Garbage: Follow the Path of Your Trash with Environmental Science Activities for Kids (Build It Yourself)

That potato chip bag you tossed in your trash can this afternoon―where does it go when it leaves your house?

Garbage: Follow the Path of Your Trash with Science Activities for Kids invites middle graders to investigate the world of trash! The average American produces more than four pounds of trash every day―multiply that by 300 million people and you’ve got a lot of garbage! Where does it go? How does it break down? What are the challenges of dealing with so much waste? What can we do decrease the amount of stuff we are throwing away? Garbage explores questions like these while encouraging kids to think about the choices they make that generate garbage in the first place.

In this book, kids discover the science of garbology, the fascinating world of midden excavation, and learn about different rubbish warriors who are determined to save the planet from being overrun with trash. Readers learn ways to reduce, reuse, recycle, and rethink their actions by diving into critical-thinking activities designed to get kids looking at trash as a situation in need of a solution. While we all appreciate our garbage to be out of sight and out of mind, it’s crucial to recognize the impact that human behavior has on the planet.

Garbage includes hands-on STEM activities and critical thinking exercises to encourage readers to figure out ways to be part of the rubbish revolution. Fun facts, links to online primary sources and other supplemental material, and essential questions take readers on an exploration of the path of trash!

Garbage is part of a set of four Build It Environmental Science books that explore the history and science of the planet and all that live on it through hands-on STEM activities and real-life environmental connections. Other titles in this series are Biodiversity, Planet Earth, and Biomes.

Nomad Press books integrate content with participation. Common Core State Standards, the Next Generation Science Standards, and STEM Education all place project-based learning as key building blocks in education. Combining content with inquiry-based projects stimulates learning and makes it active and alive. Nomad’s unique approach simultaneously grounds kids in factual knowledge while allowing them the space to be curious, creative, and critical thinkers.

Donna Latham is an award-winning author and playwright. She is the author of several books for Nomad Press, including Backyard Biology Investigate Habitats Outside Your Door With 25 Projects and Biomes: Discover the Earth’s Ecosystems with Science Activities for Kids. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and the Society of Midland Authors. She lives in Batavia, Illinois.

Tom Casteel is an illustrator and cartoonist that graduated from the Center for Cartoon Studies in 2011. He has illustrated more than two dozen books for Nomad Press. He lives in South Bend, Indiana, with his family.