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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225 Items found Print
Active Filters: 7th grade (Ages 12-13), Hardcover
1001 Things Everyone Should Know About Science
by James Trefil
1st edition from Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
for 7th-10th grade
in Science Reference (Location: SCIREF)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
2000 Years of Space Travel
by Russell Freedman
from Holiday House
for 7th-10th grade
in History of Science & Mathematics (Location: SCI-HIS)
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)
All About Cats
All About Books #58
by Carl Burger
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Fire
All About Books #53
by Raymond Holden
from Random House
for 6th-10th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Great Rivers of the World
All About Books #22
by Anne Terry White
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Heredity
All About Books #48
by Judith Randal
from Random House
for 5th-10th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About Light and Radiation
All About Books #57
by Ira Freeman
from Random House
for 3rd-8th 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 Sound and Ultrasonics
All About Books #37
by Ira M. Freeman
from Random House
for 4th-8th grade
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
for 3rd-8th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About the Human Mind
All About Books #47
by Robert M. Goldenson, illustrated with photographs & diagrams
from Random House
for 3rd-8th grade
in All About Books (Location: VIN-ALL)
All About the Universe
All About Books #55
by David Dietz, illustrated by John Polgreen
from Random House
for 3rd-8th grade
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)
Ancient Astronomy
Isaac Asimov's Library of the Universe
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
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)
Asteroids
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
Astronomy Today
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
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)
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)
Careless Animal
by Ada & Frank Graham Jr.
from Doubleday & Company
for 5th-8th grade
in Ecology (Location: SCI-ECO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
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)
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)
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)
Colonizing the Planets and Stars
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
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)
Comets and Meteors
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
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)
Did Comets Kill the Dinosaurs?
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
DK Eyewitness: Astronomy
by Kristen Lippincott
from DK Children
for 3rd-8th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Chemistry
DK Eyewitness series
by Ann Newmark
from DK Publishing
Science Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Chemistry (Location: SCI-CHEM)
DK Eyewitness: Chemistry
DK Eyewitness Series
by Ann Newmark
from DK Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Chemistry (Location: SCI-CHEM)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Crime & Detection
DK Eyewitness Series
by Brian Lane
from DK Publishing
HIstory Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Espionage & Forensic Science (Location: SCI-CRIME)
DK Eyewitness: Earth
DK Eyewitness Series
by Susanna Van Rose
from DK Publishing
Science Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Earth Science (Location: SCI-EARTH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Electricity
DK Eyewitness Series
by Steve Parker
from DK Publishing
Science Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Electricity & Magnetism (Location: SCI-PHY)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Film
DK Eyewitness Series
by Richard Platt
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
History Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Theater, Drama & Film (Location: ELE-THEAT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Horse
DK Eyewitness Series
by Juliet Clutton-Brock
from DK Publishing
Science Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Horses & Ponies (Location: SCI-MAMHOR)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Light
DK Eyewitness Series
by David Burnie
from DK Publishing
Science Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Light & Sound (Location: SCI-PHY)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Mammal
DK Eyewitness Series
by Steve Parker
from DK Publishing
Science Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Mammals (Location: SCI-MAM)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
DK Eyewitness: Seashore
DK Eyewitness Books
by Steve Parker
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
Sience Reference for 4th-8th grade
in Seashore & Tidepools (Location: SCI-ECO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Dragonfly Beetle Butterfly Bee
by Maryjo Koch
from HarperCollins
for 3rd-Adult
in Insects & Arachnids (Location: SCI-BUG)
Dragons of the Deep
by Carl Wieland
from Master Books
for 5th-8th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$13.59
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Landmark #108
by Malcolm Moos
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage & Collectible (Location: VIN-COL)
Early Days of Automobiles
Landmark #68
by Elizabeth Janeway
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
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)
Earth's Moon
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Our Solar System (Location: SCI-AST)
Earth, The
Exploring Our Universe
by Franklyn M. Branley, illustrated by Helmut K. Wimmer
from Thomas Y. Crowell & Co.
for 7th-10th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Earth: Our Home Base
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
Ecology Book
by Jean Lightner, Tom Hennigan
from Master Books
for 5th-10th grade
in Ecology (Location: SCI-ECO)
$15.19
Electronics
DK Eyewitness Series
by Roger Francis Bridgman and Jack Challoner
from DK Publishing
Science Reference for 4th-8th grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
$9.00 (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)
Engines
by Theodore Gray, photographs by Nick Mann
from Black Dog & Leventhal
for 5th-12th grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
$32.00
Evolution of Useful Things
by Henry Petroski
1st edition from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 7th-Adult
in Everyday Life in History (Location: HISV-EVERY)
Famous Pirates of the New World
World Landmark #35
by A. B. C Whipple
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
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)
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)
First Book of the Earth
by O. Irene Sevrey, illustrated by Mildred Waltrip
from Franklin Watts
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$12.00 (2 in stock)
First Book of the Earth
by O. Irene Sevrey, illustrated by Mildred Waltrip
from Franklin Watts
for 6th-8th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
First Transatlantic Cable
Landmark #88
by Adele Nathan
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage & Collectible (Location: VIN-COL)
Flat-tops: The Story of Aircraft Carriers
Landmark #121
by Edmund Castillo
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Flood of Noah
by Bodie Hodge, Laura Welch
from Master Books
for 5th-10th grade
in Worldview & Apologetics for Kids (Location: BIBWV-APK)
$15.99
Fly the Space Shuttle
by Carole Stott
1st American ed from DK Publishing
for 4th-8th grade
in Space Race & Exploration (Location: HISA-20SPR)
Flying Aces of World War I
World Landmark #60
by Gene Gurney
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in World Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAN)
Flying Tigers
Landmark #105
by John Toland
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in Vintage & Collectible (Location: VIN-COL)
Footprints of the Dragon
Land of the Free Series
by Vanya Oakes, illustrated by Tyrus Wong
1st edition from John C. Winston
Historical fiction for 6th-10th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
Fossil Book
Wonders of Creation Series
by Gary & Mary Parker
from Master Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Dinosaurs & Fossils (Location: SCI-DINO)
$15.19
Galileo
by Mitch Stokes
from Thomas Nelson Publishers
for 7th-Adult
in Christian Encounters (Location: BIO-CE)
Gay-Neck: The Story of a Pigeon
by Dhan Gopal Mukerji
from Dutton Juvenile
for 4th-9th grade
1928 Newbery Medal winner
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$14.00 (2 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)
Geology Book
Wonders of Creation Series
by John D. Morris
from Master Books
for 4th-10th grade
in Geology (Rocks & Minerals) (Location: SCI-GEO)
$15.19
Getting There
by Suzanne Hilton
from Westminster Press
for 5th-Adult
in Things That Go (Location: SCI-TTGO)
$8.50 (1 in stock)
Golden Age of Railroads
Landmark #93
by Stewart H. Holbrook
from Random House
for 5th-9th grade
in American Landmark Books (Location: VIN-LAND)
Golden Age of Sail
by Amy Handy
from Todtri Productions Limited
for 7th-Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
Golden Guide: Weather
by Paul E. Lehr, R. Will Burnett, Herbert S. Zim
from Golden Press
for 3rd-8th grade
in Meteorology (Weather & Climate) (Location: SCI-WEA)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Grand Canyon
by Tom Vail
from Master Books
for 5th-Adult
in Geology (Rocks & Minerals) (Location: SCI-GEO)
$13.59
Great Animal Search
by Caroline Young
from Usborne
for 3rd-7th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$6.30 (1 in stock)
Great Discoveries and Amazing Adventures
by Claire Llewellyn
from Kingfisher
for 4th-8th grade
in Archaeology (Location: HISRF-ARCH)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Great Inventions
from Time Inc.
for 7th-10th grade
in Inventions & Discoveries (Location: SCI-INV)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Great Trains of All Time
by Freeman Hubbard; illustrated by Herb Mott
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
History of the Atomic Bomb
by Michael Blow
from American Heritage Publishing Co.
for 6th-10th grade
in American Heritage Junior Library (Location: VIN-HIS)
How Bodies Work: Animal Physiology
Come Learn With Me
by Bridget Anderson
from Charlesbridge
for 4th-8th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$7.50 (1 in stock)
How Was the Universe Born?
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
Ideas That Changed the World: Transportation
by Philip Wilkinson and Michael Pollard, Illustrated by Robert Ingpen
from Chelsea House Publishing
for 4th-7th grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
$6.00 (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)
Instant Guide to Wildflowers
by Pamela Forey and Cecilia Fitzsimons
from Gramercy Books
for 6th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
John James Audubon
Landmark #48
by John & Margaret Kieran, illustrated by Christine Price
from Random House
for 5th-8th grade
in Vintage & Collectible (Location: VIN-COL)
Jupiter: The Spotted Giant
by Isaac Asimov
from Gareth Stevens Publishing
for 7th-12th grade
in Our Solar System (Location: SCI-AST)
Kingfisher Illustrated Encyclopedia of Animals
by Michael Chinery, ed.
from Kingfisher
for 4th-8th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
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