Investigating shampoos

Greetings fellow Scientists!

If you visit your local pharmacy you are going to find there a wide range of shampoos. We decided to test if there are any specific differences between them and not just the price tag.

Here are the shampoos we looked at:

We first focused on comparing the pH of the shampoos.

Then we compared the flow properties.

After that we tested which shampoo makes the most lather.

Lastly, the grease-removing properties were compared.

In conclusion, we found out that the price of the shampoo didn't play a significant role on its properties.

Investigating indigestion remedies

Greetings fellow Scientists!

In our recent session we were investigating which indigestion remedy was the most effective. We used the following equipment in this experiment:

We started by grinding the tables to increase the surface area:

The tablet was then dissolved in water. Lastly we added hydrochloric acid to resemble the conditions during indigestion. Litmus paper was used to check the pH at the start (once the acid was added) and after 5 minutes to check how effective the lablet was at neutralising it.

We found out that Rennie was the best at neutralising excess acid.

Make your own rock candy - part 2

Greetings fellow Scientists!

Today we took out our rock candy, look at those beautiful crystals!

Make your own rock candy - part 1

Greetings fellow Scientists!

Today we made rock candy. We used the following equipment:

First, we measured a cup of water and brought it to boil.

Then, we started adding sugar to dissolve it. We were adding it up until no more sugar could dissolve. What we created is called super saturated solution.

Lastly, we poured our solution into a glass and placed a skewer in it. Now we have to be patient and wait for the crystals to grow!

Join us next week to see the results of this experiment.


Click here for the instructions and try this experiment at home.

Welcome to the new school year

Greetings fellow Scientists!

We enter the 4th year of the international co-operation project with the Volcano Science Club from Gimnazjum no 4 in Stargard Szczecinski, Poland.  The theme for this year is "Chemistry - Science and fun". We are going to do loads of fun experiments and learn in detail why things occur.

As we said goodbye to the Y9 students who are now in Y10 and have to focus on their GCSE studies, we recruited some new members.

Two familiar faces, Lauren and Oliwia, will be joining our sesions as well as the Duke of Edinburgh volunteers:

"Travelling Scientist" summer series

Greetings fellow Scientists!

Summer 2015 is over and your Travelling Scientist is going back to school. Below are the links to all the articles published over the summer holidays in case you missed something.

The Crystal, Canning Town, London, United Kingdom

BODY WORLDS: The Project Happiness Exhibition, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Science Museum, London, United Kingdom

Science Center NEMO, Amsterdam, Netherlands

London art trail: 'What's in your DNA?'

Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom

Natural History Museum, Dublin, Ireland

National Museum of Ireland, Dublin