Crime Scene Science Fair Projects
Grade 6–10—This book does a superb job of giving new life to the boring old projects students do year after year. Harris begins with an explanation of forensic science and how it's applied in the everyday world, followed by a discussion of how to plan for a successful project. The projects involve lie detection, lifting fingerprints, recovering data from burned documents, and so on; they use supplies that are easy to obtain and, for the most part, inexpensive. Experiments that require adult supervision are clearly marked, and dynamic color photos and drawings on every spread add to the volume's energetic feel. Add-ons, like the history of DNA fingerprinting or an excerpt from Sherlock Holmes, make for a bit of pleasure reading. The author's concise, lively style will even engage students who aren't fond of reading nonfiction. A great addition to libraries looking for more science-fair books.—Esther Keller, I.S. 278, Marine Park, NYCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.