Let’s assess a Chemistry kit!

 Before you buy an expensive, lab set, let’s see if we can pare the expenses.  I think your best bet is to try and cannibalize a science kit for a pair of safety glasses, a digital scale, a glass thermometer, graduated cylinder, beakers, pipettes, and pH meter.  Unless the kit is under $40, you may as well buy the equipment separately. Buy borosilicate (Pyrex or Kimax) glass.  (You will likely end up with little bags of mystery items you have no idea how to use.  I keep these in a box marked, check here for mini-kits.)

First, see if you can find a MEL Chemistry Starter kit used.  The kit has safety classes, a stove, tubing,  funnel, and a two pieces of glassware.  Don’t spend more than around $25-30.  The nice thing is that the little stoppers fit the glassware.  You may want to just buy a camp stove and tea candles, instead.

Another useful item is a digital scale.  Use cupcake liners or paper cups as weigh boats.

Scour eBay and Good Will for used glassware or kits with glassware.  Generally, we use polypropylene cylinders and beakers.

Plan to use craft sticks, wood stir sticks, toothpicks, pipettes, etc, too.  A set of test tubes and a rack are also very nice to use in Chemistry.