Review: Letterbox Lab Investigate Box 1 – Marvellous Mixtures

Letterbox Lab is a monthly box of fantastic science experiments for kids. There are two stages: the Explore Box for kids age 6+ and the Investigate Box, aimed at children age 8 – 12. 

Little C had a marvellous time with the Explore Box, and she has been very excited at the prospect of graduating to the more grownup version. So when she turned eight last month the lovely Letterbox Lab people were kind enough to send her the first Investigate Box! 

The Investigate Box contains five or more experiments, all neatly bagged up. As well as all the bits and pieces you need to perform the experiments, you also start building up a collection of lab equipment and gadgets.

Little C was delighted with her real science goggles! 

There’s an excellent instruction booklet. It contains detailed and beautifully illustrated instructions for all the experiments, as well as explanations of everything that has been demonstrated. You can see the six experiments for this month, plus all the extra goodies! 

The two little characters, Meg and Pico, guide you through the experiments. 

The first experiment, Incredible Inks, may remind you of something you did at school yourself.

Chromatography paper and salt water was used to discover all the different colours in what looked like plain black or brown ink. 

This required a little patience to see the effect, but it was remarkable to see all the colours separate out.

There was extra paper to draw your own patterns and see the effect the salt water had on the different inks.  This experiment was a good use for the petri dish included in the box!

The booklet explained how the experiment worked, and also included suggestions for further experiments.

The next one, Rainbow Glasses, is incredibly cool.

There was a glasses frame to decorate (colouring is always fun!) then diffraction grating was added for lenses to create a pair of what looked like old fashioned 3D glasses.

Now what do you think she’s seeing?

Rainbows!

The diffraction grating splits up white light into its component colours, like a prism but definitely more spectacular.

It looks amazing even when you don’t look at an actual light source.

Next we went from separating colours to trying to mix them up.

Rainbow Spinners used a little spinning top with different coloured discs, and we observed how the different discs looked when they were spun.

As you can probably guess, it’s not really an effect that can be captured  with a camera! But to the naked eye it looked great, and there were some interesting observations to be made.

Liquid Rainbow was an good experiment, but definitely a little tricky. This used coloured water with sugar added to demonstrate how different solutions could float on top of each other. 

This was very difficult to capture on a picture, but I think you can just about see different coloured layers in the beaker. The top two were red and orange, and I think they must have mixed, as we couldn’t tell the difference, but there is definitely a layer of green then blue underneath.

(She’s not standing in a forest. This picture is taken next to the Christmas tree, as the lamp was the strongest light we could find to see through the beaker.)

While this one didn’t work perfectly, it was still effective, and it was very interesting to discover how solutions can have weight just like solids.

Brilliant Breathless Balloon was very effective! 

I’m sure you can guess what is supposed to happen…

Yes, the balloon blew up! It was very impressive how fast it inflated.

This uses the same acid and alkali reaction as the classic vinegar-and-bicarb combination that most kids are familiar with.  

This one used citric acid instead of vinegar, which apart from having a stronger reaction, gave a sense of using ‘real’ chemicals. There was a safety warning and everything!  There’s nothing like having to wear gloves and eye protection to give that frisson of danger than makes everything more fun.

Finally, the final experiment, the pièce de résistance, Squirmy Worms!

Again, this involves more proper chemicals. There is a two-stage process to this one.

First was mixing some sodium alginate gloop and waiting for it to thicken. Then calcium lactate was dissolved in a big bowl of water, and the real fun was about to begin! 

A pipette was used to squirt the gloop into the big bowl. Lots and lots of it.

At first you can’t see anything, and then you stick your (gloved) hand in the bowl…

There are your squirmy worms!

Lots and lots of them, slimy, slippery, and absolutely fascinating. 

Of all the experiments, this one was definitely the highlight!

Well, I can say with complete confidence that this is an excellent step up from the Explore Box. There is more to do, more to learn, and it has a more ‘grown up’ feel to it. 

Including the extra equipment such as goggles and beaker was a great treat, and makes the whole experience even more special.

There is a lot to do here. We did everything over the course of two weekends, so there’s plenty to keep you going. There are also suggestions for further experiments and learning.

The concepts introduced are all relevant to Key Stage 2, and they reinforce scientific methods. I think having the opportunity to experiment and experience these things at home as well as at school is extremely important. 

Even parents who feel they have forgotten everything they learned in science class will have no problem following along and assisting where necessary. There are even links to videos and cheat sheets on the Letterbox Lab website to give you a little extra help.

Little C was absolutely delighted to receive this box, and she is already looking forward to the next one!

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