Books with author Robert Friedhoffer

Introduction Science does not have to be a scary thing reserved for people who wear white lab coats and work in sterile looking laboratories. Many scientists do not work in a lab. Some wear their favorite jeans, sneakers, and a T-shirt every day. Science does not have to be complicated by math. The basic concepts of science are as important as the math that is usually used to describe what is happening. Science does not have to involve experiments that damage the Earth or aid in making bigger, more powerful guns and bombs. Environmental scientists perform experiments that help the environment. Medical researchers do work that relieves pain and prolongs life. Science can be fun. If it weren't for science, we wouldn't have TVs, arcade games, ovens, TV dinners, microwaveable popcorn, bicycles, VCRs, elevators, escalators, cars, motorcycles, sewing machines, paper, or computers. Science is something that you can do every day of your life-using objects that you find in your house, in your yard, or at a store. When I was a youngster, I always wanted to know what made things work. I liked to do experiments. There were not many books that explained scientific principles using normal, everyday objects. Later on, as an adult, I wanted to write a few books that would help students perform experiments and have fun, while learning science at home. Sometimes it's a real drag to sit and listen to a teacher explain things. It can be much more fun-and more revealing-to perform these experiments and observations yourself. This book is intended to help you learn about science by performing experiments and making observations with items that you can find in almost any housewares store or housewares department of a large department store. You do not have to buy any of the items described in this book-you can examine them to see how they work while browsing in the store. But if you decide to do this, be sure to handle the merchandise carefully. Do not break or destroy the items or their packaging. To write this book, I went to a number of housewares stores and found many items that utilize scientific principles. Some of these items are so simple that you might not realize that there is a scientific basis to them. After you read this book, you might want to take some friends through one of these stores and ask them if they know why certain things work. Scattered throughout this book you will see a safety symbol. Ask an adult to help you whenever you see this symbol. The symbol indicates that the experiment is a little bit dangerous or difficult. I'd hate to see you get discouraged or hurt while you're learning about science in a housewares store!