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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77 Items found Print
Active Filters: 12th grade (Ages 17-18), Hardcover, Used Books & Materials
Air Forces of the World
by Sue Butterworth, editor
from Chartwell Books
for 9th-Adult
in Aviation History (Location: HISV-AVIA)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
American Ship Models and How to Build Them
by V. R. Grimwood, foreword by Howard I. Chapelle
from Bonanza Books
for 9th-Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
American Wild Life
1952nd edition from Wm. H. Wise & Co.
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Amphibians and Reptiles of the Pacific States
by Gayle Pickwell
from Stanford University Press
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Apollo on the Moon
by Henry S. F. Cooper, Jr.
from Dial Press
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Atlas of Natural Wonders
by Rupert O. Matthews
from Weekly Reader
for 9th-Adult
in Geology (Rocks & Minerals) (Location: SCI-GEO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Backyard Astronomer's Guide
by Terence Dickinson & Alan Dyer
Revised from Firefly Books
for 9th-Adult
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Birds of America
by T. Gilbert Pearson (editor), illustrated by Louis Agassiz Fuertes
from Doubleday & Company
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Birds of Prey
A Grosset All-Color Guide
by Glenys and Derek Lloyd, Illustrated by Ken Lilly
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 9th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Blow Ye Winds Westerly
by Elizabeth Gemming
1st edition from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 9th-Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Earth for Sam
by W. Maxwell Reed, revised by Paul F. Brandwein
Revised edition from Harcourt, Brace & Company
for 6th-12th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Encyclopedia of Animals
from Fog City Press
for 8th-Adult
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Encyclopedia of Mammals
by Professor David Macdonald, editor
from Barnes & Noble
for 8th-Adult
in Mammals (Location: SCI-MAM)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Encyclopedia of Science and Technology
by James Trefil
from Routledge
for 7th-Adult
in Science Reference (Location: SCIREF)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Encyclopedia of the Horse
by Elwyn Hartley Edwards, ed.
from Crescent Books
for 7th-12th grade
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
Encylopedia of Underwater Life
by Andrew Campbell and John Dawes
from Oxford University
for 5th-Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$20.00 (1 in stock)
Exploring Creation With Biology - Textbook (old)
by Jay Wile & Marilyn Durnell
2nd edition from Apologia Educational Ministries
for 9th-12th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
in Apologia Science (Old Versions only) (Location: OSCI-AEM)
$25.00 (2 in stock)
Exploring Creation With Physics - Textbook
by Jay Wile
2nd edition from Apologia Educational Ministries
for 11th-12th grade
Cathy Duffy's 100 Top Picks
in Apologia Exploring Creation (Location: SCICUR-AEM)
$45.00 (7 in stock)
Field Guide to Rocks and Minerals
Peterson Field Guide Series
by Frederick H. Pough
3rd edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 7th-12th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
From Conception to Birth
by Alexander Tsiaras
1st edition from Doubleday & Company
in Pregnancy & Infant Care (Location: PRE-INF)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Gems and Jewelry
The Odyssey Library
by Ned Seidler
from Odyssey Press
for 6th-12th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Getting There
by Suzanne Hilton
from Westminster Press
for 5th-Adult
in Things That Go (Location: SCI-TTGO)
$8.50 (1 in stock)
Gregor Mendel
by Simon Mawer
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 11th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
How Does it Work?
by Richard M. Koff
from Doubleday & Company
for 9th-12th grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Hunters
by Dr. Philip Whitfield, illustrated by Richard Orr
from Simon and Schuster
for 8th-Adult
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Illustrated History of Ships and Boats
by Lionel Casson
from Doubleday & Company
for 7th-Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Lefties
by Jack Fincher
1993 reprint from Barnes & Noble
for 9th-Adult
in Practical Home Schooling (Location: HSR-PRAC)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Living Amphibians of the World
by Doris M. Cochran
from Doubleday & Company
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Making of a Pilot
by Ed Richter
from Westminster Press
for 9th-12th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Map That Changed the World
by Simon Winchester
1st edition from HarperCollins
for 9th-Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$10.00 (2 in stock)
Marine Biology: An Ecological Approach
by James W. Nybakken
3rd edition from HarperCollins
for 10th-12th grade
in Oceanography & Marine Biology (Location: SCI-OCEAN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Marine Biology: Function, Biodiversity, Ecology
by Jeffrey S. Levinton
from Oxford University
for 10th-12th grade
in Oceanography & Marine Biology (Location: SCI-OCEAN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Men-of-War
Seafarers
by David Howarth
1st edition from Time-Life Books
for 6th-12th grade
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Moons & Planets
by William K. Hartmann
4th edition from Wadsworth Publishing Company
for 9th-12th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Mustang at War
by Roger A. Freeman
from Doubleday & Company
for 9th-Adult
in Aviation History (Location: HISV-AVIA)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Nothing Like It in the World
by Stephen E. Ambrose
from Simon and Schuster
for 9th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Novare Physics: Modeling Nature - Solutions Manual
by John D. Mays
from Novare
for 12th grade
in Novare Science & Math (Location: SCICUR-NOV)
$46.95 $33.00 (1 in stock)
One Giant Leap
by Charles Pappas
from Lyons Press
for 9th-Adult
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
$13.00 (1 in stock)
Our Amazing Birds
by Robert S. Lemmon, illustrated by Don R. Eckelberry
from Doubleday & Company
for 6th-Adult
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Our Historic Desert
by Diana Elaine Lindsay
First Edition from Copley Books
for 5th-Adult
in Landmarks & Symbols of the United States (Location: HISV-LANUS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
People, Places, Things, Ideas - 4 Volume Set
from Hawthorn Books, Inc.
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$32.00 (1 in stock)
Periodic Table: Elements With Style
by Adrian Dingle, Simon Basher
from Kingfisher
for 7th-12th grade
in Basher Science (Location: SCI-BASH)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Peterson Field Guides: Western Birds
by Noble Proctor, Roger Tory Peterson
2nd edition from Houghton Mifflin
for 7th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Pioneer Aircraft 1903-14
by Kenneth Munson, illustrated by John W. Wood
from Macmillan
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Planets, The
by Dava Sobel
from Viking Press
for 10th-Adult
in History for Adults (Location: ADU-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Practical Astronomer
by Colin A. Ronan
from Crescent Books
for 7th-12th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Relativity
by Albert Einstein, translated by Robert W. Lawson
from Crown Publishers
for 10th-Adult
in Physics (Location: SCI-PHY)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Rockets, Probes, & Satellites
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Sailing-Ship
by Romola & R. C. Anderson
from Bonanza Books
for 9th-Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
San Francisco Bay
by John Haskell Kemble
from Cornell Maritime Press
for 7th-12th grade
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
San Francisco Bay
by John Haskell Kemble
1978 Reissue from Bonanza Books
for 7th-12th grade
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Science Book of Space Travel
by Harold Leland Goodwin, illustrated by Jack Coggins
First Printing from Franklin Watts
for 10th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Science Shepherd Biology - Answer Key & Parent Companion
by Scott Hardin, M.D.
2nd edition from Ohana Life Press
for 10th-12th grade
in Miscellaneous Science Curriculum (Location: SCICUR-MISC)
$10.50 (1 in stock)
Seafaring America
by Alexander Laing
from McGraw-Hill
for 6th-Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Secrets of Backyard Bird-Feeding Success
by Deborah L. Martin
from Rodale Press
for 7th-Adult
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Ships
by Tom McCluskie
from Chartwell Books
for 10th-Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Snow Goose
by Paul Gallico
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 7th-12th grade
in Historical Fiction (Location: FIC-HIF)
$19.95 $14.00 (2 in stock)
Space Garbage
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Strange Birds and Their Stories
Strange Stories From Nature #4
by A. Hyatt Verrill
from L. C. Page & Company
for 5th-12th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Student Science Dictionary
from Houghton Mifflin
for 7th-12th grade
in Science Reference (Location: SCIREF)
$11.00 (1 in stock)
Tall Ships
by Maldwin Drummond, illustrated by Mike Willoughby, Foreword by H.R.H the Duke of Edinburgh
First American Edition from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 10th-Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Tides
by Jonathan White
from Trinity University Press
for 9th-Adult
in Oceanography & Marine Biology (Location: SCI-OCEAN)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Timechart History of Aviation
from Lowe & B. Hould Publishers
for 6th-Adult
in Aviation History (Location: HISV-AVIA)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Trains
by John R. Day, illustrated by David A. Warner & Nigel W. Hearn
1989 Reprint from Treasure Press
for 6th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Undersea Adventure
by Philippe Diole, translated from the French by Alan Ross
3rd Printing from Julian Messner
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
US Carriers at War
by Peter Kilduff
2nd edition from Naval Institute Press
for 9th-Adult
in Military & Weapon History (Location: HISV-MILIT)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Visual Dictionary of Everyday Things
DK Visual Dictionaries
from DK Publishing
for 8th-Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Visual Dictionary of Physics
DK Visual Dictionaries
by Jack Challoner
from DK Publishing
for 8th-Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Visual Dictionary of the Universe
DK Visual Dictionaries
by Paul Docherty, ed.
from DK Publishing
for 8th-Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Volcanoes
by Phillippe Bourseiller
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for 4th-Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
West Coast Windjammers in Story and Pictures
by Jim Gibbs
from Superior Publishing Company
for 8th-Adult
in Clearance: History & Geography (Location: ZCLE-HIS)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
What Darwin Got Wrong
by Jerry Fodor & Massimo Piatelli-Palmarni
from Farrar, Straus and Giroux
for 10th-Adult
in Science Reference (Location: SCIREF)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Wild Animals of North America
from National Geographic
for 7th-12th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$6.50 (2 in stock)
Wild Life the World Over
by Frank Shay, illustrated by Edward A. Wilson
1953rd edition from Wm. H. Wise & Co.
for 8th-Adult
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Wildlife Portfolio of the Western National Parks
by Joseph S. Dixon
from United States Government Printing Office
for 3rd-Adult
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Women in Science
by Rachel Ignotofsky
from Ten Speed Press
for 4th-12th grade
in History of Science & Mathematics (Location: SCI-HIS)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Wright Brothers
by David McCullough
First American Condition from Simon & Schuster Macmillan
for 9th-Adult
in Biographies (Location: BIO)
$15.00 (2 in stock)