Bizarre Labs

Welcome!

This site is a museum of classic home science projects. It is not so much a "how to" as it is a celebration of early-to-mid-20th-Century home experimentation, classic children's science books, and pop science illustration. Please read the FAQ to learn more about the philosophy behind it.

To find projects...

...you can search by the categorical listings of projects, or by the alphabetical index.

Submit!

New ideas for classic projects or additions to current projects are always welcome. Please see the Contact page.

What's new

Bizarre Labs hadn't changed much since the late 1990s, but as of Summer 2018 i is being revived! Still true to the mission of preserving classic home science projects, the site is being redesigned, projects added, and old project pages completely re-written to include more detail, sources, and, in many cases, recreations of the projects!

Pages that are awaiting revision will have a “DRAFT” stamp. This revision will be a gradual process (it’s only me here!) so keep checking back!

CRYSTAL GARDENS

The Charcoal Crystal Gardens page has been completely revised, with formulae, tips and some ridiculously obsessive notes on their history.

FOXHOLE RADIO

The Foxhole Radio page is undergoing a revision. In the meantime please consider reading my Foxhole Radio book!

DANCING MOTHBALLS

The Dancing Mothballs page has been revised, with different versions of the project, history and sources.

The fine print

This site is intended to be a museum of classic science projects. This was how it was done "back in the day", when there was less regard for safety. Some of these projects can potentially cause damage to property or people so please do not attempt any unless you absolutely know what you're doing. In summary,

This site is for informational/historical purposes only and is NOT intended to be a how-to!
Do not attempt any projects described as dangerous.
Do not try any of these projects unless you really know what you are doing.
None of these projects are guaranteed to work, and I cannot reply to everyone who writes.
Some materials may be impossible to obtain. Substitutes are listed when known.
Read the FAQ page!

This article was printed from the Bizarre Labs website at bizarrelabs.com