Science Books & Films - Deborah Stevens, Musselman High School, Warrenton, VA
"2 Stars! These two books, Cool Chemistry Activities for Girls and Cool Engineering Activities for Girls by Jodi Wheeler- Toppen and Heather E. Swartz, respectively, are part of the Girls Science Club set which also includes Cool Biology Activities for Girls and Cool Physics Activities for Girls. (These two titles are not part of this review.) The books are written by women scientists and are part of Capstone Publisher’s Snap brand. As a science teacher and consultant, my chief role is to promote science— especially inquiry-based science. My work as a consultant means interacting with private, public, and home-school teachers in a wide variety of contexts, especially during the summer. The most demanding setting every summer is science camp, which draws about 40 children who range in age from 3-12, many of whom come every year, challenging the adult volunteers to develop a new program each year. Each of these books offers some great ideas to try. Cool Engineering Activities for Girls literally grabs a child’s attention with its first project, a “Litter Grabber” (pp. 6-7) using simple materials: a wire hanger, a wooden dowel, and duct tape. The author, Heather E. Swartz, understands her audience. Girls are different from boys; they do tend to be more altruistic and want to do projects with a purpose. What could be better than making a tool to pick up litter? The “Paper Table” (pp.10-11) with its extension activity to make a four-legged table demonstrate the strength of triangles with a practical application. It would be fun to make the base using different types of cardboard or foam-core. Swartz includes a “Carnival Secret Revealed” (pp. 12-13) that uses balloons, cardboard, masking tape, and darts. The project is simple, inexpensive, and would be a great addition to a school fair or carnival, with kids explaining the science underlying the secret. Cool! Swartz also includes water filters (pp14-15), tie-dye (pp. 20-21), and solar energy activities (pp22-23). Most of the projects are simple and inexpensive making them accessible to a wide range of girls in a variety of settings. Swartz hits the mark with this engineering book for girls; both elementary and middle school-aged girls will enjoy trying these projects. At the end of each book are a glossary, “Read More” section, and “Internet Sites”, and an index. The “Read More” guides the reader to other project books. In both books under the Internet Sites section is a link to www.facthound.com with a number to enter into the site for more references—which works! The books explain that the website, FactHound, is a safe site for kids. The FactHound site requests a child’s grade before entering the code listed in the book; both age groups retrieve the same sites when the code is entered for these books. The www.capstonekids.com website is also available in each book and links to different games, crafts, recipes, etc. available to children. These two books are coming to the first planning meeting for our summer science camp before going to our school’s community library. Both books are sure to be checked out often! They belong in every library and have broad appeal to teachers, elementary and middle school aged students, Girl Scout leaders, and science camp directors. Capstone publishers have done due diligence in selecting authors to write these engaging books sure to capture the imagination of any girl. Well done!" - Science Books & Films
July 1, 2012