Cosmic Science: Over 40 Gravity-Defying, Earth-Orbiting, Space-Cruising Activities for Kids - Softcover

Wiese, Jim

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0471158526 ISBN 13: 9780471158523

Publisher: Wiley, 1997

Synopsis

Experience the force of liftoff
* Create your own constellations
* Write a postcard from another planet
* Make a club-soda comet, and more!

From rocketing out of Earth's gravity and orbiting our planet toprobing other planets and walking on the Moon, Cosmic Science makesexploring space a blast! More than 40 easy, safe--andfun--activities show how rockets work, why the shape of the Moonseems to change, just how much power the Sun has, what it's like tolive and work in space, and much more!

About this title

About the Author

JIM WIESE (British Columbia, Canada) is a science teacher and an educational adviser who has won Teacher of the Year awards in both the United States and Canada. He is the author of the popular kids' science-activity books Roller Coaster Science, Rocket Science, Detective Science, and Spy Science, all published by Wiley.

From the Back Cover

Experience the force of liftoff

• Create your own constellations
• Write a postcard from another planet
• Make a club-soda comet, and more!

From rocketing out of Earth's gravity and orbiting our planet to probing other planets and walking on the Moon, Cosmic Science makes exploring space a blast! More than 40 easy, safe―and fun―activities show how rockets work, why the shape of the Moon seems to change, just how much power the Sun has, what it's like to live and work in space, and much more!

• Create your own constellations
• Write a postcard from another planet
• Make a club-soda comet, and more!

From rocketing out of Earth's gravity and orbiting our planet to probing other planets and walking on the Moon, Cosmic Science makes exploring space a blast! More than 40 easy, safe—and fun—activities show how rockets work, why the shape of the Moon seems to change, just how much power the Sun has, what it's like to live and work in space, and much more!

Reviews

Grade 3-5. These demonstrations and activities won't propel young scientists off the planet, but they do, simply and often artfully, explore our universe's structure and underlying physical principles, as well as some of the challenges facing space travelers. Using such materials as toothpicks, rubber bands, and drinking straws, Wiese puts gravity, Newton's first law (inertia), the gyroscopic effect, the Doppler effect, and other phenomena through their paces. He explores the effects of zero-g on astronauts' bones and eating habits and provides directions for making a balloon rocket, a cardboard robot arm, a vinegar-and-baking-soda launcher, and even a very small comet, all with helpful line drawings and, where appropriate, boldface cautionary advice. Some projects, such as one that involves growing seedlings on a revolving turntable for three weeks, do veer toward the impractical, or, like "Postcards from Another Planet," are more spin than substance, but they are balanced by a fair number of winners: unroll an entire roll of toilet tissue, call each square a tenth of an astronomical unit, place markers where each planet would go, and voila "Toilet Paper Planets." A low-tech companion to books like David McKay's Space Science Projects for Young Scientists (Watts, 1986).?John Peters, New York Public Library
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Gr. 4^-6. In an engaging style, this book introduces astronomy and space technology through a series of down-to-earth projects. Wiese demonstrates that it doesn't take high-tech equipment to play around with the principles of gravity, orbits, living in space, travel to the moon and the planets, and observation of the stars. Each activity includes a list of materials, a procedure to follow, and an explanation of what's happening and how it applies to space science. Line drawings illustrate the text. A good resource for elementary school science teachers and for middle-grade students seeking simple science fair projects. Carolyn Phelan

Edition details

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 1997
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0471158526
• ISBN 13: 9780471158523
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 128