["Let these things speak for themselves". Experiment kits, instruction manuals, and narratives between 1870 and 1930].

Experiment kits, such as physical cabinets, chemistry sets, and electricity kits designed for amateurs and children, gained huge popularity in Germany around 1900. These home laboratories connected themselves to the things of everyday life as objects of investigation and everyday knowledge as their framework of reference. In the previous centuries, portable laboratories had already accompanied travelling scientists and intellectuals.