Here is a list of a few things that kids love, in no particular order:
1. Gross stuff
2. Making a mess
3. Making things explode
4. Experiments
When you combine all of these, and throw in some pictures and facts, you have the most dynamically explosive and dangerous book, perfect for boys and girls who want to make things and learn about them too. We give you, THE BOOK OF POTENTIALLY CATASTROPHIC SCIENCE by Sean Connolly. Sean made his way through five cities and six schools last week, wreaking havoc and demonstrating some of the best experiments from his prize-winning book.
Those watching learned a little about friction with Newton’s Science Friction and got messy with the crowd-pleasing Edward Jenner’s Germ Experiment. In the photo you can see a group of 4th, 5th, & 6th graders from Knapp Forest Elementary School in Grand Rapids, MI, with their eyes glued on Sean.
The tour ended in Washington DC as Sean accepted the 2011 AAAS & Subaru SB&F Award for Excellence in Science Books in the hands-on category presented by the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Quite the honor!
On Sunday, Sean appeared at the AAAS Family Science Day, where he presented the great video made by the Workman Studio and demonstrated more of his dangerously cool experiments. Even The Washington Post took notice!
Cheers to our friend for bringing a first-place prize back home to the UK and representing Workman children’s authors!
Our friends at Scholastic Book Clubs recently paid homage to some of the most dangerous scientific discoveries of all time with a demonstration of the Soda Bottle Rocket. If you like suspense, learning, and explosions, this video is for you.
Now if only I could convince the powers that be to let me spend a day channeling my inner mad scientist…
Summer vacation is right around the corner and kids will want to play! If parents are searching for fun (and educational!) projects to occupy the time, then look no further than Sean Connolly’s The Book of Potentially Catastrophic Science. It’s the best of both worlds—exciting experiments backed by real scientific principles. Using common items found around the house or outdoors, these experiments will encourage young minds….
With a long weekend right around the corner, why not give one of the projects a whirl. This one retraces Isaac Newton’s steps – just make sure it’s performed outside, it gets messy!
Newton’s Third Law of Motion: Experiment #14
This is a great way to see equal and opposite forces in action (and reaction). When you let go of the holes in the carton, the water goes shooting out. That is the first force. It also pushes back on the carton with equal force, just as the fuel burning out of the back propels a rocket forward. But because you are holding the carton in place from above, the linear (straight-line) force becomes converted into a rotational (spinning) force.
Materials:
Empty half-gallon beverage carton
Pencil
Scissors
String
Friend to help and observe
Water
1. Use a pencil to jab a hole in the bottom-left corner of each side of the carton.
2. Make a similar hole in the center of the top flap. (This might be a little too tough for the pencil, so you can use the scissors.)
3. Cut a 2-foot length of string and tie one end through the hole in the flap.
4. Hold each of the four bottom holes while your friend fills the carton with water and holds the free end of the string.
5. Get your friend to hold the string up and away from herself, and let go of the four holes.
6. Water should rush out of the holes and the carton should spin around until the water runs out.
Author Sean Connolly delights the hosts of Fox & Friends by toasting grilled cheese sandwiches in a pizza box oven and demonstrates some “Science Friction” on the 10! show on NBC Philadelphia. The Book of Potentially Catastrophic Science starts selling like crazy as he climbs on a plane back to England at the end of a long, hugely successful book tour. Thank you, Sean. And thank you Sir Isaac Newton.
Experiments that pop, ooze, bang, crash, and teach! The Book of Potentially Catastrophic Science by Sean Connolly is packed with experiments that lead kids through the history of science and teach scientific principals with outrageously fun, hands-on exercises. Watch the video below for more!
Wow. There certainly is something to be said for letting your kids dig around in the dirt . . . Check out this BBC video about Matthew Berger, the 9-year-old archaeologist who unearthed (literally!) A NEW SPECIES OF HUMAN.
Set up your own budding entomologist with a readymade backyard toolkitinThe Bug Book and Bug Bottleby Hugh Danks. Or encourage your maddest scientist to wreak experimental havoc with Sean Connolly’s The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science. She may not wind up changing the course of history–but then again, who knows!
We always love hearing about people using our books in fun ways, but it’s even better to see it in action! Check out this YouTube discovery–a science homeschool lesson using the Tea Bag Hot Air Balloon experiment from The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science.
Celebrate the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11′s moon landing with these two experiments from The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science by Sean Connolly. Send a homemade rocket zooming off a kitchen launching pad with the Film Canister Rocket experiment, or have way too much fun with physics with the Tennis Ball Moon Bounce. Scroll down for instructions.
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