I'm a teacher, a parent, and a kid at heart; so I'm naturally drawn to books, toys, and science kits that bring physics and related topics to life. Today's grab bag, tested by yours truly, and/or his sons:
The SmartLab Toys series of science kits. We got the Voice Changer kit and had fun wiring it together. Speech, alas, is largely unintelligible through this distorting amplifier; but the device does allow you to shape interesting sounds with your voice. What especially impressed me was not so much the kit as "Listen Up!", the book that came with it. Rich in detail, yet easy to read, it starts with topics like frequency and pitch and goes on to explain digital recording and then to outline several low-tech experiments, none requiring electronics or batteries.
The ScienceWiz series of science kits. I first saw these at last year's Boston, MA, meeting of the National Science Teachers Association (a great place to shop for science toys!). I met, and was immediately drawn to, the company's founder, Penny Norman, and her well-thought-out kits on electronics, magnetism, and related topics. Then my six-year-old and I were each given one of Penny's kits as gifts in rapid succession. While the folks who assemble such kits must import fairly low-grade materials in order to control costs, I found the materials in these kits better than those in several sold by some much larger and more famous outfits; and the accompanying booklets do a first-rate job of explaining the underlying science as well as the actual procedures. Good stuff!
Many of you may know Columbia University physicist Brian Greene for his accessible books on cutting-edge physics, or for his fabulous PBS miniseries, The Elegant Universe, which somehow manages to humanize string theory - the ultramathematical, and hotly contested, "theory of everything." Well, I don't know if Dr. Greene himself has become a dad or his agent knows a good market opportunity, but he recently wrote a children's book, "Icarus at the Edge of Time," that recasts the Greek myth as a space-travel tale centered on a black hole. A heavy book, both literally and figuratively, "Icarus" is beautifully designed, written, and manufactured (think of it as a board book for the budding astrophysicist attending the local preschool). A category-buster, to be sure!
Next up: a phenomenal series of three science titles illustrated by cartoonist Simon Basher. Physics: Why Matter Matters! may look glib at a first glance, with its single-page entries on neutrinos, mass, and the like - each looking somewhat like a science trading card, with key statistics followed by a short paragraph or two of text. But don't the book's diminutive size and modest price fool you - tremendous insight is packed into this slender tome and its Chemistry and Biology kin.
Last, but not least, the large-format, riotously illustrated Science Verse, by Jon Scieszka and Lane Smith. A sampling:
Once in first grade I was napping
When I heard a scary yapping,
Frightful word - worse than a slapping,
Worse than twenty T. rex roars.
Said our teacher, heartless creature,
"My class, you know, always explores
Ten full weeks of ... DINOSAURS."
...
Miss Lucy had some matter.
She didn't know its state.
She only had three choices,
So tried to get it straight.
She thought it could be liquid,
Quite possibly a gas.
And if it wasn't solid,
Well call me sassafras.
Old farts like me are forever wringing our hands about the supposed death of the printed word at the hand of the Internet, instant messaging, and a gazillion channels of cable TV. But then we turn around, spend hundreds of dollars on books and educational "toys" like these, and shower them upon our kids, our students, our neighborhood school libraries, and various and sundry relatives of a certain (attitudinal or actual) age. For my part, I'm hoping that the muse will strike and one day I will find myself not only buying, reading, and using such jewels but writing a few of my own.