How to purchase this for a Homeschool Club.
57 views
Skip to first unread message
Sabrina Marzniak
Jul 15, 2016, 12:19:18 PM7/15/16
to The Home Scientist
Will someone please give me advice on the best way to purchase the forensic kit for a group of ten kids?
We are thinking it's best to have the kids work in pairs so I think we'd need 5 kits. Is this the best way to go? Do we need that many kits or could we just buy one kit and then more chemicals? I see some discussed purchasing through Home Science Tools but would that work for the Forensic Kit and how would you then purchase the other chemicals?
Also what is the shipping cost for the Forensic Kit through The Home Scientist? I couldn't find it on the site anywhere.
Total novice here. Just starting chemistry and forensics. Thank you for any guidance you can offer.
We are thinking it's best to have the kids work in pairs so I think we'd need 5 kits. Is this the best way to go? Do we need that many kits or could we just buy one kit and then more chemicals? I see some discussed purchasing through Home Science Tools but would that work for the Forensic Kit and how would you then purchase the other chemicals?
Also what is the shipping cost for the Forensic Kit through The Home Scientist? I couldn't find it on the site anywhere.
Total novice here. Just starting chemistry and forensics. Thank you for any guidance you can offer.
The Home Scientist
Jul 15, 2016, 12:32:49 PM7/15/16
to The Home Scientist
Hi, Sabrina
A lot depends on how you intend to teach it. Ordinarily, two students per workgroup is best, three is doable, and more than three results in some students just watching while one or two do the actual work. One possibility would be to have two or three different lab sessions going simultaneous, with two-student workgroups sharing chemicals, although that would slow things down a lot. Generally, the higher the ratio of workgroups to kits, the longer it takes to get lab sessions finished because people are always waiting for someone else to finish using something before they can use it.
If it's doable financially, things will run a lot smoother and faster if you have five kits for five workgoups, but it'd certainly be possible to teach your five workgroups with only four or even three or two kits. If it were me, I'd consider getting four kits and split my students into workgroups 2-2-3-3, trying to make sure that each wallflower student was paired or tripled with one or two go-getters.
As to Home Science Tools, they're a good source for small quantities of chemicals for general lab work, but they really don't carry much of what you need for these forensic labs. You can order these specialty forensic chemicals from vendors who specialize in supplying forensic labs, but they're extremely expensive because they're intended for professional use, where cost is not a major issue.
All of our kits include shipping via USPS Priority Mail to any 50-state US address.
A lot depends on how you intend to teach it. Ordinarily, two students per workgroup is best, three is doable, and more than three results in some students just watching while one or two do the actual work. One possibility would be to have two or three different lab sessions going simultaneous, with two-student workgroups sharing chemicals, although that would slow things down a lot. Generally, the higher the ratio of workgroups to kits, the longer it takes to get lab sessions finished because people are always waiting for someone else to finish using something before they can use it.
If it's doable financially, things will run a lot smoother and faster if you have five kits for five workgoups, but it'd certainly be possible to teach your five workgroups with only four or even three or two kits. If it were me, I'd consider getting four kits and split my students into workgroups 2-2-3-3, trying to make sure that each wallflower student was paired or tripled with one or two go-getters.
As to Home Science Tools, they're a good source for small quantities of chemicals for general lab work, but they really don't carry much of what you need for these forensic labs. You can order these specialty forensic chemicals from vendors who specialize in supplying forensic labs, but they're extremely expensive because they're intended for professional use, where cost is not a major issue.
All of our kits include shipping via USPS Priority Mail to any 50-state US address.
Sabrina Marzniak
Jul 15, 2016, 8:07:51 PM7/15/16
to The Home Scientist
Thank you for all the information. That does help greatly!
Reply all
Reply to author
Forward
0 new messages