Stinks and bangs: the heyday of the chemistry set

When you hear the phrase 'chemistry set', what is the first image that pops into your head? Is it one of a mad scientist in a dark laboratory full of pieces of glassware bubbling over? Is it your high school or college chemistry lab? For many, the phrase evokes a time of exploration and experimentation, a time where a child could be and do anything they could imagine. Although first and foremost to be a toy providing hours of entertainment, chemistry sets also allowed children to interact intimately with science. It is these interactions that led many to go on to become famous chemists and physicists. By studying these sets - their content, the imagery surrounding them and the people that used them - we can hopefully better understand how society viewed, and continues to view, science.