous Book for Boys. Finally was around long enough to go through the chemistry set book with him and figure out what experiments we could do on a dark, wintery night without leaving the house for supplies...Come to find out: NONE. While the experiments are worthwhile and scientific explanations for experiments good, the "STUFF" included within the chem set is barely existent. Wanna make slime? Well you need glue and borax....Wanna test for iron...well you need cereal and A MAGNET (really, they couldn't just put one in the set????). Not to mention the actual "stuff" within the set was really really cheap...the goggles were WAY too tight on my 6 year old nephew; the test tube holder is flimsy cardboard, and the chemicals dumped all over the place when we opened them. Skip this set.

The set has many good experiments, but the surrounding information turned my son off a bit. He enjoys it, but we don't do it unless I am the one suggesting we try one. He is a very bright 9 year old, but I have to help him a lot with the understanding part.

I gave this book to my grandson and he loved it. He was working on some of the experiments the next day.