I had a lot of fun making these ChemHacker styled periodic tables – the project was very educational – both through studying the periodic table closely and learning to use Inkscape more.
They are digital prints on laminated card stock – $7 each with free shipping to the continental USA.
More details on the Periodic Table Page.
I’ve been wanting to upgrade the storage in ChemHacker central for a while – but I haven’t found a good, sturdy storage unit that is large, can handle holding a lot of weight, and is chemically resistant.
Until now.
I found this old Faygo-labeled shelving unit in a nearby alley:
After a (lot of) cleaning, here it is holding tools and a wide assortment of chemicals in the underground ChemHacker Lab:
Now that I have Faygo-themed shelving, perhaps I should look into teaching Juggalos some f’ing Science?
This is an old article, but it’s still very relevant. The June 2006 edition of Wired Magazine has this article detailing the rise and fall of the garage chemist: Don’t try This At Home (here it is all on one page, but without all the pretty pictures).
The reason you should read this:
Taking chemicals and lab equipment away from kids who love science is like taking crayons and paints away from a kid who may grow up to be an artist.
[Links and resources after the jump] Read the rest of this entry »
A followup on the post on 12 cheap chemicals from the Hardware Store:
The drug store isn’t just a place to grab a prescription or hang out with a soda jerk (are there any soda jerks left?), you can get a lot of decent chemicals and supplies there too! Heck, there’s a reason why the old term for “pharmacist” is “chemist.”
The list after the jump:
Ahh, the friendly neighborhood hardware store, purveyor of bits and bobs, nuts and bolts, rat traps and… high quality chemicals for next to nothing?
While we certainly recommend online stores like United Nuclear or Make’s Science Room for obscure, specialty, or high-purity chemicals, your local hardware store is brimming with loads of industrial-grade chemicals for surprisingly low prices.
I know I can’t start a discussion about at-home chemistry without mentioning the (in)famous Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments. Some overly dramatic people have called it a banned book – it isn’t, but it is a bit out of date and presents some experiments that aren’t exactly safe for unattended kids (or even adults) to perform.
Published in 1960 and updated in 1962 and 1963, and now widely available in pdf form on the internet, this book was an inspiration to many a home chemical tinkerer.
There are several basic safety flaws with the book that prevent me from recommending it as an experimental handbook. I found these in a 10-minute review:
Things I do like about it:
Homework assignment:
So, for homework, I assign everyone out there to skim through the Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments and find the most awesome examples of terrible safety and the most inspiring and interesting experiments and theories it discusses. Discuss in the comments…
Low resolution image of the Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments courtesy of Wikipedia.org
Update:
Arrgh, I can’t believe I just noticed that NO ONE in this book wears any safety gear. There are no gloves, goggles, aprons. These kids are doing chemistry in their Sunday best!!! I don’t think the author mentions anything about real fire extinguishers either (but they do talk about how fire extinguishers work…).