Experimakes - Rockets and Beyond

EXPERImakes – Rockets and Beyond

As my son is starting Year Three next week (eek!) I’m keen that he uses more STEM related items in his play.  One set that combines technology, engineering, science and maths is the EXPERImakes – Rockets and Beyond set from Addo Play.

Experimakes - Rockets and Beyond

EXPERImakes – Rockets and Beyond is designed for children in Key Stage Two, aged 8 years and over.  As my son will be 8 at the end of the year, I just kept a close eye on him when he got to make fizz bombs.

The set comes with instructions, protective gloves, bicarbonate of soda, citric acid, plastic rocket launcher, 5 foam rockets, wooden lollypop stick (described as a spatula), 5 straws, 4 balloons, measuring cups with lids and a card space buggy and alien template.

Experimakes - Rockets and Beyond

The various components are stored in a couple of decorated paper trays, which look nice but don’t have a specific purpose really.

Experimakes - Rockets and Beyond

The booklet talks you through 6 different experiments to try out and everything is included except sticky tape, table salt, water, tissue paper and a plate.  I’ve learned from experience to look through booklets for sets like these before handing them over to my son, as so many require extras that aren’t readily available in our kitchen, It made a refreshing change to be able to get everything together that was needed quickly. We read through the safety rules together and then it was time for some fun.

My son loves launching rockets so I knew the first EXPERImakes – Rockets and Beyond experiment would go down well.

Each experiment clearly shows what items are required, each step that needs to be completed and an explanation of what is happening.


It’s a simple experiment showing the effects of pressure on air to create movement.  My son has enjoyed this experiment a lot and the 5 rockets have so far withstood a lot of play.

Ballistic Balloons is also an easy experiment for children to enjoy, again looking at pressure and what happens when you inflate a balloon and then release it.  The size changes, the balloon travels, which direction does it travel in and so on.  Lots to learn from a very simple experiment.

My son has definitely enjoyed the Balloon Rocket Race the most out of all the experiments in the EXPERImakes – Rockets and Beyond set. It’s very easy to set up and has caused lots of excitement.  A helper is needed for this experiment really to help hold or inflate one of the two balloons before the race begins.

He’s also enjoyed making fizzy bombs with some supervision.  We did find that the ‘spatula’ lollypop stick really wasn’t great for scooping salt in this experiment, so I lent my son a measuring spoon instead. But otherwise all went well as he mixed ingredients and watched the chemical reaction.

We still have a couple of experiments left to try from this set.  We’re saving these for an after school activity when he’s back at school next week.

The set is priced at £20 and is available exclusively from The Entertainer. As well as the EXPERImakes – Rockets and Beyond set, the range includes Scent-sational Spa, Colourful Crystal Creations and Sludge and Slime, to name a few.

disclosure:  we were sent the item mentioned in exchange for an honest review.

 

 

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