Books in Life Science Projects for Kids series

From ancient times, people have wanted to learn about the sky. The stars, planets, and other heavenly bodies have been observed for centuries, and theories have changed as the equipment used has improved. Though we now know that the Sun is the center of our solar system, and planets and other objects move around it, we still have a lot to learn. What is a comet made of? Why is Pluto now called a dwarf planet? What causes a solar eclipse? A lunar eclipse? This book will help you answer these questions and more. Whether you try the experiments and activities in this book for fun or for a school project, you ll discover why so many people are fascinated by our solar system.

It s a tough life out there. Throughout Earth s six major biomes tundra, taiga, rain forest, temperate deciduous forest, grassland, and desert plants and animals use special strategies to cope with challenges in their environment. Have you ever wondered how plants survive in the desert? Or what happens to worms in the winter? Or where you fit in a food web? In this book, you ll find these answers and more by doing experiments about Earth s biomes. Learn to think like an ecologist as you plant, bake, and dig your way through biomes around the globe.

What do sponges, worms, and mollusks have in common? They re all simple animals. They are also unique, cool, slimy, fun, and (sometimes) creepy! There are hundreds of thousands of different species within these three groups of animals. From the color-changing cuttlefish to foot-long parasitic worms that infect humans and grow underneath their skin, from the colorful underwater sponge to the banana slug, sponges, worms, and mollusks are fun to learn about. In this book, you ll explore these diverse groups of animals through hands-on activities, projects, and experiments. Whether you try the projects for fun or for a science fair, you ll get an up-close and personal view of leeches, earthworms, snails, and more.

Mysterious and powerful, volcanoes remind us that nature is in charge. We watch in awe as they erupt with fiery rivers of lava or with explosions that bury whole towns in ash. Volcanoes literally turn the earth inside out, bringing hot molten rock from deep inside the earth to the surface. Learn more about the spectacular geology behind volcanoes with twelve fun science projects you can do yourself. You ll think like a volcanologist as you build a model volcano that really erupts, re-create the formation of Hawaii, and make your own power station using the heat that powers volcanic eruptions. Get up close and personal with the destructive forces of the earth!

Believe it or not, fish and amphibians have a lot in common with humans. All have backbones, and like humans, some fish and amphibians produce live young. With these fun and easy science experiments, you can explore many more similarities and differences between fish, amphibians, and you. What organs do we share, and which ones are different? Do we have the same type of vision? How about the sense of touch? Find out these answers and more, including how fish move through water and what keeps them from sinking. You can also help make life easier for some of these creatures by exploring their ecosystems and making a home for sensitive species. Grab your science notebook and get ready to explore these fabulous creatures.

You ve heard it before: You look just like your mother. You have your uncle s nose. Have you ever wondered why? Austrian monk Gregor Mendel did. In the 1860s he became the first to scientifically study how characteristics pass from generation to generation. One hundred years later, James Watson and Francis Crick unraveled the structure of DNA. Genetics research has brought remarkable advances, from cloning to magic-bullet drugs to combat cancer. Learn more about genetics with twelve fun projects to do yourself. You ll think like a scientist as you extract DNA from strawberries, identify traits passed down from your parents, and even cross-breed Gummi-Bear candies. Explore how tiny molecules inside each cell connect us to all living things on earth!

Scientists have known for a long time that things move in predictable patterns. It took an apple falling to help further their knowledge, though. We now know how things move and why. Scientists continue to study motion and the forces that cause it, and you can too! In this book, you ll learn about pushes and pulls and different types of energy. The next time you play soccer, you ll be able to use your new scientific knowledge to teach your friends and family why that soccer ball moves the way it does.

There are over 10,000 species of birds and about 9,000 species of reptiles in the world. Both of these animal groups are wonderfully diverse from the flighted to the flightless and the legged to the legless. Scientists have long debated the relationship between birds and reptiles. Whether or not birds and reptiles are truly related, everyone can agree that there are some physical similarities between the species, from the eggs they both lay to the scales that can be found on their bodies. But what about the differences? Birds have feathers and are warm-blooded. Reptiles slither, crawl, and creep and are cold-blooded. Scientists study these similarities and differences by observing and experimenting, and now you can too. Whether you try the experiments and activities in this book for fun or for a science fair project, you ll get an up-close and personal view of these two incredible types of animals. Are they related? You be the judge!

Earth is home to several million species, only about 5,400 of which are mammals. Although this group is small, it is remarkably diverse, including everything from humans and our pet dogs to massive whales and minuscule shrews. Mammals have spread to almost every habitat on the planet and can be found on land, in the sea, and in the air. What do these animals have in common with each other and us? How do they adapt to their environments? Which mammals live near you? Scientists answer such questions through observation and experimentation and so can you. You can create a system to classify mammal groups, compare and contrast other mammals body systems with your own, discover how mammals overcome seasonal challenges such as snow, set up an observation station to watch the mammals in your neighborhood, and conduct a scientific census to determine their numbers. Whether for a school science fair or just for fun, these projects will help you better understand the diverse, magnificent creatures that are our closest relatives in the animal kingdom.

What do CDs, lamps, lasers, and microwave ovens all have in common? They all use the power of light and optics! From ancient times when scientists puzzled over the effects of the Sun on Earth to today, where scientists and engineers use lasers to make precise cuts in metal, people have been fascinated by light and optics. In this book, you ll delve into this incredible subject and learn how light can bend and bounce. You ll understand how scientists use light to send data from one side of the world to the other. And, you ll have fun discovering new things to do with flashlights and mirrors. These experiments and activities can be used as a starting point for science fair projects, or you can do them just for fun. Either way, you ll find out a lot about the properties of light!

We can t control the weather, but the weather surely controls us. What we do, where we go, what we wear, and even what we eat depend to some extent on the weather. There s no doubt about it: weather plays a big role in our lives. But what exactly is weather, and what causes it? Why is it sunny one day and cloudy the next? What are hail and fog? A Project Guide to Wind, Weather, and the Atmosphere explains how events that occur miles above Earth s surface produce different types of weather. Simple experiments give a hands on approach to studying sunlight, air temperature, and atmospheric pressure. Also included are directions for making meteorological instruments, including a precipitation gauge and barometer. There may be no way to control the weather, but you can find out how to predict weather events and how to prepare for them.

Electrical and magnetic forces are so much a part of our everyday lives, that we don t often think about how they work or how they are related. Before digital music players and eBook readers were commonplace, though, scientists put a lot of effort into discovering just what these forces were and how to harness their energy in ways that would make life easier. Through their experimentation, they discovered the connection between electrical and magnetic forces. They found ways to bring electricity to people who wanted it. Today, we benefit from these discoveries, but there are always new things to discover! Whether you try the experiments and activities in this book for fun or for a science fair project, you ll get an up-close look at the forces of electricity and magnetism. Enjoy each of the shocking activities in this book as you discover the pull of science!