Educational

Science4You Candle Factory Review

Reviewed by Amanda Gazzard

The school summer holidays are a very long time to try and keep children entertained. It is too costly to try and take them somewhere everyday and they also need try to relax at home anyway. That said, any toys they play with should have some educational value, something they can learn from without it being like sitting it a classroom. Science4you have a great range of STEM science kits that achieve their goals on making learning fun.

I was sent their The Science of Candles, a candle making kit suitable for children age 8+. My little helpers were aged 9 and 13.

Included in the kit:

  • Plastic moulds
  • Yellow colouring 
  • Blue colouring 
  • Pink colouring 
  • Gift Bags
  • Candle wick 
  • Tangerine fragrance 
  • Apple fragrance 
  • Plastic spatula 
  • Paraffin 
  • Silicone moulds
  • Wooden spatulas
  • Pasteur Pipettes

What we needed before we could start was 1 large saucepan or pot, 1 old small saucepan, water, 1 tablespoon, 1 metal spoon, 1 thick needle, adhesive tape and 1 pencil.

I must admit I was slightly hesitant about allowing a child to make a candle because of the hot paraffin wax, but once I thoroughly read the instruction leaflet, which was enclosed, I felt reassured.

What was nice to see was the first thing you read on the enclosed leaflet was the safety rules, general first aid information and advice for supervising adults. The only negative comment I have on this is it would have been better to see the print in a larger font especially as something as important as safety. I felt the font was on the small side and both my children commented on the how small the writing was, which in some ways I was pleased with as I did not feel so old!!!

The instruction leaflet is very clear and concise especially with when an adult is required at certain stages of the candle making process.

Both of my children were keen to make the candles and I made sure they fully understood the dos and don’t as we would be dealing with hot water and hot paraffin wax. I would suggest if you have a child that does not follow simple instructions/guidance easily then this may not be the best product to use.

The step by step process was simple enough to follow for both of my children as they were able to read the instructions and understand the process required. There was only one mould in the kit so they agreed before we started who would go first.

The candle took approx. 2 hours to set. The end results were better than I expected, and the candles came out easy from the mould with little effort.  After the children made one candle each, we had lots of ingredients left over.

Throughout the whole process both of my children enjoyed making the candles and I must admit so did I. It was a great way to spend quality time with my children with no interference from mobile phones or the television and this is something definitely to do on a rainy day. My children decided to make more candles with the ingredients we had left over to give as presents which made it even more special. We experimented with adding different amounts of colouring so some candles came out darker than others. They both took pride in their finished results.

What I liked about this was it came with the vital ingredients/ tools to make the candles but everything else required equipment wise literally came from what I already had in the kitchen which was a bonus as there was no underlying costs.

For the purpose of this review we were kindly sent the Candle Factory which includes the following: various moulds and fragrances, scientific information about the history of candles, its components, the different types of candles, the science behind a candle flame and how to make coloured and perfumed candles. This Candle Factory also includes up to 16 experiments for kids as well as an educational book with 36 pages. My daughter has now put this on her birthday list as she enjoyed it so much.

On the Science4you website they have a vast range of various products which are great for any budding scientist including making slime.

Rating: 4.5/5

RRP: £19.99

For more information visit science4youtoys.com. Available to buy from Amazon here.

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