Sean Connolly (1) (1956–)

This book is written by Sean Connolly and is a must have if you're a teacher! The book has a comic feel to it, with a certain "wickedness" and edge that would get younger kids super excited to learn about sconce. The book includes categorized experiments, with the materials a person may need. Additionally, the book goes into details about why the experiments work the way they do and what concepts we can cover based on them. The scientific explanation and rationale provided would help deepen student understanding about the concept being covered, while students are enabled to engage in meaningful play and interaction.… (mehr)

I had originally requested this book in the hope that it would have great ideas for easy, quick experiments I could do at the library. That didn't turn out to be the case BUT I did discover that it was a fun, interesting book that sparked ideas for me in other ways.

The book has a unique and interesting arrangement; it's set up around the periodic table. So readers learn about the properties of, say, nitrogen, its history and uses, and then there's a section of experiments based around the element. 20 elements are discussed, from sodium to oxygen, and a final chapter tackles the more dangerous elements - radium, arsenic, etc.

The experiments are all fairly simple - using vinegar and fluoride rinse to test the enamel on an egg, growing crystals, or making a potato clock. They're things that a typical middle-class household could do in their kitchen. However, most of them aren't things that would work well in a library setting; they are messy, take multiple hours or days to complete, or don't translate well to multiple kids. So, using it in a STEM program at the library is out.

However, it's a great book for at-home experiments; full of humor, history, cartoons, and science. It also sparked a lot of great ideas for me to have science demonstrations at the library! I'm going to combine this with another book I've looked at, Mason Jar Science, collect jars, and periodically set up experiments on a display! The kids can come in and see how they are progressing and we'll post updates on Facebook. That's the plan anyways.

Verdict: A great addition to your science experiment books and full of fun ideas to inspire experimentation.

ISBN: 9780761180104; Published October 2018 by Workman; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library… (mehr)

Spoilers? /!

This book is a nonfiction how-to science book. In "The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science" it teaches you to do several experiments, including "Egg Bungee Jumping", "The Bottomless Can", and "The Rubber Chicken Bone." Most of these tests seem messy, and most of them are, but they teach many things about science. "Heavy Weather?" teaches about certain gases being heavier than air, "Anti-gravity Water" teaches us of centrifugal force, and many others teach about different laws and phenomena. This book has easy-to-read instructions and graphics to better help show the "oddities" of science. You can also rest easy since the book has helpful reminders about safety risks and precautions that you must take. The book also has a great chart of how long each experiment would take ( from less than two minutes to a full day or more). This book helps people learn while having fun.

I rated this book so since it was really really fun to conduct some of those experiments. I especially liked the experiment about the "impenetrable plastic bag." The only thing was that I wished there was more experiments, as there was only 64 (which seems a lot, but really isn't). I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to do science and is a beginner. I really think this book is a great introduction to science. The experiments are pretty easy to do, so that is nice for beginners who might have trouble. In conclusion, this is a remarkable tool for beginning scientists.… (mehr)