Maker Lab: 28 Super Cool Projects (DK Activity Lab) - Hardcover

Challoner, Jack

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1465451358 ISBN 13: 9781465451354

Publisher: DK Children, 2016

Synopsis

Supporting STEAM education initiatives and the Maker Movement, the National Parenting Publication Award-winner Maker Lab includes 28 kid-safe projects and crafts that will get young inventors' wheels turning and make science pure fun.

Each step-by-step activity is appropriate for kids ages 8–12, and ranked easy, medium, or hard, with an estimated time frame for completion. Requiring only household materials, young makers can build an exploding volcano, race balloon rocket cars, construct a lemon battery, make sticky slime, and more. Photographs and facts carefully detail the "why" and "how" of each experiment using real-world examples to provide context so kids can gain a deeper understanding of the scientific principles applied.

With a foreword by Jack Andraka, a teen award-winning inventor, Maker Lab will help kids find their inner inventor and create winning projects for school projects, science fairs, and beyond.

About this title

About the Author

Jack Challoner is a former science and math teacher and educator at the London Science Museum, and author of over 40 science and technology books, including The Cell: A Visual Tour of the Building Block of Life and DK Eyewitness Books: Energy. He is based in Bristol, England.

Jack Andraka was just a fifteen year old Maryland high school sophomore when he invented an inexpensive early detection test for pancreatic, ovarian, and lung cancers. Now, at seventeen, Jack's groundbreaking results have earned him international recognition, most notably a 2014 Jefferson Award, the nation's most prestigious public service award, 1st place winner in the 2014 Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge, the 2012 Intel ISEF Gordon Moore Award, the 2012 Smithsonian American Ingenuity Youth Award, a spot on Advocate Magazine's 2014 40 under 40 list, a fellowship as a National Geographic Explorer, and he's also the 2014 State of Maryland winner of the Stockholm Water Prize. He is currently a student at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.

Reviews

Gr 3 Up—Spinning off of the popularity of maker spaces and capitalizing on the call for STEM-based products, this title offers a plethora of engaging projects that will capture the attention and curiosity of students from lower elementary (with guidance) through high school. Divided into four categories, "Food for Thought," "Around the Home," "Water World," and "The Great Outdoors," the projects are accompanied by clear directions, attractive photos, and the scientific principles behind each topic. The colorful, well-staged photos focus on the ingredients and steps involved in each project and are relatively timeless-looking—no trendy clothes to age the book later on and no photos of very young participants to turn off older readers. Some tasks, such as Sticky Slime, are familiar but still serve well as fun and educational learning experiences. Others, like Baked Alaska and sugar crystal lollipops, require a full kitchen, or a very strong Bunsen burner at least. Other projects, such as the DNA Model and Sensational Speakers, will appeal to older readers. With projects such as Bath Fizzies and Icy Orbs, this selection has something for everyone. VERDICT Public and school libraries should consider this volume for inventive students and quick event ideas.—Sarah Knutson, American Canyon Middle School, CA

Edition details

• Publisher: DK Children
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1465451358
• ISBN 13: 9781465451354
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 160