Try This!

50 Fun Science Experiments for the Mad Scientist in You 

 

Discover what makes science fun in this engaging book, filled with weird, wacky science facts, basic principles, and 50 creative science projects that take interactivity to a whole new level. Dynamic photos and art highlight projects step by step so kids can conduct experiments with confidence and accuracy. Most projects involve kid-friendly subjects like electrical charges, chemical explosions, and food chemistry and are based on materials easily found at home. Bonus projects throughout encourage curious kids to dig deeper and experiment on their own.

 

 

"Fun, accessible, and teeming with potential for extended inquiry." --Booklist

 

"Pretested by a crew of young assistants, these dozens of science demonstrations are both doable and worth doing. The experiments are grouped into seven categories such as “Bugs and Microbes,” “Weird Physics” and “Things Water Does.” They range from making slime (“oobleck”) and “biofilm” to designing a cat IQ test and constructing skittering “brushybots” made from motorized toothbrushes. All include not only supply lists and step-by-step directions, but expected results, explanations of the science concepts involved, follow-up questions and cramped but usually helpful photos. Many also include potential glitches—a rare feature that, in the case of efforts to light up an LED with potatoes or lemons, manifests as a frank, detailed record of one failure after another (now, that’sscience!). Admitting defeat at last, the author and her partners go on to design and construct a slingshot to dispose of all the used groceries. Experimenters may have to squint to read some of the more heavily colored inset boxes, but they shouldn’t have major trouble gathering materials, following the steps or adapting most of the demos into science-fair projects. Young closes with general science-fair advice, plus keys for all of the entries to the Next Generation Science Standards.

Science fun, with both terms emphasized equally."  -- Kirkus Reviews

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Ages 10 and up 

 

• ISBN-10: 1426317115

• ISBN-13: 978-1426317118