My son has just turned eight, and is obsessed with Chemistry (I don't use the term 'obsessed' lightly: we are currently having him assessed for Aspergers. His obsessions last for around two years, and are completely all-consuming).
For his eighth birthday, he received a GCSE Chemistry text-book, a molecular structures kit, and a set of Top Chemistry Trumps (yes, they do exist).
He thinks and talks about Chemistry from the minute he wakes up to the minute he goes to bed. Car number-plates fit into the periodic table as he walks to school. His name can - handily enough - be made up of chemical elements. He has read a vast amount, and has retained every word (I know, because he regurgitates it for several hours a day).
The big problem is that my DH and I have neither the interest nor the aptitude to do anything much to help him. We both have PhDs, but could not be more firmly on the Arts side. So what I want to know is whether any Chemistry folks could advise us on how we can (safely) help our son to do something more practical than read about Chemistry in books? We have done every reasonably safe experiment on YouTube; he is desperate to try to put some of his knowledge into practice, but we have no idea how to go about it.
His teacher suggests that he take a Chemistry GCSE - but, again, we're rather at a loss there. Wouldn't that involve some form of practical exam and/or continuous assessment? Unfortunately his school only goes up to Y8, so I can't quiz a Chemistry teacher.
DS does evidently know an awful lot. He has accosted a Chemistry professor and a toxicologist in the playground, both of whom have been astonished by the fact that he not only knows so much but also appears to understand it (unlike his parents). I would like him to have some opportunity to do whatever he needs to do - but really need advice on how to go about it.