'Lab in a box'

‘Lab in a Box’ for Imperial College first-year undergraduate students, distributed by Imperial College’s Department of Chemistry to the homes of students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kit contains: 1 Simax 100ml Filtering Flask borosilicate glass connection, 1 50 mm diameter porcelain Academy Buchner funnel, 1 Academy rubber cone 20mm/14mm ID, 26mm/19mm OD, 1 Academy retort stand and rod, 1 Academy three finger clamp, 2 Academy 13mm black bosshead, 1 Amicus ultra-flat magnetic stirrer, 1 Simax 100ml borosilicate glass wide mouth Erlenmeyer flask, 1 Simax 50ml borosilicate glass wide mouth Erlenmeyer flask, 1 Lamaplast magnetic stirring bar 6 X 20mm, 1 25ml Glassco measuring cylinder, 4x 25 strips of Johnson Papers Universal Indicator Paper, PH1-14, 1 Academy Nuffield Type stainless steel spatula, 1 Simax borosilicate glass stirring rod with paddle, 20 Academy 30 ml white diamond weighing boats, 1 Onbalance compact weighing scales, 2 Norm-Ject 50ml plastic disposable syringes, 50 cm length of natural orange rubber tubing, 5 Academy professional filter papers type 1, 1 250 ml Glassco measuring cylinder, 1 Glassco separatory funnel, 1 Brennan vertical barrel digital thermometer, 1 Academy 80 mm diameter retort ring support, 1 75 mm Tarsons autoclavable funnel, 1 Simax 600ml borosilicate glass low form beaker, 1 Simax 250ml borosilicate glass low form beaker, 1 set of Kartell magnetic stirring bars retrievers, 1 125ml LDPE Tarsons new type wash bottle, 5 grade 113V Whatman Folded filter papers, 1 14mm Amtech spanner, 3 217 mm 6.2ml Academy Pasteur Pipette, 1 Lamaplast empty plastic vial, clear plastic tubing, Chefaid baloon whisk; 1 reagent kit containing 40g of tapioca maltodextrin, 15g citric acid, 8g agar, 3g sodium benzoate, 10g sodium bicarbonate and 1 packet of cream of tartar made by Dr. Oetker; 1 Personal Protective Kit contain 12 Microflex disposable gloves, 1 disposable VWR lab coat, 1 pair of Eisco safety goggles, 1 Chefaid sieve, 1 Oliver Harvey apron, 1 Aneco cloth bag, 1 Office Depot envelope and card, 1 Reliance Medical first aid kit; 1 Imperial College instruction manual for kitchen experiments and 1 Amicus plug adapter for stirrer plate, various makers, developed by Dr Luke Delmas and Dr Jakub Radzikowski to deliver Chemistry Kitchen and Introduction to Synthesis

In November 2020, the Department of Chemistry at Imperial College dispatched a Lab in a Box to their first year students across the globe. Each box contained laboratory equipment to help them carry out two experiments ‘Introduction to Synthesis’ and ‘Chemistry Kitchen.’ Students could also follow along through online sessions, YouTube videos, and drop-in virtual support. Tutors quickly adapted courses so it was safe for their students to carry out experiments at home.

The Chemistry Kitchen course is built on the idea that chemistry and cooking share similar skills – weighing, measuring, precision, planning, creativity, dexterity and observation. Being in a university lab for the first time can be surprising and sometimes unsettling. Pre COVID-19, the course took place in a specially built area. Students get the opportunity to gain skills and confidence in an environment that is more familiar to them – a kitchen. During the pandemic, their own kitchens became their laboratories.