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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509 Items found Print
Active Filters: 6th grade (Ages 11-12), Used Books & Materials
100 Science Experiments
Usborne Internet-Linked
by Georgina Andrews & Kate Knighton
from Usborne
for 3rd-6th grade
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
3-D Engineering
from Nomad Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Architecture and Sculpture (Location: ELE-ARC)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
365 Science Activities
by Minna Lacey, Dr. Lisa Gillespie and Lucy Bowman, illustrated by Alex Walker, Giulia Olivares, Francesca Carabelli and Binny Talib
from Usborne
for 3rd-6th grade
in Usborne Science Activities (Location: SCI-EXP)
$5.40 (1 in stock)
365 Starry Nights
by Chet Raymo
from Fireside Books
for 6th-Adult
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
4d Human Anatomy Model - Heart
from Fame Master Ltd.
for 3rd-8th grade
in Science Manipulatives & Lab Supplies (Location: SCIREF-LAB)
$13.00 (1 in stock)
Adventures with Atoms and Molecules Book I
by Robert C. Mebane, Thomas R. Rybolt
from Enslow
for 4th-8th grade
in Chemistry (Location: SCI-CHEM)
$8.00 (2 in stock)
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)
Airplane
Inventions that Shaped the World
by Nancy Robinson Masters
from Franklin Watts
for 4th-7th grade
in Things That Go (Location: SCI-TTGO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Airplanes of the Second World War - Coloring Book
Dover Coloring Books
by Carlo Demand
from Dover Publications
for 2nd-6th grade
in Transportation Coloring Books (Location: COL-TRANS)
$5.99 $2.50 (1 in stock)
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)
Amazing Kitchen Chemistry
by Cynthia Light Brown
from Nomad Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Science Experiments & Activities (Location: SCI-EXP)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
America's Deserts
by Marianne D. Wallace
1st edition
for 4th-6th grade
in Deserts & Grasslands (Location: SCI-ECO)
$4.00 (1 in stock)
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 and Their Travels - Deluxe Edition
by Richard A. Martin, series editor Herbert S. Zim
from Golden Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Animals Nobody Knows
by Ivan Sanderson
from Viking Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$35.00 (1 in stock)
Animals on the Move
by Ann and Myron Sutton, illustrated by Paula Hutchison
1968 First Cadmus Edition from Hale-Cadmus
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Readers & Textbooks (Location: VIN-READ)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Animals Up Close
by Igor Siwanowicz
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Zoology (Location: SCI-ZOOL)
$5.00 (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)
Another Field Guide to Little Known and Seldom-Seen Birds of North America
by Ben, Cathryn, and John Sill
from Peachtree Publishers, Ltd.
in Field Guides & Nature Handbooks (Location: NAT-FIELD)
$4.00 (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)
Aquarium Guide
from Answers in Genesis
for 4th-6th grade
in Old Edition Science (Location: OSCI)
$4.00 (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)
Astronomy
by Cheryl Evans, Stuart Atkinson
from Usborne
for 6th-12th grade
in Astronomy (Space) (Location: SCI-AST)
$1.80 (1 in stock)
Astronomy Out of This World!
Pap/Pstr from Kingfisher
for 2nd-7th grade
in Basher Science (Location: SCI-BASH)
$5.00 (2 in stock)
Avenging the Owl
by Melissa Hart
from Sky Pony Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Realistic Fiction (Location: FIC-REA)
$6.00 (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)
Backyard Scientist Series 4
Backyard Scientist
by Jane Hoffman
from Backyard Scientist Publications
for Preschool-6th grade
in Clearance: Science & Health (Location: ZCLE-SCI)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Basher Science: Chemistry
for 3rd-6th grade
in Basher Science (Location: SCI-BASH)
$6.00 (2 in stock)
Basher Science: Engineering
by Simon Basher, Tom Jackson
Reprint from Kingfisher
for 2nd-6th grade
in Basher Science (Location: SCI-BASH)
$9.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Basher Science: Physics: Why Matter Matters
Basher Science
by Dan Green, Simon Basher
First Edition from Kingfisher
for 3rd-6th grade
in Basher Science (Location: SCI-BASH)
$9.99 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Basher Science: Technology
Basher Science
by Simon Basher, Dan Green
Pap/Pstr from Kingfisher
for 3rd-6th grade
in Basher Science (Location: SCI-BASH)
$8.99 $6.29 (1 in stock)
Bell and the Science of the Telephone
by Brian Williams
from Barron's
for 4th-6th grade
in Inventions & Discoveries (Location: SCI-INV)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Best of WonderScience
by Ann T. Bennett, James H. Kessler
1st edition from Wadsworth Publishing Company
for Kindergarten-6th grade
in Clearance: Science & Health (Location: ZCLE-SCI)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Biology
by Joan Distasio
from Instructional Fair
for 6th-9th grade
in Biology (Location: SCI-BIO)
$12.99 $8.50 (2 in stock)
Biology Level I - Laboratory Workbook (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)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Biology Middle/Upper Grades Reproducible Workbook
by Martha Schmitt
from McDonald
for 6th-9th grade
in Biology (Location: SCI-BIO)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Biology, Middle/High School (old)
by Joan Distasio
from Instructional Fair
for 6th-9th grade
in Biology (Location: SCI-BIO)
$4.00 (3 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 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)
Blast Lab
from DK Publishing
for 3rd-6th grade
in Science Experiments & Activities (Location: SCI-EXP)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Blood and Guts
Brown Paper School Books
by Linda Allison
from Little, Brown & Company
for 3rd-8th grade
in Human Anatomy & Physiology (Location: SCI-ANA)
$4.00 (3 in stock)
Blood and Guts
by Linda Allison
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Human Anatomy & Physiology (Location: SCI-ANA)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Bluebirds and Their Neighbors
by Wayne Northey
from Pacific Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in Animal Stories (Location: FIC-ANI)
$4.00 (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)
Body Book
by Donald M. Silver & Patricia J. Wynne
from Scholastic Inc.
for 3rd-6th grade
in Human Anatomy & Physiology (Location: SCI-ANA)
$18.99 $12.00 (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 Insects - Student Text (old)
by Arabella Buckley & Julia McNair Wright
1st edition from Memoria Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Old Edition Science (Location: OSCI)
$10.50 $6.00 (1 in stock)
Book of Insects - Teacher Key
by Laura Bateman
from Memoria Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Memoria Press Science (Location: SCICUR-MP)
$19.45 $13.00 (2 in stock)
Book of Insects - Workbook
by Laura Bateman
1st edition from Memoria Press
for 4th-7th grade
in Memoria Press Science (Location: SCICUR-MP)
$17.35 $11.50 (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)
Book of Trees - Teacher Guide
by Sean Brooks
from Memoria Press
for 6th-8th grade
in Memoria Press Science (Location: SCICUR-MP)
$19.45 $11.50 (1 in stock)
Boys' Book of Model Railroading
by Raymond F. Yates
from Harper & Brothers
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Nonfiction (Location: VIN-NFIC)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Bug Dictionary
from Tangerine Books
for 3rd-6th grade
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Calcium (True Books: Elements)
by Antonia Cunningham
from Children's Press
for 4th-6th grade
in Chemistry (Location: SCI-CHEM)
$6.95 $4.50 (1 in stock)
Can It Rain Cats and Dogs?
by Melvin and Gilda Berger
from Scholastic Reference
for 2nd-6th grade
in Meteorology (Weather & Climate) (Location: SCI-WEA)
$2.00 (2 in stock)
Carbon (True Books: Elements)
by Salvatore Tocci
from DK Children
for 4th-6th grade
in Chemistry (Location: SCI-CHEM)
$3.50 (1 in stock)
Careless Animal
by Ada & Frank Graham Jr.
from Doubleday & Company
for 5th-8th grade
in Ecology (Location: SCI-ECO)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Champions of Invention
Champions of Discovery
by John Hudson Tiner
from Master Books
for 4th-8th grade
in Inventions & Discoveries (Location: SCI-INV)
$4.79 $3.50 (3 in stock)
Chemical Change Science Kit
from Epiphany Curriculum, LLC
for 5th-7th grade
in Moving Beyond the Page (Location: CUR-MBP)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Chemistry Experiments for Children
by Virginia L. Mullin
from Dover Publications
for 4th-6th grade
in Chemistry (Location: SCI-CHEM)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Chemistry for the Logic Stage - Teacher Guide
by Paige Hudson
from Elemental Science
for 5th-8th grade
in Elemental Science (Location: SCICUR-ELE)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Chemistry Level I - Teacher's Manual (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)
$6.00 (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)
Christian Kids Explore Chemistry
by Robert & Elizabeth Ridlon
2nd edition from Bright Ideas Press
for 4th-8th grade
in Christian Kids Explore (Location: SCICUR-CKE)
$15.00 (1 in stock)
Classic Konos Character Curriculum - Obedience
by Jessica Hulcy and Carole Thaxton
from KONOS
for Kindergarten-8th grade
in KONOS Unit Studies (Location: CUR-KON)
$45.00 (1 in stock)
Classical Acts and Facts Science Cards - Biology & Geology (old)
from Classical Conversations
for Kindergarten-8th grade
in Clearance: Science & Health (Location: ZCLE-SCI)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Classical Acts and Facts Science Cards: Anatomy, Chemistry & Origins (old)
from Classical Conversations
for Kindergarten-8th grade
in Clearance: Science & Health (Location: ZCLE-SCI)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Classical Acts and Facts Science Cards: Ecology, Astronomy & Physics (old)
from Classical Conversations
for Kindergarten-8th grade
in Clearance: Science & Health (Location: ZCLE-SCI)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Classical Acts and Facts Science Cards: Uncovering the Design (Cycle 3)
5th edition from Classical Conversations
for Kindergarten-8th grade
in Classical Acts & Facts Cards (Location: HISCUR-CC)
$23.99 $14.00 (2 in stock)
Clouds
by Trudi Strain Trueit
from Franklin Watts
for 3rd-6th grade
in Meteorology (Weather & Climate) (Location: SCI-WEA)
$4.50 (1 in stock)
Coding for Beginners Using Scratch
First Edition from Usborne
for 3rd-7th grade
in Computer Literacy (Location: ELE-COMP)
$9.00 (1 in stock)
Collins Children's Encyclopedia of Nature
for 2nd-6th grade
in Oversized Science Books (Location: SCI-OVER)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
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)
Color Yourself Smart: Human Anatomy
by Wendy L. Leonard, illustrations by Philip Ferguson Jones
from Thunder Bay Press
for 6th-12th grade
in Anatomy Coloring Books (Location: SCI-ANACOL)
$9.00 (2 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)
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)
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)
Coral Reefs
by Laurence Pringle
from Simon and Schuster
for 4th-8th grade
in Seashore & Tidepools (Location: SCI-ECO)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Creation Astronomy
by Felice Gerwitz & Jill Whitlock
from Media Angels Science
for Kindergarten-12th grade
in Stars & Constellations (Location: SCI-AST)
$9.00 (2 in stock)
Creepy Crawlies and the Scientific Method
by Sally Kneidel
from Fulcrum Resources
Science Curriculum for Kindergarten-6th grade
in Clearance: Science & Health (Location: ZCLE-SCI)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
Cut and Make Space Shuttles
by David Kawami
from Dover Publications
for 4th-9th grade
in How Things Work (Location: SCIREF-HOW)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Cyberterrorism
by Jacqueline Ching
from Rosen Central
for 5th-9th grade
in Clearance: General Interest (Location: ZCLE-GEN)
$2.00 (1 in stock)
Deepest Lake
by Kris Hirschmann
1st edition from KidHaven Press
for 3rd-6th grade
in River, Pond & Swamp (Location: SCI-ECO)
$2.00 (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)
Dinosaurs! A Drawing Book
by Michael Emberley
from Little, Brown & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Drawing for Beginners (Location: ELE-ARTDRAW)
$3.00 (1 in stock)
Dinotopia
by James Gurney
from Scholastic Inc.
for 4th-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$8.00 (1 in stock)
Dinotopia: The World Beneath
by James Gurney
2012nd edition from Calla Editions
for 3rd-6th grade
in Fantasy Fiction (Location: FIC-FAN)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
Dirt Track Danger
by Robert Bowen, illustrated by William Blair
from Doubleday & Company
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Fiction & Literature (Location: VIN-FIC)
$12.00 (1 in stock)
Discoverer: The Story of a Satellite
by Michael Chester and Saunders B. Kramer
from G.P. Putnam's Sons
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$18.00 (1 in stock)
Discovering Science on Your Own
by Illa Podendorf, illustrated by Robert Borja
from Grosset & Dunlap
for 3rd-6th grade
in Vintage Science & Math (Location: VIN-SCI)
$10.00 (1 in stock)
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
for 4th-8th grade
in Chemistry (Location: SCI-CHEM)
$6.00 (1 in stock)
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)
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