Lynn Brunelle

I knocked half a star off because there are some detrimental editing errors scattered throughout (i.e. errors that affect the ability to carry out the instructions). Otherwise, it's a great collection of experiments to do with kids that illustrate some fundamentals of science. A few are super-basic, like how to make a paper airplane. But a lot of them are clever, creative, and sound like a lot of fun. A bonus for me were the number of experiments that involve exploding things. (What can I say? I like exploding things. Safely.)

The author did a decent job writing up the instructions and explanations. Her introduction was a little too parent focused, if I'm being nit-picky (obviously, I am). You don't have to be a parent to find this book useful; aunts, uncles, grandparents, and teachers will all find it a fun resource too, and it wouldn't have taken much thought to write for the wider audience.

Her explanations are bare-bones basic, but they seemed to cover the broad-concept basics, and often included suggestions for how to explain the science in terms kids could easily grasp. My only other complaint that went towards the 1/2 star deduction is that while she offers suggestions for how to take the experiments further, she doesn't offer any explanation for why these supplemental variations might deviate from the original experiment. I can see how this might leave the adult at a loss for a properly scientific explanation.

Some of the experiments that will get a go here next time the nieces are around include Magic Milk, Crystal Snowflakes, Marshmallow launcher, Super-squirter water blaster, and the one I'm personally most excited about: Exploding Sidewalk Chalk. It's messy, it's colourful, and best of all, it EXPLODES!… (more)