How to get young children interested in science? Lots of smart people are working on the challenge, including children’s apps firm Toca Boca with its Toca Lab app.

Released for iPhone and iPad last December, it was aimed at “future scientists” with a playful take on the periodic table. Now it’s been released for Android devices too.

The aim remains the same: children unlock all 118 elements from the periodic table by experimenting with a bunsen burner, cooling agent, oscilloscope, centrifuge and test tubes full of “mysterious” coloured liquids.

If this sounds a bit serious, don’t worry: Toca Lab is very much about fun, as kids play with the cute elements – each is a mini creature – to see what might turn them into something else.

“Each element has its own personality,” explains the Google Play listing. “In Toca Lab, what does Neon sound like? Is Gold heavy or light? Is Nitrogen squishy or hard? Explore, inspect, and study each one and let us know.”

As on iOS, Toca Boca is keen to make it clear that while the elements in Toca Lab are real, the things that turn them into other elements are not – it’s about sparking children’s interest in chemistry and science, rather than persuading them that if they stick mum or dad’s gold ring in the freezer, it’ll turn into nitrogen.

We really enjoyed playing with Toca Lab with our two boys, and it started off quite a few conversations about science, elements and the world around us. I have to confess, I sneaked quite a few goes in the evenings after they’d gone to bed too – it’s very moreish, as apps go.

Toca Lab costs £1.99 for Android devices from the Google Play store.