Crimson

That's a great idea! I might try to get ahold of my professor and see if I can buy an extra kit off of him. I need to look around, I think I saved my lab book with my daughter in mind but I'm not sure where it might be. One thing I did want to ask about was the table. I couldn't justify the purchase of an actual lab table, so the one I purchased has a gray stain resistant/scratch resistant surface. It's a height adjustable school activity table. I was wondering if there is some kind of chemical resistant paint that I could coat the top of it with? Or do I not need to worry about that for quite a while? Also I found this really awesome entomology kit that included the chemical to euthanize the insect, gathering tools, display kit, etc. She is always asking to collect insects. And while I probably won't pick that up for her right now is that something you think would be ok to do with a child at this age or do you think collecting bugs and displaying them in that manner would be traumatizing?

Awesome. Thanks so much for the feedback! It's hard because I've been looking for stuff that's more science/less toy like but as safe as possible. I've only taken an intro to environmental science course and geology course so I would be learning a lot along with her. There's so much she's interested in that it's almost overwhelming lol. I was talking to my environmental prof. because that was about the time that the thing with the documentary happened, and he actually told me I could bring her to class with me. She loved it! It was kind of weird that semester. I was doing my homework and what not but not really talking about the stuff I was learning in that class, but every time we started on a new topic she would start asking me questions, and it always pertained to what I was learning about. There for a while I was starting to wonder if she was psychic. lol.

Well I'm new here and this is my first post, so I hope I picked the right place to post this. My daughter is turning 6 in about two weeks. For her birthday I asked her what educational things she would like that she wants to learn about and would find fun. She specifically told me she wanted to learn about DNA, more about life cycles (plants and animals), etc. and she asked me for a microscope. Then she blurted out that she really wanted her own science lab. I am going to give a bit of background on my daughter so maybe my questions could be easily answered. My daughter has been watching documentaries with me voluntarily from the age of about 3 1/2. She loves all things dinosaurs and is very knowledgable about them, including their eating preferances, names, etc. I was watching a documentary with her about ecosystems. At this time she was about 4 1/2. She specifically asked me what would happen to the ecosystem (in her words) if all of one type of animal or organism disappeared. I'm mentioning this because I'm not sure a kid at that age normally would have the comprehension or presence of mind to even think of a question like that. Anyhow, because it is educational and she got so excited I decided to get her a table and chair for her own lab area, along with microscope, slides, slide covers, a box to keep permanent slides in, lab coat, safety glasses, disposable gloves, trash can, desk lamp, etc. I also got her a mini indoor greenhouse kit with seeds for the tickle me plant, a DNA kit, a science experiment book, and a microscope book. She is also getting an ant farm. I still need to pick up a lab journal. I realize this might be a bit overkill for a 6 year old's birthday but I am excited to see her so excited about this and really want to encourage her love of science. With all that said, I would not let her store unsafe chemicals or instruments in her room and would obviously be helping with experiments, reading, and journaling. What I am wanting to know is, is there anything else that I should add to what I've already purchased to get her started? I am trying to keep this as child safe as possible while keeping it challenging. I realize she is young still, but she does tend to ask me questions about things I am learning in college classes. I am going to rearrange her room so her 2x4 ft. lab desk will be in there (along with storage cart). Also Some of the things I ordered say they are for ages 8 or 9+ (the books and DNA kit specifically) but I felt that with the scope of questions she asks me and random facts she tells me that the books and things for younger kids would not hold her attention as much. Am I on the right track here? I tried looking online for kid science lab setups and tried several word combinations but couldn't find anything suggesting what would be sufficient to start with or how to decorate the surrounding area to make it seem like an actual lab. I want to make it feel as authentic for her as I possibly can. I would have listed the specific microscope, DNA kit, and books I ordered but think I saw someone flagged for doing that. Sorry for the long ramble! But I feel like I had to get that out there in order to get some good suggestions. And thanks for reading!