Calgary Science Fun Guide

Sandy Campbell is a reference librarian in the Science and Technology Library at the University of Alberta.

These three volumes are directories of organizations that offer various
sorts of scientific programs for children. The layout is the same in
each. An organization is described on the left facing page while on the
right facing page there is a description of an experiment or activity.
Usually, the activity is thematically related to the organization. For
example, opposite the listing for the Coal Council of Canada is
“Making a Coal Flower Garden,” while opposite the Ducks Unlimited
Canada Greenwing Program is “Creating a Bird Habitat.” The Edmonton
and Calgary guides won the 1998 Alberta Book Award for Best Children’s
Book. There is considerable overlap between these guides, particularly
with respect to the activities. The material in the South Vancouver
Island volume, with its earth science focus, is mainly different.

The organizations listed in each book are located in the geographic
area covered by that book. An exception to this rule appears in the
Edmonton book, which lists the Waterloo, Ontario–based Canadian
Industrial Innovation Centre. One wonders why this particular
organization was listed and not science organizations in other parts of
the country.

The directory part of the books will be more useful to daycare workers
or teachers than to parents. Typically, the organizations listed offer
group tours, speakers, displays, and teachers’ kits. There is also a
list in the back of each volume linking the activities to the
appropriate provincial science curriculum.

Anyone looking specifically for a book of activities would do better
with Steve and Ruth Bennett’s 365 TV-Free Activities You Can Do With
Your Child, which includes many of the same activities. Recommended for
teachers and for public and school libraries in the regions covered by
the books.