Janice Vancleave's Big Book of Play and Find Out Science Projects

Introduce young children to the wonders of science

Using this book as a guide, you and your favorite budding scientist can have fun exploring the world while you help your child learn about science and develop important science process skills. You may think it's hard to get young children interested in science, but just watch their eyes light up when they make bouncy blubber or play clay, or when you venture out together in the backyard or local park for a bug-collecting expedition. These are the kind of everyday explorations that give kids a great foundation for a lifetime of science learning.

In this terrific collection of fun, kid-tested science activities, bestselling children's science writer and former teacher Janice VanCleave has combined her favorite science activities for young people into one jumbo-sized book that you and your children will love.

Janice VanCleave's Big Book of Play and Find Out Science Projects includes over 50 easy-to-do activities and is divided into four parts:

PHYSICAL SCIENCE: Encourage kids to get physical with science with questions such as: How does a compass work? Why do I have to wear a seat belt? Why can't I catch a rainbow? Why does my hair stick to a comb?

NATURE: Help children answer questions naturally including: Why do cats' eyes glow in the dark? How do fish move up and down in the water? Why do plants move toward the sun? Can squirrels really fly?

BUGS: Challenge the science bug in kids with questions such as: Why do fireflies light up? How do butterflies drink? Where do spiders come from? Why are walkingsticks hard to find?

HUMAN BODY: Capture children's imaginations about the whole body of science with questions like these: Why do I have hair on my body? How does my heart sound? Why do foods taste different? Why are my bones hard?

Customer Reviews:

Excellent introduction for little scientists

By Kyra_Athena "Kyra_Athena" - September 13, 2008

This book has some very easy experiments for young children, most of which use very simple items found in the home. Basic scientific concepts are explored with directions and pictures for the little ones. There are both indoor and outdoor experiments. Most of the indoor ones would be most suitable for the kitchen or bathroom as they may involve liquids or food coloring. Overall, the projected level of interest would be PreK-grades 2nd-3rd, maybe 4th.

Easy ideas and good for all ages

By B. Wohlers "mom2cng" - August 23, 2009

We got this book from the library first; my 5 yr old spent all afternoon putting post-its on the experiments he wanted to try. I then ordered it, because there were so many he was interested in! They only take a few minutes, with household products. Even my 2 1/2 yr old was interested in participating! We purchased this book to give us some ideas of things we could do over the summer to keep my soon-to-be-first grader involved in science. We expanded on many of the ideas, and the kids are still talking about projects we did the first weeks! What a great book- we will be pulling it out on rainy days and during the long winter months as well.

Quite a bit of prep time.

By Roy C. Lindsey - October 15, 2008

I liked the experiments in this book, and my girls (ages 4 and 5) loved them also, but I found that there was quite a bit of prep time and gathering of materials for the experiments. Most of the materials were easy to find. Bottom line - plan ahead. Do not wait until the kids are ready for an experiment to find the materials.