Cosmic Science

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

Turn an empty pop bottle into a chemical projectile launcher. Create
your own moon craters with chocolate chips. Use your hand and a common
light bulb to measure the energy output of the sun from 93 million miles
away. Discover how an 18th-century scientist named Johann Bode
mathematically proved that the planet Uranus existed before anyone had
ever seen it or even expected it to be out there.

These are a few of the experiments young readers can try after reading
this book by award-winning science teacher and children’s author Jim
Wiese. He has already written four other science books featuring fun and
informative activities that combine a lot of imagination with a few
inexpensive materials. Typical materials required in this book are
rubber bands, a roll of toilet paper, a broom stick, string, a dozen
pennies, and chocolate pudding. Seven well-illustrated chapters explore
the subjects of gravity, the solar system, rocket propulsion, space
exploration and lunar travel. Most of the activities are fun, but
readers are also encouraged to keep notes of their results in order to
practise proper scientific method. A glossary of scientific terms and a
thorough index are included. Adult supervision is required for a few
experiments that involve the use of matches, knives, or ammonia bleach,
but, with proper care, all the experiments can be performed by young
readers.

Fun in themselves, these experiments could form the foundation of some
impressive science projects. Highly recommended.