We’ve tried all different DIY science experiments and so far we’ve not had a lot of success. Our biggest repeat failure is slime production. So until we know exactly what we’re doing, Science kits are the way forward. This week the Nickelodeon EXPERImake Scent-sational Spa kit landed at our door for review. WOW! Make your own Bath bombs Imogen said. “It’s fun for kids” Abigail said… reading it off the box.
What’s in the EXPERImake Kit?
The Scent-sational Spa EXPERIMAKE kit contains bottles, safety equipment, measuring tools and chemicals. The most important item is the instruction booklet.
The contents is divided into two trays which make the kit nice and easy to keep tidy. With all the chemicals in one tray and the equipment in the other. It made it sense to split the kit for our two by age. Chemicals for Imogen to look after. The Science kit is designed for kids aged 8 and older. With Abigail being only 6 years old, I was aware that their may be issues. After completing the kit, the only age related issue is responsibility and as we worked though the projects together, Abigail did really well.
All the bottles are labelled up and sealed with a child proof bottle top. Imogen is still amazed that the tops “know if a child is trying to open them”, so a parental hand was needed.
Making homemade Bath Bombs
Our first project was to make the bath bombs. The two little Hoopsters were really excited to create bath bombs. The instructions were clear and well paced. Which enabled us to split the tasks between the two.
A quick side not here about this EXPERImake kit. As a parent I’ve been wanting my girls to get in to science for ages. There are times when the embrace it, but there are times when the word Science or STEM turns them off. Yet with the concept of making bath bombs, the science word wasn’t really mentioned. The fact we were mixing chemicals, with lab tools and creating a compound that would react in water, didn’t feel like learning. Which is the way I think it should be done. The fun stuff remains embedded as memories.
Our Spas items were to be fragranced with apple and coloured yellow. The only real control we had on colour was how strong the yellow was, by the amount of liquid added.
As Imogen mixed the bath bomb mix, the instructions said it would turn sticky. It took a couple of minutes of mixing to start that reaction, which was a relief. Our world of instant gratification has created traits of impatience at times. So when it didn’t instantly turn sticky, she felt it hadn’t worked.
The old for the bath bomb was the bottom of a 30ml measuring cup (plastic shot glass). This turned out flat mini pancake shaped bombs. Both girls were hoping for giant spherical moulds to form them.
We followed up with making Bath Salts. This project was a lot easier in terms of the recipe, but the filling up the bottle became a bit of a task.
EXPERIMAKE Scent-Sational Spa Review
The Scent-Sational Spa is a secret science kit. With the main focus being chemistry, but the topic being to create products that our kids were excited about. The Science lesson wasn’t as in your face as some chemistry kits we’ve seen and played with.
Although the product is aimed at children aged 8 years and above, it is possible to work with a younger child to complete it. Abigail is only 6 years old and enjoyed working though it too. The mould for the bath bombs created a flat tablet style shape, where the expectations were for a ball. I’m sure with a little creativity that it could be sculpted into a sphere, but we played by the rules.
We tested a Bath bomb the next day in the bathroom sink and… it worked as expected. After initially sinking it started to fizz like a dream,
Nickelodeon’s EXPERImake have a large range of other science kits to try out. If you listen carefully at the beginning of our video Abigail starts listing them all. One kit that we may try next is the slime one. One day we’ll have a success at making slime… One day!
The Nickelodeon Scent-Sational Spa is available from The Entertainer currently for £10, which makes it a great stocking filler in preparation fro Christmas.
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