SETTING UP YOUR LABORATORY
In some ways, alaboratoryis very much like alibrary;butinsteadoflooking
upinformation,thelaboratoryworkerfinds out aboutit for himself. Inboth
places theworkingconditionsare similar. Librariansmustcatalogbooksin a
libraryand store them in a neat andorderlyfashion.Chemistsmust labeltheir
equipmentand chemicals in alaboratoryandstorethem in an equally neat and
orderly manner. Silence in alibraryis essential, so the people using it can
concentrateon their work. Silence is essential in alaboratorytoo, so theworkers
can give theircompleteattentionto their work.
Forthese reasons, and also for the sakeofsafety and convenience, you will
want to find some special place at home in which to establishyourlaboratory.
Itmust bereasonablyquiet and outof everyone else's way.Itmust be well
lighted and there must be a sink in thelaboratory,or very close by, so you can
easily get water. To be completely on the safe side, itshouldbe in a placethat
the younger childrencan'tget to easily.Yourfascinatingcollectionofapparatus
and chemicals maytemptthem to try thingsthatmight provedangerous.
Once you have chosen a goodlocationyou will need these things:
- A large table on which toperformyourexperiments.Youshouldcover it
with a heat- or chemical-proofsubstance,such aslinoleum,glass or tile. If
this is not possible, several layers of newspaper, which you must change
regularly, will do. - Aboveyourwork area, thereshouldbe one or two shelves on which to
keepyourchemicals-all,ofcourse,properlylabeled and stored, eitheralpha-
betically or ingroupsaccordingto the typeofexperimentin which you may use
them. There is oneimportantexceptionto this, however. Donotplace anacid,
such as vinegar, near analkali,such asammonia.Enoughmoleculesofeach
substancecan escape even from closed bottlesto cause a chemical reaction
in the surroundingair. The reaction could contaminatethe outside of the
bottlesand the chemicals nearby.
3.Yourlaboratoryapparatuswill include those items which you can make
yourself(page 14), a few which you will have topurchase(page 14), plus many
things you can collect (page 13), such asbaby-foodjars,small plasticbottles