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Wait… science? Why do you have to study it, anyhow?
Isn’t science all about people with thick goggles and lab
coats doing experiments?
Lots of students think that way, says Larry Scheckel, but
science is a way of “learning about the world around you…”
Understanding it is a great way to understand all the other
things you’re interested in knowing, too.
Take, for instance, the great outdoors. Have you ever
wondered where the white goes when snow melts? Or, well,
it’s been a long winter. How cold could it get? And where
does dirt come from?
Let’s say you want to be an architect or a builder someday.
Wouldn’t it be cool to know how Legos work? (Hint: it’s not
those locking knobs!) Or how lasers cut things without
destroying them? Or why ships don’t sink and airplanes stay
aloft?
Kids who love animals will love this book. Don’t you wonder
why dogs wag their tails when they’re happy, for example?
Can you really “talk” with your pet? And which animal is
smarter than all the others?
Haven’t you ever wondered why there are no seat belts on
your school bus? Or how they get salt into peanuts without
breaking the shells? Or, speaking of food, how they know the
number of calories in that handful of snacks you’re eating?
And then there’s your favorite subject: YOU!
Why can’t you regenerate missing limbs? Could you really
spontaneously combust? What happens (and doesn’t happen)
when you sneeze? What if you didn’t have fingernails or
fingerprints? Why are people left- or right-handed? And why
should you never, ever use your tongue to see if a
battery is any good?
So you say your child grouses about having science class,
but he’s also plenty curious. He can’t have it both ways –
but he can have Ask a Science Teacher.
With an engaging Q&A format and a delightfully geeky sense
of humor, author Larry Scheckel picks apart all sorts of
things to see how they work. The topics here are broad,
touching upon a wide variety of interests and branches of
science, and Scheckel’s musings practically beg to be
explored further. I also liked that this book doesn’t have
to be read cover-to-cover, but instead can be browsed.
While it’s perfect for curious kids ages 12 and up, I also
think this more-than-merely-science book would keep an adult
entertained just as well. If you’re baffled by biology,
frustrated by physics, or confused over chemistry, Ask a
Science Teacher will pull it all together. |
