“Science on the Loose”
by Helaine Becker
c.2008, Maple
Tree Press • $10.95 / $12.95 Canada • 64 pages
Did you
ever wonder why things are?
You
probably do; every kid can think of something that makes him (or her) say, “Hmmmmm…..”
Why, for
instance, do your cat’s eyes glow in the dark? Why does eating beans make you,
um, noisy? How come you yawn when your friend does?
The
answers and lots of other cool science stuff are in the new book “Science on
the Loose” by Helaine Becker.
If you’re
like most kids, you have questions. Like, your annoying brother has proven that
he can make you blink without touching you. Why? You’ve seen that wheels on
cars in the movies seem to run backwards. How come?
Sometimes,
a smell makes you feel a certain way. What’s up with that?
Helaine
Becker says that scientists ask weird questions like that, and she says you can
be a scientist in your own home. By using the scientific method – start
with a clear question, create a good hypothesis or possible answer, test your
hypothesis, and record your findings – you can learn all sorts of great
things.
Take your
belly button, for example. Is it an innie or an outie? Ask as many people as
you can, and see what they have. Scientists say that 90 percent of all people have
innies. See if your findings are the same. Do you have any ideas why?
Test
yourself to see which of your eyes is dominant. Make a circle with your thumb
and finger and look through it with both eyes. Now shut one eye, and then the
other. Does the image pop in and out of the circle? The eye that always sees
the image is your dominant eye. Scientists say that most people who are
right-handed are usually right-eye dominant, which means they’re left brained.
Left-handed and left-eye-dominant means a right brainer.
A
combination, and you’re a middle-brainer. It’s a no-brainer!
From
kick-the-can ice cream to hamster powered cell phones, fooling your brain to
fooling around with your friend’s brain, “Science on the Loose” will start you
on a great summer full of fun.
Are you a
little bit afraid that the end of school means the end of your child’s reading
until school starts again? You won’t need to worry when you have “Science on
the Loose” lying loose around the house.
Becker
has jammed dozens of fun, easy-to-do experiments in this book, projects that
will keep kids wowed for weeks. Most of them require no equipment other than a
bodypart, although there are a few experiments that might require a quick trip
to the supermarket to do properly, and maybe a grown-up’s eye to make sure a
mess is avoided. In between the projects and explanations are factoids that
kids will love to spout to family and friends, and lots of ideas that will set
them off on more scientific adventures on their own.
If you
want to keep your 7-to-14-year-old reading between school years, get a copy of “Science
on the Loose.”
It’ll
keep your kid mighty interested all summer long.