The chemistry set is a great present, often dismissed by the uninterested child. However, if the child is willing to put in the time, it is possible to get some great explosive material. This I know from experience - when I was 10, my Gran gave me the present that most young boys who show any interest in anything at all sciency (I quite liked How2) get. Across the book of experiments, writ in large letters, was the warning "DO NOT MIX ALL CHEMICALS TOGETHER". I realised that if I was going to be any kind of scientist, I could not accept this as a given and had to gather some verifiable experimental evidence.
Basically what happened was, when put in a test tube of hot water and shook vigourously, the chemicals exploded. The cork top flew into my parents ceiling where it put a dent into the artex (still viewable). The bottom of the test tube was also blown out, allowing the acid-like fluid to not only stain my parent's carpet, but also dissolve sections of it. It was great.
However, like George in the Marvellous Medicine books, I could never repeat my experiment again with the same results. (Obviously I employed an assistant researcher, my brother, to do the holding and shaking of future test tubes.)
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