Kitchen Science Experiments: How Does Your Mold Garden Grow? (Mad Science)

Gr 5-7-The promised mold garden is only one of 18 activities in this collection. Introductory material covers microscope use and offers steps to become a "mad scientist," including, "Be prepared for anything." The first three chapters focus on cell properties, bacteria or single cells, and fungus, the unseen things that lurk around a kitchen. The section concludes with an activity to mummify a fish, scaled and gutted, demonstrating how decay is avoided. The final chapter covers a range of mostly chemistry-oriented experiments using acids and bases, oxidation, and Charles's Law. Background information and simplified explanations accompany each experiment, which is set apart in a recipe format using a smaller type size. Directions include few illustrations and broadly labeled steps, such as "Prepare the Fish," requiring careful reading. Safety reminders are highlighted when potentially dangerous supplies or equipment is used. The only photos are of a sampling of common bacteria. Cartoon spot art adds design interest. Many of the experiments are in other collections, but this combination is fresh. Readers will want to grab an apron and get started.-Carol S. Surges, McKinley Elementary School, Wauwatosa, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Play with your food. Make a mummy from a dead fish. Find out how temperature and time affect the growth of microbes in milk. Biology and chemistry are part of daily life in this book of experiments in the Mad Science series, with a chatty interactive text and clear, hands-on directions and explanations of “what’s going on.” Safety tags warn about the dangers of heat, infection, cutting, and more, and the caution to “have an adult help” is a constant refrain. The language is as much fun as the science, including wordplay warnings (“Fungus among us”), and the design is inviting, with colorful diagrams on each spacious, double-page spread. Occasionally, the tone is a bit condescending (“You know, those teeny-tiny organisms”), but many students will be hooked by the fascinating revelations about the world around them. Grades 4-7. --Hazel Rochman