Recreate Discoveries About Forces

Although there is great value in providing opportunities for young scientists to investigate, create and invent on their own, there is also value in exposing them to some of the great ideas and discoveries of scientists who have gone before them. The “Recreate Scientific Discoveries” series by Crabtree Publishing is excellent at briefly summarizing the scientific theory behind each invention or discovery and giving students a hands-on activity to apply the knowledge.

Like other books in the “Recreate Scientific Discoveries” series, Recreate Discoveries About Forces is filled with easy to follow step-by-step directions for projects based on a scientific theme. In this case, the projects are about applied force, gravity, friction, electric force, upthrust, and air resistance.

The instructions are clear and well-illustrated. The list of “What You Need” for each project requires items commonly found in your home. Some activities do recommend adult assistance or supervision.

The series follows the standard non-fiction format, including a table of contents, glossary, index, and a short list of books and websites with further information on the topics. There are also a few suggestions for where to buy materials for the projects, such as Staples and Home Depot, although the websites given are American.

Recreate Discoveries About Forces is organized into 10 projects of increasing complexity, including a speeding car stunt ramp, pressure diver, a whale race and other projects to investigate momentum, air pressure, pendulums, surface tension, and other scientific principles.

Each project provides some background information about a person who originated or contributed to the knowledge in each area.

For example:

Agnes Pockels (1862-1935)

German experimenter Agnes Pockels wanted to study science. At the time, most universities weren’t open to women.

Her brother went to university. Agnes borrowed his books. She did her own experiments. She explored water and surface tension. Surface tension is a force that makes water molecules pull towards each other. The tension creates a “skin” on the surface of the water. It can hold up small objects.

Students will find lots to do and learn in Recreate Discoveries About Forces. The historic information combined with the simple projects will encourage young readers to think more deeply about each of the topics. The simple hands-on activities will be popular with multimodal learners.