Janice VanCleave's the Solar System: Mind-Boggling Experiments You Can Turn into Science Fair Projects
Grade 4-6-Twenty interesting (but not mind-boggling) experiments. A brief but informative introduction describes the book's organization and provides suggestions for presenting a project in a science fair. Each chapter establishes a problem to be explored, lists materials needed (all easily available), details a step-by-step procedure with adequate attention to safety, explains the results, and proposes ways to expand the experiment. "Check It Out!" segments ask related questions and refer interested readers to other titles. There are simple but useful line diagrams and charts. While several of the activities are similar to those included in Janice VanCleave's Astronomy for Every Kid (Wiley, 1991), the ideas for extending the experiments and the emphasis on turning the results into science-fair projects are welcome and valuable.Elaine Fort Weischedel, Franklin Public Library, MACopyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.