ChemCrafter

ChemCrafter
Chemical Heritage Foundation
2014 (v.1.0.3) | iOS | Free

If, like me, your earliest memories of chemistry stem from experimenting with a chemistry set on the kitchen table, and not in a laboratory, then this app could be for you: ChemCrafter ‘lets you build your own lab to run fun and creative experiments’.

From the opening animation and accompanying retro tunes, it is apparent just how much effort and enthusiasm has gone into recreating the experience of owning a chemistry set for the iOS generation. The Chemical Heritage Foundation has surpassed themselves with the design of the app, its user interface and learning curve.

The early experiments require little in the way of equipment or reagents but their completion yields great rewards, either in the form of new elements and compounds for you to use with the different experiment handbooks or, once you have worked out how to use the Bunsen burner, encouraging a little more creativity. The resulting experimentation is recognised with the award of achievement trophies. Progress relies on the collection of energy released from the reactions you undertake. As you continue further some classic chemistry videos from the 1960s are also unlocked and are well worth a view.

As an app it is difficult to classify – it’s not quite a game nor is it merely an interactive book; ultimately it falls somewhere in between and I feel it should be enjoyed with that in mind. As a free download it will entertain children for a time but, in terms of nostalgia, an older audience may enjoy and engage with it on a greater number of levels.

Download ChemCrafter from iTunes.