Description
Former elementary-school teacher Spangler has made a small empire out of finding the hands-on fun in science, with regular appearances on The Ellen DeGeneres Show and his own extensive website, on which he markets educational toys and products. The creator of the Mentos Diet Coke geyser experiment that became a YouTube video sensation, Spangler uses cheap, everyday materials to invent entertaining, highly kid-appealing activities, many of which are collected in this volume. Heavily illustrated with colour photos and described in funny, casual prose, the experiments will easily engage a young audience, and each is followed by a succinct explanation of the science concepts at play, from the potato launcher, which encourages kids to shoot spud pellets at close range as they learn about pressure and volume, to bouncing and folding eggs and soda-bottle lava lamps, which demonstrate chemical reactions and density. Serious safety cautions appear throughout the irreverent chapters, while “Take It Further” sections encourage fired-up lab partners to continue the activities. A boon for parents and teachers alike, this should find a large, enthusiastic audience. Grades 3-6. –Gillian Engberg
