Customer Reviews

Starting with Safety: An Introduction for the Academic Chemistry Laboratory [VHS]

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

 

 

This "Introduction to the Academic Chemistry Lab" is the most entertaining and informative safety film I have seen. Probably the best aspect of the film is that the consequenses of bad choices and actions in the lab are played out before the viewers. All good science students are curious and this film lets them see first hand what dangerous accidents can happen. The actors are very authentic in their presentations. The film is relavent, creatively presented and concise in its instruction. I highly recomend it for your introduction to "lab safety" for any science course.

David Frantz High School Science instructor Florida schools

ACS did a good job putting together a video that follows some basic laboratory safety principles. It is well organized and repeats information to make sure the students at least have some remembrance of the safety information. My favorite scene is where a hand is stabbed with a glass tube that is being inserted improperly. It always evokes a chuckle from the audience (that is awake).

However the film is dated enough that ACS no longer supports it, the clothing is from my generation not the students that are watching it now, and a few of the recommendations are no longer valid (such as not wearing contacts in lab).

From what I have searched there is no good replacement for this video that is so concise and broad in topics. So it is still worth showing but I dearly wish that ACS would produce a new version.

This product is now available on DVD. Please refer to ASIN 0841239894. The DVD contains the complete contents of the videotape and adds features including film-style captions that can be turned on or off using standard DVD control features and random access of the various sections of the content.

This video breaks laboratory safety into several sections, such as clothing, spills. It does a very good job of displaying numerous hazards and showing how to avoid or handle them. The "students" are pretty good, music is fine, and several attention getters (explosions, blood) keep students alert. It does get somewhat boring near the end, but overall a very good introductory film. Also pricey by my standards.