This picture book designed for "big kids" gives side-by-side comparisons according to length, height, area, life-span, speed, etc. of all kinds of things - animals, mountains, countries, modes of transportation, man-made structures and much more.
This is a very informative handbook on a large portion of nature, originally written for elementary school teachers. It covers wildlife, insects, farm animals, birds, fish, trees, flowers, weeds, vegetables, rocks, minerals, soil, climate, weather, magnets, the sun, moon, planets of our solar system and much more. According to the 1986 foreword, most of the living things described are common in the northeastern states of the U.S. but it covers a lot of material that would be helpful in other parts of the country as well.
Nicely drawn images and fairly detailed text overview important inventions and their inventors from Gutenberg's Movable Type (1438) to the Laser (1960). Arranged in chronological order, the descriptions give some historical background and scientific details about each invention. There is a certain amount of typical problems in the text regarding the medieval era to be full of "darkness and superstition" and a rather incomplete and somewhat erroneous account of Galileo's run-in with the Catholic Church.
I really like it when authors of children's books remember that details of how things work are fascinating to children. Gail Gibbons is definitely one of those authors. Her book is filled with very simple illustrations and text about trains, but the various parts of the trains are labeled and the text explains things like how the trains link together and the differences between gondola cars, hopper cars, boxcars and tank cars.The back page contains a chart of signs and signals relating to trains. Appropriate for preschool or kindergarten age children.
Subtitle: Especially Elementary School Teachers, who, after parents, provide the learning foundation for children The Conceptual Physics series is designed to make scientific concepts more accessible to parents and teachers. The hope is that a greater understanding on our part will lead to more and better information for children at a young age so that they might begin to develop an interest in science and the wonders of the world around them.
This kit provides dozens of special cardboard pieces, wooden dowels string, wheels, etc. for making simple machines (inclined planes, scales, etc.) that can be used for understanding basic concepts of mechanics - how things work. Based upon the bestselling "The Way Things Work" by David Macaulay, the kit continues the theme of Wooly Mammoths as props and characters for use in these experiments.
What Makes a Magnet? constitutes a fairly substantial introduction to magnets for children approximately ages 5 to 9. They are invited to do a little discovery for themselves by doing some "fishing" with a magnet in a box of miscellaneous objects and see what things the magnet will pick up. The book goes on to explain that magnets pick up, not everything made of metal, but objects which contain iron in particular.
A very simple children's book designed to explain how electricity works and how it is harnessed to be used in everyday life. The thing my husband (the electrical engineer) liked about this book was that it, quite simply, doesn't have any flaws. It is simple, but substantive.
This set of five DVDs by artist/architect David Macaulay provides many hours of insightful entertainment and a great introduction to science and technology on a practical level. Each themed film - Bridges, Skyscrapers, Tunnels, Domes and Dams - provides an in-depth historical treatment of the particular structure, interesting stories and overviews from famous structures, and basic scientific principles involved in each project.
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
The Art of Construction (originally published in 1979 under the title Building: The Fight Against Gravity) is one of the finest examples of books that help children understand principles of science as applied to real life situations - in particular buildings and making sure that they stay up in spite of gravity and natural disasters.