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.

 

Did you find this review helpful?
178 Items found Print
Active Filters: Adult, Used Books & Materials
365 Starry Nights
by Chet Raymo
from Fireside Books
for 6th-Adult
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
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 Fishermen
by Albert Cook Church (photography), text by James B. Connolly
from Bonanza Books
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
American Sailing Coasters of the North Atlantic
by Paul C. Morris, foreword by Edouard Stackpole
1979 Reprint from Bonanza Books
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$8.00 (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)
Arts of the Sailor
by Hervey Garrett Smith
Reprint from Dover Publications
for 5th-Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Asimov's New Guide to Science
by Isaac Asimov
from Basic Books
for Adult
in Science Reference (Location: SCIREF)
$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)
Audubon Society Field Guide to the Bald Eagle
by David G. Gordon
from Sasquatch Books
for 7th-Adult
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Audubon's Birds of America
by John James Audubon
from Galahad Books
for Adult
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$14.00 (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)
Backyard Bird Feeder's Bible
by Sally Roth
from Rodale Press
for 5th-Adult
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Barron's Anatomy Flashcards
from Barron's
for 10th-Adult
in Human Anatomy & Physiology (Location: SCI-ANA)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Beechcraft: Pursuit of Perfection
by Edward H. Phillips
from Flying Books
for Adult
in Aviation History (Location: HISV-AVIA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Big Book of Glues, Brews, and Goos
by Diana F. Marks, illustrated by Donna L. Farrell
from Libraries Unlimited
for Adult
in Science Experiments & Activities (Location: SCI-EXP)
$30.00 (1 in stock)
Biology Coloring Book
by Robert Griffin
from HarperCollins
for 10th-Adult
in Biology (Location: SCI-BIO)
$26.99 $14.00 (1 in stock)
Biology Coloring Workbook
by I. Edward Alcamo
from Princeton Review
for 10th-Adult
in Biology (Location: SCI-BIO)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Bird Families of the World
from Harry N. Abrams, Inc.
for Adult
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$12.00 (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)
Birds of the Puget Sound Region
by Dennis Paulson
from R. W. Morse Company
for 3rd-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$9.00 (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)
Boatbuilding
by Howard I. Chapelle
from W. W. Norton and Co.
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Birds Volumes I & II
by Gilbert Grosvenor & Alexander Wetmore (editors), illustrated by Major Allan Brooks
from National Geographic
for Adult
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Old Ships
by Henry B. Culver, illustrated by Gordon Grant
from Dover Publications
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
British and European Combat Aircraft
Combat Aircraft Library
by Paul A. Jackson
from Crescent Books
for Adult
in Aviation History (Location: HISV-AVIA)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Buried Alive
by Jack Cuozzo
1st edition from Master Books
for 10th-Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$4.00 (2 in stock)
Chapman Piloting
by Elbert S. Maloney
57th edition from Hearst Marine Books
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Clipper Ships
by David R. MacGregor
from Argus Books
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Compact Guide to Wildflowers of the Rockies
by C. Dana Bush
from Lone Pine Publishing
for 6th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Complete Guide to North American Trees
by Carlton C. Curtis and S.C. Bausor
1971 printing from Collier Books
for 9th-Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Concerning the Nature of Things
by Sir William Bragg
from Dover Publications
for 5th-Adult
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Coronavirus Education Kit
from Home Science Tools
for 7th-Adult
in Science Manipulatives & Lab Supplies (Location: SCIREF-LAB)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Darwin Strikes Back
by Thomas Woodward
from Baker Books
for 11th-Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Deep-Water Sail
by Harold A. Underhill
from Brown, Son & Ferguson, Ltd.
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Design Line: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles
by Chris Oxlade, Edited by Jenny Broom, Illustrated by Mike Lemanski
from Candlewick Press
for 2nd-Adult
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Destroyers for Great Britain
by Arnold Hague
Revised & Expanded from Naval Institute Press
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Discover Nature in Water & Wetlands
by Elizabeth P. Lawlor, illustrated by Pat Archer
from Stackpole Books
for 9th-Adult
in Nature Study (Location: NAT-GEN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Discovery of Design
by Donald DeYoung
from Master Books
for 10th-Adult
in Clearance: Christian Books (Location: XCLE)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
DK Handbooks: Insects, Spiders and Other Terrestrial Arthropods
by Randall Jarrell
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-Adult
1966 Newbery Honor Book
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
E=mc2 Picture Book of Relativity
by Gerald Kahan, illustrated by Charles Prodey
from Tab Books
for 9th-Adult
in Physics (Location: SCI-PHY)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Echoes of the Whistle
by Gerald Rushton, introduction by Leonard G. McCann
from Douglas & McIntyre, Limited
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Einstein's Universe
by Nigel Calder
from Viking Press
for Adult
in History of Science & Mathematics (Location: SCI-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Elemensus (game)
from Impossible Things Ltd.
for 6th-Adult
in Games & Toys (Location: FUN-GAME)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Elements of Faith Volume 1: Hydrogen to Tin (old)
by Richard Duncan
from Master Books
for 9th-Adult
in Old Edition Science (Location: OSCI)
$6.00 (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)
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)
Evolution: The Grand Experiment - Teacher's Manual
by Dr. Carl Werner
from New Leaf Press
for 9th-Adult
in Evolution: The Grand Experiment (Location: SCICUR-EVO)
$16.99 $11.00 (1 in stock)
Experts' Book of Boating
by Ruth Brindze (editor), illustrated by Fred Wellbrock
from Prentice Hall
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Fabric of the Cosmos
from Vintage Books
for Adult
in Physics (Location: SCI-PHY)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Flying Combat Aircraft of the USAAF-USAF
by Robin Higham and Abigail Siddall, editors
from Iowa State University Press
for Adult
in Military & Weapon History (Location: HISV-MILIT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Flying Squadrons
by S. Paul Johnston
1st edition from Duell, Sloan and Pearce
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Fossil Record - DVD
by Mike Riddle
from Answers in Genesis
for Adult
$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.
for Adult
in Sharks & Fishes (Location: SCI-FISH)
$12.00 (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)
Full Fathom Five
by Frank H. Shaw
from Macmillan
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Genesis of Germs
by Alan L. Gillen
from Master Books
for 10th-Adult
in Genetics & Microscopic Life (Location: SCI-GEN)
$17.59 $12.00 (1 in stock)
Genesis: The Key to Reclaiming the Culture - DVD
by Ken Ham
from Answers in Genesis
for 9th-Adult
$4.00 (1 in stock)
Genius of Birds
by Jennifer Ackerman
from Penguin Books
for Adult
in Birds (Location: SCI-BIRD)
$5.00 (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)
God of Wonders DVD
by Jim Tetlow
from Eternal Productions
for 8th-Adult
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Gray's Anatomy
by Henry Gray, edited by T. Pickering Pick and Robert Howden
1901 edition from Running Press
for 9th-Adult
in Human Anatomy & Physiology (Location: SCI-ANA)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami
from kahoku Shimpo Publishing Co
for 1st-Adult
in Japan (Location: HISMC-JAP)
$10.00 (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)
High Flew the Falcons
by Herbert Molloy Mason, Jr.
1st edition from J.B. Lippincott Co.
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
History of Invention
by Egon Larsen
Revised from J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd.
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
History of the American Sailing Navy
by Howard I. Chapelle
from Bonanza Books
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Honourable Schoolboy
by John le Carre
from Penguin Books
for Adult
in 20th & 21st Century Literature (Location: LIT7-20)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Hostile Skies
by James J. Hudson
1st edition from Syracuse University Press
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
How Edison's Lamp Helped Light the West
by John Dierdorff
from Pacific Power & Light
for Adult
in Vintage History & Biographies (Location: VIN-HIS)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Human Body: Its Structure and Operation
by Isaac Asimov
from Signet Classics
for Adult
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$4.00 (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)
Icons of Evolution DVD
special_edition from ColdWater Media
for 9th-Adult
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Icons of Invention: American Patent Models
from Smithsonian Books
for 7th-Adult
in Inventions & Discoveries (Location: SCI-INV)
$8.00 (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)
Jack Nastyface
by William Robinson
from Naval Institute Press
for 10th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$7.00 (1 in stock)
Key to the Skulls of North American Mammals
2nd edition from Oklahoma State University
for Adult
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Last Grain Race
by Eric Newby
1st Printing from Houghton Mifflin
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$32.00 (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)
Liberty Ships
by John Gorley Bunker
from Naval Institute Press
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$10.00 (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)
Look at the Sky... and tell the weather
by Eric Sloane
from Dover Publications
for 9th-Adult
in Meteorology (Weather & Climate) (Location: SCI-WEA)
$5.50 (1 in stock)
Manual of Celestial Navigation
by Arthur A. Ageton
from D. Van Nostrand Co.
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$18.00 (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)
Medley of Mast and Sail 2
by Alex A. Hurst
from Naval Institute Press
for Adult
in Nautical History (Location: VIN-NAUT)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Moby-Dick
Wordsworth Classics
by Herman Melville
from Wordsworth Classics
Realistic Nautical Fiction for 9th-Adult
in 19th Century Literature (Location: LIT6-19)
$2.50 (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)
Mysterious Islands - DVD
by Vision Forum
from Vision Forum
$9.00 (1 in stock)
National Audubon Society Field Guide to Butterflies
by Robert Michael Pyle
Chanticleer Press ed from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 7th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$24.95 $12.00 (1 in stock)
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Fishes, Whales & Dolphins
from Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.
for 4th-Adult
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$12.00 (2 in stock)
Natural History of Shells
by Geerat J. Vermeij
1995 paperback from Princeton University Press
for Adult
in Oceanography & Marine Biology (Location: SCI-OCEAN)
$5.00 (1 in stock)
Nature of Natural History
by Marston Bates
from Charles Scribner's Sons
for Adult
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
New Answers Book 1
by Ken Ham, Jonathan Sarfati & Carl Wieland
from Master Books
for 7th-Adult
in Faith & Science (Location: XAP-SCI)
$4.00 (2 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)
12