Cool Science Tricks: 50 Fantastic Feats for Kids of All Ages

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

This stunt-stuffed book is for kids and grown-ups who love to experiment with peculiar physics, mind-boggling biology, crazy chemistry and want to learn more fascinating factoids than you can shake a Bunsen burner at.

As we all know now, the geeks have inherited the earth and, it's official, science is now cool! With Cool Science you can learn 50 amazing science-related tricks to impress friends at parties or for teaching to children. That's 50 awesome new ways to make 50 new friends. This stunt-stuffed book is for kids and grown-ups who love to experiment with peculiar physics, mind-boggling biology, crazy chemistry and want to learn more fascinating factoids than you can shake a Bunsen burner at.

Just some of the tricks barely contained within the book are Smoking Fingers!, Cola can-can!, Visible Sound Waves!, Disappearing Coins and ... the trick where you achieve the impossible with just a piece of paper! And many, many more!

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Airy line drawings augment step-by-step explanations of 50 experiments that integrate physics, chemistry, geometry, psychology, and more. They include making "multi-coloured milk" using food coloring and detergents, a "bathtub speedboat" utilizing liquid soap and a Popsicle stick (or "icy lolly stick" as the author of this British import calls it), and creating visible sound waves in a cornflower mixture. Sidebars offer details about the science behind each experiment ("Any movement that takes place in your body is the result of an antagonistic relationship between opposite muscles"), and the activities themselves have satisfying results. Ages 10-up. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

School Library Journal Review

Gr 5 Up-Fifty science activities, including brainteasers, illusions, and demonstrations, aim to impress but don't quite measure up. Each spread lists the needed supplies, instructions, science concepts behind the trick, and a "Did you know?" text box of additional information. Line drawings in muted colors do not always clearly illustrate the projects, and decorative doodles of test tubes and wires confusingly blend in with the activity diagrams. An irreverent tone keeps the text engaging, though the print is tiny, and the numerous Britishisms may give North American readers pause. Furthermore, many parts of the book seem aimed at adults rather than children-e.g., notes about cocktails and teaching your children the value of money-and several activities seem questionable even for adults to perform. For instance "Money to Burn," a project that involves lighting paper money on fire, cautions that "If this trick goes wrong you could be fined and/or imprisoned for up to six months," since destroying money is illegal in the United States. Young scientists can find some of the same projects (minus the unsafe ones) in Rain Newcomb and Bobby Mercer's more attractive and kid-friendly Smash It! Crash It! Launch It! 50 Mind-Blowing, Eye-Popping Science Experiments (Lark, 2006).-Sarah Stone, San Francisco Public Library (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.