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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380 Items found Print
Active Filters: 6th grade (Ages 11-12), Hardcover
3-D Human Body
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Human Anatomy & Physiology (Location: SCI-ANA)
Africa's Vanishing Wildlife
by Chris & Tilde Stuart
1st edition from Smithsonian Books
for 5th-10th grade
in Africa (Location: HISMC-AFR)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
African Critters
by Robert Haas
from National Geographic
for 3rd-6th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
Album of Astronomy
by Tom McGowen, illustrated by Rod Ruth
from Rand McNally
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Album of Birds
by Tom McGowen
from Rand McNally
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Album of Dinosaurs
by Tom McGowen, illustrated by Rod Ruth
from Rand McNally
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Album of Reptiles
by Tom McGowen, illustrated by Rod Ruth
from Rand McNally
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Album of Sharks
by Tom McGowen, illustrated by Rod Ruth
3rd Printing from Rand McNally
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Album of Spaceflight
by Tom McGowen, illustrated by Lee Brubaker
from Rand McNally
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Album of Whales
by Tom McGowen, illustrated by Rod Ruth
from Rand McNally
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
All About Animals and Their Young
All About Books #25
by Robert M. McClung
from Random House
for 4th-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Birds
All About Books #11
by Robert S. Lemmon, illustrated by Fritz Kredel
1955 Edition from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Cats
All About Books #58
by Carl Burger
from Random House
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in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Dinosaurs
All About Books #1
by Roy Chapman Andrews
from Random House
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All About Dogs
All About Books #42
by Carl Burger
from Random House
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All About Electricity
All About Books #23
by Ira M. Freeman, illustrated by Evelyn Urbanowich
from Random House
for 4th-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Engines and Power
All About Books #45
by Sam & Beryl Epstein
from Random House
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in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Famous Inventors and Their Inventions
All About Books #18
by Fletcher Pratt
from Random House
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All About Fire
All About Books #53
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All About Fish
All About Books #34
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All About Great Rivers of the World
All About Books #22
by Anne Terry White
from Random House
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All About Heredity
All About Books #48
by Judith Randal
from Random House
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All About Horses
All About Books #43
by Marguerite Henry
from Random House
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All About Light and Radiation
All About Books #57
by Ira Freeman
from Random House
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All About Moths and Butterflies
All About Books #15
by Robert S. Lemmon
from Random House
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All About Mountains and Mountaineering
All About #41
by Anne Terry White
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All About Our Changing Rocks
All About Books #12
by Anne Terry White
from Random House
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All About Prehistoric Cave Men
All About Books #30
by Sam Epstein, Beryl Epstein
from Random House
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in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Radio and Television
All About Books #2
by Jack Gould
2nd edition from Random House
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in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Radio and Television
All About Books #2
by Jack Gould
1st edition from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Rockets and Jets
All About Books #13
by Fletcher Pratt
2nd edition from Random House
for 3rd-6th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Sailing the Seven Seas
All About Books #40
by Ruth Brindze
from Random House
for 4th-7th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Satellites and Space Ships
All About Books #28
by David Dietz
from Random House
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All About Satellites and Space Ships
All About Books #28
by David Dietz
Revised edition from Random House
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All About Sound and Ultrasonics
All About Books #37
by Ira M. Freeman
from Random House
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in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Strange Beasts of the Past
All About Books #17
by Robert S. Lemmon
from Random House
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in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Strange Beasts of the Present
All About Books #19
by Robert S. Lemmon
from Random House
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in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About the Atom
All About Books #10
by Ira M. Freeman, illustrated by George E. Wilde
from Random House
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in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About the Desert
All About Books #21
by Sam & Beryl Epstein
from Random House
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All About the Human Body
All About Books #27
by Bernard Glemser, illustrated by Felix Traugott
from Unknown Publisher
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All About the Human Mind
All About Books #47
by Robert M. Goldenson, illustrated with photographs & diagrams
from Random House
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All About the Insect World
All About Books #6
by Ferdinand C. Lane
from Random House
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All About the Jungle
All About Books #29
by Armstrong Sperry
from Random House
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All About the Planet Earth
All About Books #46
by Patricia Lauber, illustrated by Lee Ames
from Random House
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All About the Planets
All About Books #33
by Patricia Lauber
from Random House
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in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About the Sea
All About Books #3
by Ferdinand C. Lane
from Random House
Humorous Fiction for 3rd-6th grade
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All About the Stars
All About Books #7
by Anne Terry White
from Random House
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All About the Universe
All About Books #55
by David Dietz, illustrated by John Polgreen
from Random House
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All About the Weather
All About Books #5
by Ivan Ray Tannehill
from Random House
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All About Volcanoes & Earthquakes
All About Books #4
by Frederick H. Pough
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All About Whales
All About Books #8
by Roy Chapman Andrews
from Random House
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in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
Amateur Naturalist
by Gerald Durrell
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-8th grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Americans in Space
by John Dille
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 6th-10th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
Americans Into Orbit
Landmark #101
by Gene Gurney
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage & Collectible (Location: VIN-COL)
Animal Behavior
Life Nature Library
by Niko Tinbergen
from Time-Life Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Animals Without Backbones: Invertebrates
Come Learn with Me
by Bridget Anderson
from Charlesbridge
for 4th-6th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Apes and Monkeys
by Deborah Dennard, illustrated by John F. McGee
from Northword Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Mammals (Location: SCI-MAM)
$8.00 (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)
Armstrong
by Torben Kuhlmann, Translated by David Henry Wilson
from NorthSouth
for 2nd-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
Beetle Is Shy
by Dianna Hutts Aston
from Chronicle Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$16.99
Birds at Home
by Marguerite Henry, illustrated by Jacob Bates Abbott
from M. A. Donohue & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
Birds Every Child Should Know
by Neltje Blanchan
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
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)
Bluebirds Seven
by R. Bruce Horsfall
1st edition
for 3rd-6th grade
in Picture Books (Location: PICTURE)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Eagles
by Helen Roney Sattler, illustrated by Jean Day Zallinger
from Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Small Mammals
by Ted S. Pettit, illustrated by G. Don Ray
from Garden City Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Breathtaking Birds
Marvels of Creation
by Buddy & Kay Davis
from Master Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$10.39
Breathtaking Respiratory System
God's Wondrous Machine
by Johnny Congo & Paige Hudson
from Master Books
for 4th-6th grade
in Human Anatomy & Physiology (Location: SCI-ANA)
$12.79 $11.00 (3 in stock)
Bringing Back the Wolves
by Jude Isabella; illustrated by Kim Smith
from Kids Can Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Ecology (Location: SCI-ECO)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Bubo: The Great Horned Owl
by John L. and Jean George, illustrated by Jean George
from E.P. Dutton & Co.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Bug Dictionary
from Tangerine Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Building of the First Transcontinental Railroad
Landmark #9
by Adele Nathan, illustrated by Edward A. Wilson
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Building of the First Transcontinental Railroad
Spencer Press Landmark #9 (RH#9)
by Adele Nathan
from Spencer Press
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Burgess Animal Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Living Book Press
for 2nd-6th grade
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$28.99
Burgess Bird Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Living Book Press
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$28.99
Burgess Flower Book for Children
by Thornton W. Burgess
from Living Book Press
in Living Science (Location: SCI-CMLS)
$28.99
Careless Animal
by Ada & Frank Graham Jr.
from Doubleday & Company
for 5th-8th grade
in Ecology (Location: SCI-ECO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Cat Book
by Marianne Besser, illustrated by Shannon Stirnweis
from Holiday House
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
Cave Book
Wonders of Creation Series
by Emil Silvestru
from Master Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Geology (Rocks & Minerals) (Location: SCI-GEO)
$15.19
Censored Science
by Bruce Malone
Fir from Search for the Truth Publications
in Faith & Science (Location: XAP-SCI)
Charles Lindbergh
A Discovery Book
by David R. Collins
from Garrard Publishing Company
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
Chemistry Level I - Student Text (old)
Real Science-4-Kids
by Rebecca W. Keller
from Gravitas Publications, Inc.
for 5th-8th grade
in Real Science-4-Kids (old editions) (Location: OSCI-RS4K)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Child's Introduction to Natural History
by Heather Alexander, illustrated by Meredith Hamilton
from Black Dog & Leventhal
for 3rd-6th grade
in Science Reference (Location: SCIREF)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Chipmunk Terrace
by John Oldrin, illustrated by Kurt Wiese
from Viking Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$14.00 (1 in stock)
Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang
by Ian Fleming
from Random House
for 3rd-7th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
Clipper Ship Days
Landmark #22
by John Jennings
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage & Collectible (Location: VIN-COL)
Clipper Ships and Captains
by Jane D. Lyon
from Troll Associates
for 6th-10th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
Colonization of the Moon
by D. S. Halacy, Jr.
from Van Nostrand Reinhold Co.
for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Color in Your Life
by Irving Adler, illustrated by Ruth Adler
from The John Day Company
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Complex Circulatory System
God's Wondrous Machine
by Lainna Callentine, M.Ed., M.D.
from Master Books
for 3rd-7th grade
in Human Anatomy & Physiology (Location: SCI-ANA)
$12.79 $11.00 (1 in stock)
Conquest of the North and South Poles
Landmark #27
by Russell Owen, illustrated by Lynd Ward
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Coolest Cross-Sections Ever!
by Richard Platt, Stephen Biesty
from DK Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady
by Edith Holden
from Holt, Rinehart and Winston
for 5th-Adult
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
Crinkleroot's Book of Animal Tracks and Wildlife Signs
by Jim Arnosky
from Putnam Juvenile
for 3rd-6th grade
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing the Birds
by Jim Arnosky
from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-6th grade
in Forests & Mountains (Location: SCI-FOREST)
Crinkleroot's Guide to Knowing the Trees
by Jim Arnosky
from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-6th grade
in Forests & Mountains (Location: SCI-FOREST)
Dinosaurs by Design
by Duane Gish
from Master Books
for 2nd-6th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$14.39
Dinosaurs for Kids
by Ken Ham
from Master Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$13.59
Dinosaurs of Eden
by Ken Ham
2nd edition from Master Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$13.59
Dinosaurs Unleashed
by Eric Lyons, Kyle Butt
2nd edition from Apologetics Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
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