Junk Drawer Ecology


Book Description

Kids of all ages can use recycled and repurposed household items to complete exciting and green ecology experiments Junk Drawer Ecology is a hands-on guide to saving the planet. Fun, free science activities help kids of all ages learn about the science of our planet's ecology. The environment is changing every day, and we can help slow that change. Using free or low-cost things children already have around their homes, these activities are perfect to stimulate young brains. Readers will learn about the importance of the polar regions without leaving their communities, about new ways to cut our dependence on fossil fuels, about all forms of pollution, and how they can make a difference. Junk Drawer Ecology will give inquisitive kids many hours of fun and help them learn at the same time.




Junk Drawer Physics


Book Description

Finalist for the 2015 AAAS / Subaru SB&F Excellence in Science Book exemplify outstanding and engaging science writing and illustration for young readers A children's instructional book on how to use readily available materials to turn the house into a science lab Physics teacher Bobby Mercer provides readers with more than 50 great hands-on experiments that can be performed for just pennies, or less. Turn a plastic cup into a pinhole camera using waxed paper, a rubber band, and a thumbtack. Build a swinging wave machine using a series of washers suspended on strings from a yardstick. Or construct your own planetarium from an empty potato chip canister, construction paper, scissors, and a pin. Each project has a materials list, detailed step-by-step instructions with illustrations, and a brief explanation of the scientific principle being demonstrated. Junk Drawer Physics also includes sidebars of fascinating physics facts, such as did you know the Eiffel Tower is six inches taller in summer than in winter because its steel structure expands in the heat? Educators and parents will find this title a handy resource to teach children about physics topics that include magnetism, electricity, force, motion, light, energy, sound, and more, and have fun at the same time.




Junk Drawer Chemistry


Book Description

There's no need for expensive, high-tech lab equipment to conduct chemistry experiments—you probably have all you need in your home junk drawer. Turn an old LED flashlight into an Energy Drink Tester using aluminum foil and electrical tape. Mix cornstarch and water to make Non-Newtonian Goo. Use a 9-volt battery and thumbtacks to break water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. Create edible Sweet Crystals from a saturated sugar solution. Or construct your own Three-Penny Battery from galvanized washers, pennies, vinegar, and scrap cardboard. Here are more than 50 great hands-on experiments that can be performed for just pennies . . . or less. Each project has a materials list, detailed step-by-step instructions with illustrations, and a brief explanation of the scientific principle being demonstrated—atoms, compounds, solutions, mixtures, reactions, thermodynamics, acids and bases, and more.




Through the Arc of the Rain Forest


Book Description

"Fluid and poetic as well as terrifying." —New York Times Book Review "Dazzling . . . a seamless mixture of magic realism, satire and futuristic fiction." —San Francisco Chronicle "Impressive . . . a flight of fancy through a dreamlike Brazil." —Village Voice "Surreal and misty, sweeping from one high-voltage scene to another." —LA Weekly "Amuses and frightens at the same time." —Newsday "Incisive and funny, this book yanks our chains and makes us see the absurdity that rules our world." —Booklist (starred review) "Expansive and ambitious . . . incredible and complicated." —Library Journal "This satiric morality play about the destruction of the Amazon rain forest unfolds with a diversity and fecundity equal to its setting. . . . Yamashita seems to have thrown into the pot everything she knows and most that she can imagine—all to good effect." —Publishers Weekly A Japanese man with a ball floating six inches in front of his head, an American CEO with three arms, and a Brazilian peasant who discovers the art of healing by tickling one's earlobe, rise to the heights of wealth and fame, before arriving at disasters—both personal and ecological—that destroy the rain forest and all the birds of Brazil. Karen Tei Yamashita is the author of Through the Arc of the Rain Forest, Brazil-Maru, Tropic of Orange, Circle K Cycles, I Hotel, and Anime Wong, all published by Coffee House Press. I Hotel was selected as a finalist for the National Book Award and awarded the California Book Award, the American Book Award, the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association Award, and the Association for Asian American Studies Book Award.




Junk Drawer Engineering


Book Description

There's no need for expensive, high-tech materials to test your engineering skills—you probably have all you need in your home junk drawer. Each hands-on project in this book will challenge you to come up with a unique solution to a specific design problem. Construct a Pasta Bridge strong enough to support a heavy load, using only dry linguini and glue. Build a Marble Roller Coaster from recycled cardboard tubes, in which the marble "car" jumps a track to land safely at its final destination. Or design an Egg Catch device to safely capture a free-falling egg. Test yourself or use them for friendly competitions—who can come up with the best solution? These 25 open-ended design challenges can be performed for just pennies . . . or less. Each project has a suggested materials list, step-by-step instructions with illustrations for one possible solution, and suggestions on how to adapt each challenge for different ages and skill levels. Educators and parents will find this title a handy resource to teach children problem-solving skills and applied physics, all while having a lot of fun.




The Wondrous Workings of Planet Earth


Book Description

An illustrated tour of the planet exploring ecosystems large and small, from reefs, deserts, and rainforests to a single drop of water—from the New York Times bestselling author of Women in Science. Making earth science accessible and entertaining through art, maps, and infographics, The Wondrous Workings of Planet Earth explains how our planet works—and how we can protect it—from its diverse ecosystems and their inhabitants, to the levels of ecology, the importance of biodiversity, the cycles of nature, and more. Science- and nature-loving readers of all ages will delight in this utterly charming guide to our amazing home.




Junk Drawer Biology


Book Description

There's no need for expensive, high-tech lab equipment to perform biology experiments—you probably have all you need in your home junk drawer. Use balloons, drinking straws, and empty plastic bottles to construct working models of hearts and lungs. Investigate plant transpiration and photosynthesis with leaves and resealable bags. Build a candy DNA model using gumdrops, toothpicks, and licorice rope. Study capillary action in plant xylem using colored water and paper towels. Extract DNA from a banana using a simple chemical process. Or learn how to turn a smartphone into a photographic microscope. Here are more than 50 great hands-on experiments that can be performed for just pennies . . . or less. Each project has a materials list, detailed step-by-step instructions with illustrations, and a brief explanation of the scientific principle being demonstrated—seed germination, osmosis, human senses and systems, chromosomes, mitosis and meiosis, and more.




Wildheart


Book Description

An exuberant graphic bio of the life of John Muir. John Muir led an adventurous life, starting with his wild and playful boyhood in Scotland to his legendary exploits in America, where he became an inventor, a global explorer, and the first modern environmentalist—and even became friends with a president! His heart was always in the outdoors and he aimed to experience all he could. Most importantly, though, John Muir told the world about the wonders of nature. His words made a difference and inspired people in many countries to start protecting planet Earth— and they still do.




Out Of Control


Book Description

Out of Control chronicles the dawn of a new era in which the machines and systems that drive our economy are so complex and autonomous as to be indistinguishable from living things.




Silver People


Book Description

As the Panama Canal turns one hundred, Newbery Honor winner Margarita Engle tells the story of its creation in this powerful new YA historical novel in verse.