MEL Science Kit: An inspiring chemistry kit for all ages
By Lela S. <3
A few months ago, I pre-reviewed the Tinker Crates, an experiment kit that our friend Imagene previously recommended to me. This time, I’ll be reviewing (not pre-reviewing) another kit: the MEL Chemistry Kit.
The MEL Science line has three kits available: the MEL Chemistry Kit, for ages 10-16, the MEL Kids Kit, for ages 5-10, and the MEL Physics Kit, for ages 8-14. The kit that I got was the MEL Chemistry Kit, which costs $46.80 CAD.
Since it’s my first time receiving a MEL Chemistry Kit, I got a bigger package. My kit came with a MEL Starter Kit, a VR headset, and the experiment kit itself.
The MEL Starter Kit contains these items:
Borosilicate glass beaker and flask
Macro lens (to attach to a phone
Smartphone/tablet stand
Safety glasses and a plastic tray
Solid fuel stove (burner)
You’ll need those items to perform the experiments.
Next, I got a VR Headset, which I could use with my phone to observe the molecules and reagents I was using in the experiments, up close and in detail. I simply had to insert my phone into the slot in the headset to start observing. Also, it was interactive, which meant that I could tap the phone to select an option, navigate myself, and much more.
The experiment kit I got, which was themed Tin, contained these items:
2 experiments: Tin Dendrite and Tin Hedgehog
3 bottle nozzles
2 petri dishes
1 battery holder
2 crocodile clips
1 liquid soap
1 bottle of zinc pellets
3 bottles of sodium hydrogen sulfate
3 bottles of tin(II) chloride
1 pair of protective gloves
1 pin opener (aka bent paper clip)
2 plastic vials
2 red bottle caps
It contained two experiments that I did over the course of a few days: Tin Dendrite and Tin Hedgehog.
First of all, I did the hedgehog. It really amazed me to watch it grow! However, it did not last long outside the solution: the tin needles fell off, leaving me with a ball. I repeated the experiment again, this time diluting the solution twofold. I had to wait a bit longer for the needles to grow long enough to resemble a hedgehog.
Second of all, I did the dendrites. I was forced to wait a few days to attempt this experiment, since we had ran out of AAA batteries at home. As soon as we had arrived home from our stop at Dollarama to get the supplies I needed, I went straight to the basement to try this! The results were fascinating, and I loved watching the dendrites grow - they actually grew surprisingly fast.
Last but not least, I decided to have a little fun with the remaining materials in the kit that I hadn’t used yet. So, I decided to combine the two experiments together. Starting with the exact same instructions as the dendrite experiment, I simply plopped the three remaining zinc pellets in the solution of the petri dish. I was a little confused but still intrigued by what was happening.
[EXPERIMENT WALKTHROUGH COMING SOON]
Do you want to attempt some of these exceptional experiments? Go to the MEL Science website to try a kit today!