Fun with mixing with some help from Learning Resources

I’ve been searching for child-friendly test tubes and droppers for months now, so I was very excited when Learning Resources asked me to review their Jumbo Test Tubes, Twisty Droppers and Handy Scoopers.

The quality of all the products is excellent. They are chunky, sturdy and very easy for little hands to hold. The handy scoopers and twisty droppers are great for developing hand strength and fine motor skills whilst having fun.

Handy Scoopers

My 3-year-old especially loves the handy scoopers. They’ve led to hours of entertainment at the sand/water table and even in the bath.

Handy Scoopers come in a pack of 4 and currently retail at £11.94.

Twisty Droppers

These come in a set of 4 and currently retail at around £13. We’ve used them with our outdoor water table and for lots of baking soda and vinegar experiments. They are also great for art projects.

My three-year-old found them very easy to use, much easier than the more grown-up droppers I’d been using previously. The colours also make them very visually appealing to children of all ages.

Jumbo test tubes

These are my favourite product. We’ve already used them for several experiments and for playing with around the water table. The pack even comes with an activity guide full of great ideas.

At around £15 they are quite expensive, but we will definitely get a LOT of use from them so I think they are worth the cost.

Here is the first of our activities using the test tubes and droppers.

Exploring Mixing

Materials

• Small Stone
• Sand
• Washing up liquid
• Test Tubes
• Droppers ( optional )
• Water

Method

• Add the stones, sand and washing-up liquid to different test tubes.
• Use the dropper to add water to each test tube.
• Give them a shake and watch what happens.

What’s happening?

We found that the sand did mix with the water, but after a while, it settled at the bottom of the test tube again.

The stones didn’t mix.

The washing-up liquid became very bubbly and didn’t separate again.

The stones and sand are insoluble. They don’t dissolve in water, while the washing-up liquid mixes with the water to form a solution.

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We were sent the items above for review.

Last Updated on October 9, 2023 by Emma Vanstone