Janice VanCleave

This book initially intrigued me because it was a trip down memory lane since I used Janice VanCleave books back in middle school to help give me ideas for science fair projects. While I realize this book was more for an elementary or middle school level, I found some activities that could be used as fantastic demonstrations in the high school classroom. Think a transparent earthworm home to demonstrate niches, or an ant farm to clearly show how division of labor works in a colony, or 3 show more different plants with 3 different watering treatments to show the effects of acid rain. All such simple activities, but the way she puts these activities in the context of ecological concepts made reading this book SO worth while! show less

This activity book is awesome for teachers because it covers 5 different fields of science: astronomy, biology, chemistry, earth science, and physics. For each experiment it also includes the purpose, materials, procedure, results, and why sections. I rate this book 5/5 because it provides thought out experiments that are low-cost scientific fun.

An excellent book with information on dinosaurs and a descriptive informative lab activity to further expand what was discussed/read, from a more abstract theory, into a more concrete idea for children. A wonderful book for elementary through middle school children. A must for every homeschool library! Christians will want to balance some of the info on "dating" with their own creationism views though but still a great book. Also included are suggested books with descriptions on each.

Very simple experiments for young children. Why to objects roll downhill? What makes a ball bounce? Why do I have a shadow? It is informative, but not very exciting to read.