I finished a PhD in a chemistry discipline and I can attribute to it an early interest sparked by access to books in the school library on amateur chemistry experiments. Even then, it was an older book and pretty hard to find materials for a lot of the experiments ("available from your local drug store" usually meant "not available at all.")
Shame that fear is dominating over permissiveness and the fostering of natural curiosity.
Shame that fear is dominating over permissiveness and the fostering of natural curiosity.