Science Resources

Sometimes the best way to teach a subject is to lay some ground rules and then let students actually "do" what they're studying. This is especially true of science, a study predicated on activity, experimentation and the observation of physical properties. It's also one of the best ways to get kids interested in science in the first place.

If he hadn't stood atop the Tower of Pisa dropping things off the edge, Galileo would never have made his observation that objects of any weight fall at the same rate in a vacuum. Archimedes had to get in the tub to discover that it is volume that displaces water. And the only way Newton could discover calculus was by scribbling numbers on pieces of paper.

Your kid probably isn't the next Einstein, but that doesn't mean he shouldn't learn as much about science as possible, or that he should do so with his hands tied behind his back. The problem with a lot of science textbooks is that they emphasize book knowledge without taking into account the hands-on nature of science and science learning. Observation is often touted as an essential part of the science process, but rarely is it enforced in the typical school curriculum.

Science resources can change all that. There are plenty of fact-based books (particularly those from Usborne) that pair facts with vivid illustrations, and those are fun for rainy days—kids are a lot better at acquiring and retaining raw information than we often give them credit for. But those are just a place to start; the options are limitless.

One of the best sorts of science resource are books filled with experiments. Whether it's Explorabook from Klutz Press which focuses on fun activities and includes everything you need to complete them, or Vicki Cobb's Bet You Can! experiments using household items, or the more advanced Science for Every Kid books by Janice VanCleave, you aren't likely to run out of options.

Astronomy is more observation-oriented, and we offer plenty of books on that topic, too. The Stars by H.A. Rey is a now-classic guide to the night sky for beginners, while Starry Messenger explains some of the basic tenets of modern astronomy through the (detailed and beautifully illustrated) life of Galileo Galilei. Isaac Asimov has written a number of books on space science, as has Seymour Simon.

Just letting your kids outside with notebooks and maybe a magnifying glass is as good as any book for helping them develop a love of nature and nature study, though manuals to help them identify plants, animals, rocks, etc. is a good idea. One of our favorite such books is the Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock.

Keeping a well-stocked chemistry lab is a good idea for older students. Many experiments require chemicals, ingredients and equipment you aren't likely to just have lying around, so you'll need to be intentional about keeping a lot of those things stocked. Field trips are always a good idea as well, whether to a local laboratory, observatory, zoo, factory, or anywhere else that strikes your kids' fancy and has educational potential.

Whatever else you do, keep an open mind while guiding your kids' science education. The beauty of God's world and the excitement of learning about it should always be kept in view; whatever difficulty there is in physics, biology or chemistry should be met head on but not dwelt on or made cause for discouragement. Have fun, and don't restrict your science time to reading stuff—take time to actually do science, and you might find along with your children that it isn't such a bad thing to study after all.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he is a husband and father, teaches adult Sunday school in his Presbyterian congregation, and likes weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur. Read more of his reviews here.

 

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106 Days of Creation Studies
by Sonya Shafer
from Simply Charlotte Mason
for 3rd-Adult
in Simply Charlotte Mason (Location: CUR-SCM)
21st Century Astronomy
by Laura Kay, Stacy Palen, George Blumenthal
6th edition from W. W. Norton and Co.
for Adult
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
365 Starry Nights
by Chet Raymo
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Air Forces of the World
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American Fishermen
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American Sailing Coasters of the North Atlantic
by Paul C. Morris, foreword by Edouard Stackpole
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American Ship Models and How to Build Them
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American Wild Life
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Asimov's New Guide to Science
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Big Book of Glues, Brews, and Goos
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Bird Families of the World
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Birds of America
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Birds of Prey
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Birds of the Pacific Northwest
by John Shewey & Tim Blount, edited by Hendrik Herlyn
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$27.95
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by Dennis Paulson
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Birds of the Willamette Valley Region
by Hall Opperman, Harry Nehls & Tom Aversa
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by Elizabeth Gemming
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Boatbuilding
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Body By Design
by Alan Gillen
from Master Books
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$13.59
Body of Evidence DVD Set
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Book of Birds Volumes I & II
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Modern Library Exploration
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Complete Guide to North American Trees
by Carlton C. Curtis and S.C. Bausor
1971 printing from Collier Books
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Complete Idiot's Guide to Physics
by Johnnie T. Dennis and Gary Moring
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Conceptual Physics
by Paul Hewitt
11th edition from Pearson Education
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Concerning the Nature of Things
by Sir William Bragg
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Coronavirus Education Kit
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Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady
by Edith Holden
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
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Creation and Change
by Douglas Kelly
from Mentor Books
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Creation: Facts of Life
by Gary Parker
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Creative Haven Beautiful Birds - Coloring Book
Creative Haven
by Dot Barlowe
First Edition, Fir from Dover Publications
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$6.99
Darwin Strikes Back
by Thomas Woodward
from Baker Books
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Darwin's Black Box
by Michael J. Behe
10th edition from Free Press
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Deep-Water Sail
by Harold A. Underhill
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Defeating Darwinism by Opening Minds
by Phillip E. Johnson
from InterVarsity Press
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$18.00
Design Line: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
by Chris Oxlade, Edited by Jenny Broom, Illustrated by Mike Lemanski
from Candlewick Press
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Destroyers for Great Britain
by Arnold Hague
Revised & Expanded from Naval Institute Press
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Different Shade of Green
by Gordon Wilson
from Canon Press
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Discover Nature in Water & Wetlands
by Elizabeth P. Lawlor, illustrated by Pat Archer
from Stackpole Books
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Discovery of Design
by Donald DeYoung
from Master Books
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DK Handbooks: Insects, Spiders and Other Terrestrial Arthropods
by Randall Jarrell
from DK Publishing
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1966 Newbery Honor Book
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Dragonfly Beetle Butterfly Bee
by Maryjo Koch
from HarperCollins
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E=mc2 Picture Book of Relativity
by Gerald Kahan, illustrated by Charles Prodey
from Tab Books
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in Physics (Location: SCI-PHY)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Early Oregon Days
by Edwin D. Culp
1St Edition from Caxton Press
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Echoes of the Whistle
by Gerald Rushton, introduction by Leonard G. McCann
from Douglas & McIntyre, Limited
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Edge of the Sea
by Rachel Carson
from Houghton Mifflin
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Einstein's Universe
by Nigel Calder
from Viking Press
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$5.00 (1 in stock)
Elemensus (game)
from Impossible Things Ltd.
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$10.00 (1 in stock)
Elements of Faith
by Richard Duncan
from Master Books
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$39.19
Elements of Faith Volume 1: Hydrogen to Tin (old)
by Richard Duncan
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Encyclopedia of Animals
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Encyclopedia of Animals
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Encyclopedia of Mammals
by Professor David Macdonald, editor
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Encyclopedia of Science and Technology
by James Trefil
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$4.50 (1 in stock)
Encylopedia of Underwater Life
by Andrew Campbell and John Dawes
from Oxford University
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$20.00 (1 in stock)
Evolution of Useful Things
by Henry Petroski
1st edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 7th-Adult
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Evolution: The Grand Experiment
by Dr. Carl Werner
from New Leaf Press
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$34.99
Evolution: The Grand Experiment - Presentation CD
by Dr. Carl Werner
from New Leaf Press
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$14.99
Evolution: The Grand Experiment - Teacher's Manual
by Dr. Carl Werner
from New Leaf Press
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Experts' Book of Boating
by Ruth Brindze (editor), illustrated by Fred Wellbrock
from Prentice Hall
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Fabric of the Cosmos
from Vintage Books
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Famous Ocean Liners
by William H. Miller
from Patrick Stephens
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in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
Field and Hedgerow
by Richard Jefferies
from Living Book Press
for 6th-Adult
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$11.99
Field Guide to Bacteria
by Betsey Dexter Dyer
from Cornell University Press
for 9th-Adult
in Biology (Location: SCI-BIO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Field Guide to Western Birds
Peterson Field Guides
by Roger Tory Peterson
2nd edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 7th-Adult
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
Fighting the Flying Circus
by Captain Eddie V. Rickenbacker
1965 Edition from Doubleday & Company
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Flying Combat Aircraft of the USAAF-USAF
by Robin Higham and Abigail Siddall, editors
from Iowa State University Press
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$6.00 (1 in stock)
Flying Squadrons
by S. Paul Johnston
1st edition from Duell, Sloan and Pearce
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Flying the Old Planes
by Frank Tallman, foreword by Ernest Gunn
from Doubleday & Company
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For the Love of Physics
from Free Press
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$18.00
Forager's Harvest
by Samuel Thayer
from Forager's Harvest
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$27.95
Fossil Record - DVD
by Mike Riddle
from Answers in Genesis
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$4.00 (1 in stock)
Fresh & Salt Water Fishes of the World
by Edward C. Migdalski and George S. Fichter, illustrated by Norman Weaver
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
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$12.00 (1 in stock)
From Conception to Birth
by Alexander Tsiaras
1st edition from Doubleday & Company
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$18.00 (1 in stock)
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