Fall semester is right around the corner, and if you’re going to be taking an organic chemistry class this year, you want to be as prepared as possible. Apart from getting one of the best textbooks out there, and maybe learning how to run thin layer chromatography, one essential tool is a molecular model kit, but which one should you buy? Read on for our recommendations on the best organic chemistry model kit.

If you are still not convinced if you should go and buy a molecular model kit, just check out our guide on molecular modeling kits, and get ideas on everything you can learn, teach or practice with them!

On the other hand, if you are a professor and you want to include a modeling kit in your syllabus, we probably don’t even need to list all the advantages it brings to your students. However, you might be a little overwhelmed by all the options out there.

Either way, keep reading to figure out which is the best option!

Best Chemistry Model Kit: Our Top Choice

Of all the options currently available, Dalton Labs Molecular Model Kit strikes us as the best molecular model kit overall.

Dalton Labs Molecular Model Kit

Available on Amazon, this set falls roughly in the middle of the price range for the products on this list, but definitely stands out for being the best value. It has more pieces than any other kit on the list and comes with access to the manufacturer’s online 3D molecular modelling software, which can also be downloaded to practically any device.

However, just because it’s the best organic chemistry model kit by our criteria doesn’t mean it will fit all of your needs perfectly. If it doesn’t, don’t worry—there are plenty of other options!

Why Use an Organic Chemistry Molecular Model Kit?

Even if your professor or teacher doesn’t list it as a requirement on their syllabus, buying a molecular model kit is one of the biggest favors you can do for yourself. Organic chemistry, organic chem, o-chem—whatever you choose to call it, it is usually not an easy subject to grasp at the beginning, for most students.

Now, it is by no means impossible to do well in this class. But it does require an ability to visualize molecules in three dimensions that most people have not had a chance to fully develop. That’s where the model kit comes into play.

Organic chemistry isn’t all math and formulae and equations the way you might remember general chemistry. Really, it’s more like a new language, and getting the grammar of organic chem right depends on your understanding of molecular geometry, electron orbitals, and spatial orientation.

In short, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of the material and have an easier time if you use an organic chemistry model kit.

So, what’s the best organic chemistry model kit out there? In the next section, you’ll find our more about our top pick, along with six other recommended molecular model kits and detailed reviews of each one.

More of the Best Molecular Model Kits

Starting with some more details about our first choice for best molecular model kit for organic chemistry, here are seven (technically, eight) options for you to pick from:

1. Daltons Labs Molecular Model Kit

Our number one choice, the Dalton Labs kit is a conventional ball-and-stick molecular model kit in a hard plastic box. It includes atoms that are color-coded to the universal standards, with most of the pieces being carbons, hydrogens, and bonds (short and rigid for single bonds; longer, more flexible ones for double and triple bonds; and small space-filling model bonds), which is typical for o-chem kits.

Dalton Labs Molecular Model Kit

This set does come with a type of piece that is not available in all molecular model kits. These are small paddle-shaped pieces used to represent p and pi orbitals. While not strictly necessary, they can be helpful for students to better understand what is happening with the electrons in a given molecule.

Advantages of this product over others include:

Great value, 306 pieces for a very reasonable price

for a very reasonable price Access to 3D molecular modelling software

Available in different sizes, from 123 to 496 pieces

Furthermore, as with most of the kits on the list, you are not strictly limited to using them for organic chemistry. You can build some basic inorganic compunds. This is especially useful for studying things such as stereoisomerism of octahedral coordination complexes.

2. Old Nobby Molecular Model Kit

This next option from Old Nobby is similar to our top pick but with fewer bells and whistles and for a lower price. Unlike the first product, this organic chemistry molecular model kit does not include orbital paddles or any sort of software. In total, it contains 239 pieces. While this is significantly less than the Dalton Labs kit, you are still practically guaranteed to have all the pieces you need for your organic chemistry class.

Old Nobby Molecular Model Kit

Like the previous product, it comes in a hard plastic box, this time with four partitions to help you keep everything organized.

3. University Chemistry Co. Molecular Model Kit

Number three on our list is actually two different organic chemistry model kits from the same company, University Chemistry Co. One is slightly larger (and more expensive) than the other.

University Chemistry Co. Molecular Model Kit

The higher end model contains 273 pieces, which includes the paddle-shaped lone pair/p orbital pieces described in previous products. It’s priced slightly higher than the Dalton Labs kit.

The second kit only 239 pieces. It still contains the essential pieces you need in an organic chemistry molecular model kit; you get fewer of them, though (86 atom pieces vs. 115), and you do not get p orbital pieces. The price point is slightly higher than the Old Nobby model.

Both products come in hard plastic boxes, although obviously the box is smaller for the smaller kit.

4. Duluth Labs Organic Chemistry Model Kit

This is another traditional ball-and-stick kit, as with the previous model sets, from Duluth Labs. It contains 125 pieces, with no lone pair/p orbital pieces. This is a good option if you are on a tight budget and don’t think you will need to build many models at once. However, once you get to class, you may find that you have to share with another student if you run out of pieces.

Duluth Labs Organic Chemistry Model Kit

As a basic essentials kit, this is a fine option. Like all the previous items, the kit comes in a hard plastic box with a lid.

5. Molecular Visions Molecular Model Kit

First, we need to warn you right off the bat that this chemistry model kit does not use the usual ball-and-stick format found in all the aforementioned products. It has a “push/clip” system that is more like a Kinex set, if you are familiar with those toys. It is one of the more expensive kits on the list, and comes in a (very) small plastic box.

Molecular Visions Molecular Model Kit

Where this molecular model kit really shines is the accompanying guidebook, which has been praised as being a mini organic chem course by itself. However, some complain that the pieces are harder to use than their ball-and-stick counterparts, and that it is difficult to put all the pieces back into the case because they need to be perfectly organized in order to fit. It can sometimes be useful to keep certain molecules preassembled in your kit for quick reference, which would not be possible in this case. But there’s no reason you have to use the original box, either, if you find it inconvenient.

6. Snatoms Magnetic Molecular Building Kit

This model kit is a more premium option, at the top of the price range for the kits listed here. Why the high price, you ask? The difference between this Snatoms set and the others is that all the pieces are magnetic. According to the manufacturer, having the atoms stick together as magnets gives a more realistic understanding of what molecules look like. It also allows you to have fewer pieces in a kit, because there is no need for the “stick” pieces that normally hold the atoms together. And in fact, this molecular model kit comes with just 74 pieces. Most of them are magnetic atoms, but there are also small black bars that can be used to represent double and triple bonds.

Snatoms Magnetic Molecular Building Kit

For understanding stereochemistry and other important aspects of organic chemistry, a ball-and-stick model might be easier to use. But it could be fun and useful for high school students and younger to be able to visualize molecules and get hands-on learning.

It’s also worth noting that this product comes in a cardboard box which may not be ideal for transporting to and from class three days a week. Obviously, the pieces are all magnetic, so you don’t need to be terribly concerned they will get loose, but you might want to transfer them to a sturdier box or a bag.

7. Molymod Organic Chemistry Molecular Model Kit

As the lowest priced product on our list, the Molymod set may be the best chemistry model kit for cash-strapped students. In fact, Molymod was my first molecular model kit when I was a student, and I pushed through undergraduate using it.

Molymod Organic Chemistry Molecular Model Kit

It contains 113 pieces, all the essentials that you would need for basic modeling in organic chem. However, unlike the larger kits, you might find you don’t have enough atoms to make multiple molecules at once, especially larger organic molecules like sugars. If you can afford to spend a few more dollars, you can get a much larger kit like the Old Nobby version for an overall better value.

Final Thoughts on Choosing the Best Organic Chemistry Model Kit

Our list of the 7 best molecular model kits for organic chemistry has options that fit any need and budget.

In our opinion, the most complete kit for the best value is the Dalton Labs Molecular Model Kit because of its size and extra bonus features. In particular, we love the fact that it comes with access to 3D molecular modelling software that can be downloaded to all of your devices after your purchase.

A close second would be the set from Old Nobby, which is a cheaper option without all the bells and whistles that Dalton Labs offers, but which nonetheless is a very complete set that will almost certainly give you everything you need to succeed in organic chemistry. For the number of pieces this kit contains, the price is really fantastic.

In third place, we want to highlight Snatoms Magnetic Molecular Building Kit. As we mentioned above, this kind of kit has some advantages and some drawbacks, but we really like the concept of using magnets. These are easier and faster to use, which can be great for high school students or even younger.

You may have noticed that all but two of our recommended molecular model kits on this list are ball-and-stick style. This type of kit is the most conventional, familiar to both students and professors. They are versatile and intuitive, and they are also rigid enough to allow them to easily maintain their geometry while students manipulate them, turning them over in their hands, to determine their stereochemistry or where the molecule would be most susceptible to attack during a chemical reaction.

There may be another style that you are more comfortable with, like the push/clip system from Molecular Visions or the magnetic pieces in Snatoms. That’s perfectly fine—there’s a reason they’re on the list, too!

One Last Thing…

A quick note on price. On the one hand, the cost of a model kit is nothing compared to the hundreds of bucks you might be spending on textbooks this semester. But then again, after you spend hundreds of bucks on books, you might not have a lot left over.

However, do be cautious if you decide to buy these sorts of products used, because it’s easy for the small parts to go missing, leaving you with an incomplete set. Contact the seller if possible to confirm that all the pieces are accounted for, or try to find a kit that is listed as being in “like new, unopened” condition.

Whichever kit you buy, you’ll be doing yourself a huge favor. Organic chemistry is a subject that needs to be visualized in order to be understood, and a molecular model kit is hands-down the best way to do that. Even if your professor doesn’t require it, you’ll have a major advantage over classmates who decide to do without.

Oh, and if you go for a ball-and-stick kit in a plastic box, make sure you secure the lid with a nice, big rubber band! They don’t snap shut very well, and you definitely don’t want 100 little plastic balls breaking loose on your way to class (unless you keep all your oxygens tethered to hydrogens in H 2 O molecules, in which case you can snap a funny picture of the resulting “puddle”).

Good luck in organic chemistry!