(Picture: The DadLab)

Sergei Urban is a stay-at-home dad in London who does cool science experiments with his two adorable boys on Instagram.

You should follow him immediately.

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Using simple household items (eggs, vinegar, balloons, even Skittles) Sergei shows his four-and-two year-olds the basics of physics, gravity, electricity and more, then uploads short videos to his nearly 300k followers @TheDadLab.

‘Some parents on Instagram share pictures of their kids potty training,’ says Sergei. ‘That’s not what I’m going for. I wanted to do something the boys could look back in ten years and be really proud of.’


(Picture: The DadLab)

Having started just over a year ago, TheDadLab’s almost-daily videos consistently go viral, picking up hundreds of thousands of views almost overnight. Sergei believes this is because so many parents struggle with worthwhile activities to do with their kids, especially now the holiday season is upon is.



‘There’s very little difference between a fun activity and a science experiment,’ says Sergei. ‘To them it’s like magic tricks. You see their faces light up. And think about it – science is just a magic trick that we have an explanation for.’

Sergei’s ultimate goal is to provide worthwhile alternatives to screen time. ‘Some parents just sit their kids in front of screens to keep them quiet,’ he says.

‘And don’t get me wrong, iPads are great, and kids should watch cartoons because when they go to school that’s how they socialise, just like adults talk about sport or politics. If Peppa Pig shows little ones that it’s fun to jump in muddy puddles then great, I have no problem with that. It is fun to jump in muddy puddles!’

(Picture: The DadLab)

One of TheDadLab’s recent videos featured the boys marvelling at a home-made electric motor made using just a single battery and a length of wire.

Another showed how simple cupboard staples like baking soda and vinegar combined in a water bottle could be used to blow up balloons. Another showed how baking soda could even be used to recreate Santa’s footprints through the house on Christmas Eve.

‘I’m not a teacher, or a scientist,’ insists Sergei. ‘I’m just a father trying to make my children curious about the world. That’s the most important thing I can do as a parent. If they grow up curious, then they can do anything.’

The Dad Lab’s first truly viral hit involved laying a ring of Skittles on a plate, then pouring on water to create a gorgeous multicoloured pinwheel effect. It made several news outlets and has to date gained over 35 million views across Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

‘Parents love that one because it really is simple, and it can teach kids about patterns, and also chemistry – the warmer the water, the faster it works! It’s also really pretty. I bought my oldest boy, Alex, a bag of Skittles the other day and rather than eating them all straight away, he saved half to repeat the experiment later. That was a proud moment.’

(Picture: The DadLab)

Sergei’s channel began as an earnest attempt to find educational toys in the shops (hence the original title – Early Learning Toys) but only really took off when experiments became the focus.

Going forward, he is slightly worried about running out of ideas (‘my wife tells me “plan ahead!”, but it never works out that way’) however he always manages to find inspiration when he needs to: ‘I just open the kitchen cupboard and something usually comes to me.’



The former commodities broker from Latvia is delighted to have become an unexpected online star: ‘This started as a hobby, something that I love to do with my kids.

Now I have so many followers who also love what I do, and there’s so much positivity out there. I’m proud to make something high quality and useful at the same time.’

(Picture: The DadLab)

Our hypothesis? He’s really onto something.

Head over and follow him now.

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