Customer Reviews

Janice VanCleave's Astronomy for Every Kid: 101 Easy Experiments that Really Work (Science for Every Kid Series)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book looks like it tried too hard to be about astronomy. It takes reasonable experiments about basic scientific principles and tacks on explanations related to astronomy that ignore other factors (i.e. both reflectivity and distance from the sun are seperately listed as the reason a planet is hotter when Venus is neither the darkest nor the closest), are overly obscure, or just plain wrong (appearance of 'the man in the moon' caused by shadows).

I have worked in an astronomy museum for six years, and this book has me pausing to try and comprehend what the book is trying to do. I am not familiar with the other Janice VanCleave books, but I specifically recommend AGAINST this one.

This book is a big disappointment. I don't know very much about astronomy, but I have done a lot of experiments with my kids. The better experiments in this collection are basic scientific experiments we have done before with a page of explanation on how it relates to astronomy...or how it is a simulation of something in astronomy, which I feel is misleading to the kids.

Other experiments are not even experiments, but demonstrations of things so obvious that most kids can visualize them without a demonstration. For example, stirring tea leaves in a jar with a pencil to simulate a hurricane on Jupiter.

Only one experiment sounded interesting--a sun dial that can act as a compass. But wait! The compass is only accurate two days out of the year, and there is no explanation of the science behind the experiment.

I want my money back!!!!

Whether you're homeschooling or just need some extra help for after school, this is the book for you!

Before buying a telescope to you kid, keep in mind "letting him time to play with this book first". It would be a great reference to analyze what it is been view in the sky and how the forces of the universe (pure science) work. You might night to support, guide and encourage your kid with some of the experiments, but he would learn more that you think. My daughter is enchanted with the book.

As a mom who home-schools her kids, this book has been invaluable for keeping the fun and interest in teaching Astronomy. Janice VanCleave's book have been a great assest to our library.