50 Nifty Super Science Fair Projects [Paperback]

Jill Smolinski (Author), Kerry Manwaring (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up

Information on choosing and planning a science fair project precedes descriptions of the materials, procedures, and analysis involved in fifty individual experiments.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 96 pages
• Publisher: Lowell House (March 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1565653637
• ISBN-13: 978-1565653634
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 7 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.7 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,048,230 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jill Smolinski is author of the novels Objects of My Affection, The Next Thing on My List and Flip-Flopped. Her short story "40 Days" appears in the anthology American Girls About Town, and she has also written nine books on topics ranging from origami to supermodels. She currently lives in Los Angeles with her son. Visit her at JillSmolinski.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good book but don't think they trial tested all entries, April 2, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Alberta, Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 50 Nifty Super Science Fair Projects (Paperback)

I think this is a very good resource to have for kids to look through for ideas. I tried one of the experiments with my daughter and we had a lot of trouble getting the results we were supposed to get. It sounded easier than it actually was, plus the author didn't warn you about problems that could arise in doing the experiment.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Nice experiments -- Wrong explanations, February 5, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: 50 Nifty Super Science Fair Projects (Paperback)

There are some great projects in this book. Unfortunately, many of the "Analysis" sections are just plain wrong in their explanation of the scientific principles. For example:

"...piece of glass called a prism, which slows down the speed of light." (p. 29)
"...gravity pulls harder the more material there is..." (p. 77)
"Light travels slower in water than it does in air." (p. 79)

There are many, many others.

This book is in dire need of a science editor if it ever gets republished.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Jumbled Mess!, February 20, 2003

By 

Chester "jwar" (Waco, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 50 Nifty Super Science Fair Projects (Paperback)

I took three of my children through some of the projects. If I wasn't a machically inclined person so able to adjust their misinformation I would have never gotten through it. My 14 year old son did the project on the cover which doesn't look like the explained project in the book. The one we built was way more fuctional.
My 12 year old daughter did the "Don't be so dense" project and she managed to get through it but was confused about what their conclusions were.
My 9 year old son did the "get the point" project and we worked and adjusted so much and spent so many hours making it's known conclusion work that I have been soured from science projects.
They did do the projects themselves with a bit of engineer tweeking from me but those books should be clear enough for a child to understand and someone should actually do the projects to see if they work. It's amazing it ever got published. Probably some publishers inept niece.