REVIEW: Science Mad Collection from Trends UK
Looking for a Fun but Fact filled activity to keep the kids entertained over the October Half Term then why not check out the Science Mad Range from Trends UK. This collection offers kids real scientific equipment and kits with working features all giving them the chance to learn from the comfort of their own home.
What’s Science Mad
Science Mad is a collection of neat equipment and kits from Trends UK that’s purpose is to get kids inspired to explore more of what is around them and build a natural curiosity to learn more about how and why things work.
Over the years Trends UK has built a reputation as one of the UK’s leading suppliers of science toys, with this Science Mad brand offering real experiments, based on proper chemistry and scientific gadgets. The Science Mad range covers three categories which are Outdoor and Adventure, Core Science and Science Kits.
So, you can expect plenty for kids to discover with this Science Mad range as it includes things like Telescopes, Microscopes, a Chemistry Lab Set and a Crystal Growing Set, a Planetarium Star Globe, a Light Up Globe, a Build Your Own Vacuum Cleaner Kit, Night Vision Goggles, a 5-in-1 Weather Station kit, Digital Walkie Talkies, a Rock Tumbler kit and a Circuit Lab kit.
Recently we were gifted two of the Science Kits for us to put to the test in return for sharing our honest thoughts with our readers, so read on to find out how we managed when a bunch of kids put the Science Mad 5 in 1 weather station and chemistry lab to the test.
We have also been kindly gifted some Science Mad equipment so we can run a competition which families can enter for Free for the chance to Win, more info on how to enter can be found below.
Science Mad 5-in-1 Weather Station
Who doesn’t love a good chat about the weather right, so this kit will do wonders for your little ones ability to join in those popular conversations lol.
Everyday your child is around weather and this 5 in 1 weather station will give them a hub for gathering all the essentials just like a proper meteorologist
On the top of the station, you have a three anemometer cups which will catch the wind when it blows and spin around and how fast its spinning can be seen in the below speed gauge. Below the cups there is also a little arrow that points in the direction that the wind is blowing.
You also have a rain gauge that holds rainfall giving you an idea of how much rain has fallen since the last time you check your weather station.
And on the side, you have a thermometer to read how hot or cold it is in both Celsius or Fahrenheit as well as a compass to use for which direction the wind is blowing in.
The weather station is easy to set up, with just a little assembly needed. It’s a simple and effective way for kids to keep a daily log of all the different conditions, record measurements and for them to learn about the weather changes throughout the year.
Science Mad Chemistry Lab
This Science Mad Chemistry Lab is a great starter kit for kids that are interested in science.
What is included in this Chemistry Lab Set is:
- Ten different chemicals
- Glass spirit burner
- Pair of safety glasses
- 100ml Glass beaker
- 100ml Glass conical flask
- 120mm Glass stirring rod
- Two 100mm Glass tubing
- Two Rubber cork stoppers
- Two Rubber cork stoppers with holes
- Filter papers
- Universal indicator papers
- Plastic funnel
- Measuring spoon
- Plastic dropping pipette
- 100mm Rubber tubing
- Small scoop
- Two Glass test tubes with lids
- Metal test tube holder
- Test tube cleaning brush
- Test tube rack
- Instruction manual
It goes without saying that no Chemistry set that you can buy for kids on the market are a complete set, you will always have to add to it, the main reason being safety and what they can sell in one box together on a shop shelf.
And its no different with this Science kit, so heads up before you can do any experiments you will need to get together some additional equipment and chemicals, but these extras you need are well documented on pages 14 and 15 of the instruction manual.
The booklet lists around 60 extra items needed and to give you an insight of some of the extra equipment required that you might already have around the house they are things such as wooden clothes peg, small ruler and egg cup, but other equipment you might not have sat around are things like crystallising dishes, clay plant pot and coffee filter papers.
Chemical wise again some you may have in your cupboards are like white vinegar, turmeric and course ground pepper. But other items you might need to buy in from your local chemist are things like Citric acid, Magnesium sulphate and Hydrogen peroxide.
Additionally, its recommended that you wear gloves, but they are not included and be mindful that this kit only comes with one pair of safety googles so if you have more than one child enjoying the experiments then you will need to supply another pair of safety googles and for any adults that are supervising.
Its essential that all children are supervised at all times with this Chemistry Lad set as some of the chemicals included can present a hazard to health, in fact on the front of the instruction manual it warns you that for chemicals labelled as hazardous to the environment you should contact your local council for information on safe disposal. It’s so important that you do not allow chemicals to come into contact with any part of the body, particularly the mouth and eyes and that you keep small children and animals away from experiments.
With this lab kit children can get tasked by 82 safe and educational experiments that are in the booklet included. Some are simple and others are pretty complex experiments for kids to do and record their results from.
We would say that this Chemistry Lab Kit covers content that will be relevant to KS2 and KS3 with topics covered such as
- Soluble and insoluble substances
- Invisible inks
- Crystal chemistry
- Acids and alkalis
- Chemical reactions
- Heating substances
- The chemistry of some gases
- Some iodine chemistry
- Some sugar chemistry
- Distinguishing fibres
- Textile dyes
Where to Buy Science Mad Range
The Science Mad 5 in 1 Weather Station is aimed at children 6 years and over and can be found on sale at many toy stores, with one of the key online retailers being Amazon at £17.99 RRP.
The Science Mad Chemistry Lab is aimed at children 10 years and over and again be found on sale at many toy stores, with one of the key online retailers being Amazon at £32.99 RRP.
Would we Recommend Science Mad Range to Families?
We found the Weather station extremely easy and quick to set up, its lightweight and easy for little ones to understand and record from. All the kids enjoyed it young and old and even some garden birds benefited from it as we caught them drinking from the rainfall holder pot.
The Science Mad Chemistry Lab is a lot more full on, hence the older age range. It comes with a comprehensive instruction manual and with patience and good record keeping kids can gain a fab understand of how many different chemical substances behave.
With so many experiments that you can be challenged with its safe to say that this is not a five-minute activity and it’s worth the money in that it will keep the kids entertained for several weeks. And with this in mind don’t let the long list of extras you need to get hold of to do the experiments put you off, as you don’t need to get them all in at once, just pick and choose which experiments you want to do first and go from there. We haven’t bought all the extras yet, as we aren’t even halfway through the experiments but at a guess, we think you should have a figure of maybe another £40 in your head as needing to put towards this to do all the experiments.
Oh, but it’s worth noting for any experiment that is going to use the glass spirit burner you will need to get Methylated spirits, you can get this from many DIY shops and the price is usually around £3, but you can’t use it without it. So worth noting if you’re buying this as a gift that the kids will need extras to get going with it, so top tip open the box pull out the manual and maybe buy a few of the extra items in advance so you can gift them at the same time.
Like most parents we love gifting our kid’s science-based toys as its fun for all the family whilst supporting STEM learning. This is the first time we have come across Science Mad products, and we have to say they didn’t disappoint. With all these activities you need to spend time on with your kids, but we think they are an excellent way as a family to support your child’s learning in school from home.
We think these Science Mad kits are a lovely, relaxed way to grow your child’s thirst for knowing more about the world around them and we would recommend them for families to check out.
WIN a Science Mad 30mm Telescope Worth £15.99
As an extra little treat, we would love to offer the chance for one of our readers to Win their very own Science Equipment from Science Mad. If you are interested, then simply Click Here to Visit our Competition Section and Enter this Competition for Free – Good Luck!
