Science Kits For Kids, Your Recommendations

[hometown]

Dear Scientists,

What do you think? Do these make good gifts or do most of them end up in a closet? Do kids who get them really have fun with them? Can you learn any useful science from them? Do you have any favorite recommendations for children of 10 - 12 years?

Thanks,

Chrissie

[heidi]

Hi Chrissie and welcome. I think science kits make fantastic gifts. Are you interested in chemistry kits or physics or biology kits or even astronomy kits?

[thor3436]

i sugest that you get a little crystal maker set . thats what i like and i am only in the 6th grade . all of my friends are interested in chemistry , physics ,and biology .

[hometown]

Thanks heidi and thor3436. I feel education isn't valued enough these days. I have several nephews and nieces. I'd like to give them science kits to help them become enthusiastic about learning. Chemistry, physics, biology, astronomy,,,, or any other kits are great. Fun and enthusiasm are the most important things.

Thanks,

Chrissie

[whitfield]

Hi Chrissie, it's not exactly what you asked for, but I'd recommend these books you can buy through Amazon or elsewhere. The children you have in mind might think the books are for younger children, but that's something you'll know better than me.

Smash It! Crash It! Launch It!: 50 Mind-Blowing, Eye-Popping Science Experiments

Science experiments books seldom look like fun. This volume is the exception, with 43 great activities accompanied by appealing ink-and-watercolor illustrations. Readers will be hard-pressed to choose between options such as the "Exploding Marshmallows," Skateboard Science," and the "Water Balloon Launcher." Each single- or double-page presentation includes a short list of materials, step-by-step directions for completing the projects, and a discussion of what happened, in scientific terms. Students looking for clues to help in bridge-building or egg-dropping competitions will find those areas discussed as well. Though written and illustrated with considerably more zip than the typical science experiment book, this upbeat volume doesn't neglect safety warnings or explanations of the physics behind the phenomena. The occasional mess is a given, as in "Banana Split," which demonstrates inertia and wedges by having children fling bananas at a knife held blade-outward by an "adult helper" five or six feet away. Offbeat, yes, but fun and scientifically grounded. Carolyn Phelan


http://www.amazon.com/Smash-Crash-La...474842&sr=1-15

It's Not Magic, It's Science!: 50 Science Tricks that Mystify, Dazzle & Astound

Every child who performs these 50 fabulous feats will feel like a magician—but the magic here is really science at play. Every trick in the book has a sound, easy-to-understand scientific explanation that will stimulate kids’ understanding of basic concepts. Even as they’re having fun, children will wow the crowd by poking a skewer through a balloon without making it pop, or balancing a penny on a coat hanger. Nothing’s cooler than watching a real egg get sucked into a glass bottle, picking up ice without even touching it, or whipping up fizzy and colorful solutions that any mad scientist would prize. Wild optical illusions will boggle the mind and astound the eye.


http://www.amazon.com/Its-Not-Magic-..._bxgy_b_text_b

[heidi]

I'll show you what I'm buying for my brother. Its a magnetic ball puzzle for $17.95. Its made up of 216 very powerful rare-earth magnetic balls.



I think its a cool education toy because it promotes 3D thinking & symmetry and these are important in math, chem and physics. You can also make atomic structures with it like hexagonal close packing and cubic close packing.

It says its for 14 years and up but my brothers younger than that. Its not for young children because the magnets are very, very strong and quite small. There's a neat video on Amazon showing some ideas about how you can use it.

http://www.amazon.com/Neocube-216pc-...dp/B001EM1SEA/

[thor3436]

i'm getting those . i think there called bucky balls or something like that