Features
- Reading level: Ages 9-12
- Cover Type: Paperback with 128 pages
- Published by: Wiley September 15, 1995
- Written in: English
- ISBN 10 Number: 0471113573
- ISBN 13 Number: 978-0471113577
-
Book Dimensions:
9.8 x 6.8 x 0.2 inches
- Weighs: 8.5 ounces
From School Library Journal
Grade 3-7-The projects in this collection are not particularly exciting, but they work, and kids will learn from them. They are grouped into seven general areas: mechanics, air power, water power, electricity, chemistry, sound, and sight. Each experiment includes a list of materials and clear instructions. Adult help is required for more than half, but most often for simple preparations (cutting wire, hammering a nail). Black-and-white cartoonstyle drawings illustrate how things should look; when more detail is needed, simple diagrams are added. The explanation sections that follow each group of related activities are particularly useful. The author describes what should have happened and why and also suggests how to explore the topic further. Many of the items (e.g., periscope, water rocket, air pump) can be found in other sources, but often without the expanded discussion offered here. The title might mislead readers, since only four of the projects actually resemble rockets, but the others are still interesting enough to intrigue children and introduce science in a way that they'll understand and remember.?Steven Engelfried, West Linn Public Library, OR
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 3^-6. Arranged into six chapters showcasing principles related to physics, electricity, optics, chemistry, and acoustics, among others, this is full of appealing experiments that will start kids thinking about how and why things work. Most make use of materials found around the house or in the garage, and diagrams are plentiful and adequately labeled. A few experiments are complicated or require an adult mentor, the building of an electric circuit, for example, but there are plenty children can do on their own, such as making a Cartesian diver with a soda bottle and eye dropper and constructing a rocket boat out of a balloon and a milk carton. Instructions are easy to follow, and Wiese includes a nicely written, not-too-technical follow-up to each project that explains the science behind the fun.
Stephanie Zvirin
Reader Reviews
The book is well organized, with experiments and explanations that are simple enough to work with one or thirty kids (I teach 5th grade). This is a great, fun suppliment to any curriculum you may already have.
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