Science Mad Review

Come and discover the world with Science Mad! Science Mad offers children real scientific equipment and kits with real working features that will inspire curiosity and fun ways of learning. We were thrilled to receive these two amazing products for review: the Planetarium Star Globe and Chemistry Lab.

First, let’s take a look at this planetarium star globe that will transform your room with the major constellations across the walls and ceilings. It is best to display in a small room or near the wall to view the images/words more clearly and sharper focus.

The dome is made from thin plastic so needs to be handled with care. It slots into the light bulb easily. Now switch on to the rotate setting and watch the images rotate around your room. It makes a slight noise when it rotates but it is not loud enough to distract you. There is also an option to let you choose to listen to a fascinating commentary about the main planets in our solar system. The commentary is slightly loud for my liking, hence I won’t recommend sitting too close to the planetarium.

This tabletop planetarium is suitable for ages eight and above. It is lightweight and easy to use. It requires four AA batteries for the planetarium and two AA batteries to operate the pointer, which are not included in the box. The pointer shines a red light, which is perfect to show your little one what you are looking at. It comes with a spare bulb for your planetarium.

My daughter is fascinated and intrigued to learn about the night sky and has a multitude of questions about the solar system. I think this is a simple and easy to use planetarium for young children. It helps them to learn the fundamentals of the universe. It is good value for money and should last a long time.

Next, we have this well-equipped Chemistry Lab kit that comes with a selection of ten different chemicals. It also includes a real methylated spirit burner to help when learning about the fascinating chemical reactions involving heat.

Please note that you do need to get a selection of household items like vinegar, salt and turmeric, as well as your own methylated spirits, which can be purchased easily and reasonably at DIY stores. There is a list of additional equipment and chemicals you might like to purchase printed in the instructions.

As you can see from my photo, this is a well-equipped set that comes with a glass beaker, glass conical flask, glass stirring rod, cork stoppers, filter papers, indicator papers, measuring spoon, test tube and many more! The chemicals come in child-safe bottles and are also sealed with foil. Children may need adult help to remove the protective seal and open the bottles.

There are over 80 safety-tested, themed experiments to do and they are all clearly planned and set out within the detailed instruction manual. There are a total of 13 chapters. It covers soluble & insoluble substances, invisible inks, crystal chemistry, paper chromatography, acids & alkalis, chemical reactions of acids & alkalis, other chemical reactions, heating substances, the chemistry of some gases, iodine chemistry, sugar chemistry, distinguishing fibres and textile dyes. At the end of the instructions, it explains the results of your experiments on how they should be and why.

This is a great rainy day activity to do with my children. Ms C is yet to learn about acids and alkalis at school so this is a great opportunity to show her!

There is so much to discover in the Science Mad! range: 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! We are keen to get the Build Your Own Vacuum Cleaner kit to build ourselves! This is such a great way to learn and it helps encourage children to develop their knowledge and fuel their passion for science. They are available to buy from Smyths. You can check out my friend Anna – In The Playroom’s review on Crystal Growing lab here.

Disclosure: We received the sample for the purposes of writing this review, however, all thoughts and opinions remain our own. Image used with permission.