contents How To be a scientist 4 engineering scientist's secret outdoor lab waterfall wall triangular bubble magic air cannon breathless balloon blow water wheel cotton ball cannon dirty batteries on the hunt for space rocks astronomically good telescope nature mushroom printing bug pooting what can a plant sense a feast fit for moths bee hotel color-changing flowers egg pots meteorology i can see a rainbow of sorts Touching lightning hot air cold air telling time no batteries required hold a tornado in your hands build your own weather station part 1 weather vane part 2 barometer part 3 RAIN GAUGE part 4 anemometer part 5 thermometer to your stations 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 30 32 34 36 38 40 42 46 48 50 52 54 56 58 59 60 62 64
How to be a scientist It’s helpful to have a notebook or journal where you can write down notes on your experiments and ideas for new ones Take your science notebook out with you and take notes on things that you see If you go on a nature walk write down or draw different birds bugs or animals you spot Keep an eye out for fossils in rocks or look for shooting stars in the sky The more you notice about the world around you the more you’ll be able to think of new questions Observe Ask questions Do bubbles have to be round Can they be triangular shaped Keep thinking of questions and writing them down If you find out the answer later add it to your notebook Try to guess what will happen before it happens This is called making a prediction What will happen if you use a longer rubber band on your cotton ball cannon What will happen if you use salt instead of sugar to make a rainbow in a jar Write down what you think will happen before you do the experiment 4
Do the experiment Make notes on how you do the experiment All sorts of things can make a difference to how the results turn out Is it hot or cold that day Wet or dry Did you change the experiment in any way Then write down what happened If you took any measurements write them down Draw pictures or take photos to tape into your notebook come up with new questions Use the results to think up other questions How would you do things differently next time What do you think would change Start the process all over again This process is known as the scientific method People have been following these steps for over a thousand years and it has helped scientists work out the answers to questions from What happens if I hit this thing with a big rock to What shape is the Universe Notes for grown-ups Science is a big topic so don’t worry if you don’t know all the answers If your child asks you something you’re not sure about think together about how you can change the experiment to find out or where you can look it up When doing these experiments with your child keep things light and fun and let your child take the lead Help them with the tricky bits ask lots of questions and make sure they stay safe WARNING Some of the experiments in this book involve potential hazards such as heat or sharp implements The publisher strongly recommends that parents and guardians supervise their children during ALL activities giving particular attention to stages marked with a triangle warning sign Whenever starting out on one of these experiments always read through the instructions and consider what safety precautions are necessary It is a good idea to involve your child with this discussion identifying risks and taking sensible precautions is a key part of laboratory life Talk about questions like whether it would be best to wear protective clothing such as goggles or rubber gloves and whether it is best to do the experiment inside or outside in a safe place Always use your judgement and stay safe 5
