Science in a Jar

35+ Experiments in Biology, Chemistry, Weather, the Environment, and More!

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Pub Date 23 Jul 2019 | Archive Date 13 Aug 2019

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Description

With Science in a Jar, kids and grown-ups need only gather a jar and a few other inexpensive and readily available household objects to begin investigating and confirming the science at work all around them. The 35+ experiments included cover various scientific disciplines: life science, earth science, physical science, weather, and more.

Some activities, like creating a cloud in a jar, are quick experiments that can be performed over and over again. Others, like the earthworm habitat, will be enjoyed over time. Science in a Jar also features several projects that help demonstrate how science and art intertwine—the sometimes overlooked “A” in STEAM!

Each experiment is headed by a supplies list and difficulty level, as well as a short description of the project to be undertaken and the scientific principles with which the readers will interact. Directions and photographs guide readers through the scientific method in each experiment, while short features offer multileveled reading opportunities with explanations of terms, interesting quick facts, and brief descriptions of how scientists apply the specific concepts that readers just witnessed in the larger world today.

In addition to providing readers with a better understanding of basic scientific concepts, Science in a Jar ignites curiosity, increases confidence to investigate scientific concepts, and fosters a love of science.
With Science in a Jar, kids and grown-ups need only gather a jar and a few other inexpensive and readily available household objects to begin investigating and confirming the science at work all...

Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9780760364789
PRICE US$17.99 (USD)
PAGES 128

Average rating from 22 members


Featured Reviews

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. Thank you NetGalley.

My two kids - 10 and 5 - think this book is great! We found some great ideas in here and can't wait to try a bit of everything!

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Science in a jar is fun hw to book for easy- to-do science experiment in your own home..
The book contains easy to follow directions and clear photos to ensure your child is doing each project step-by-step. Safe, fun, and accessible Science in a Bottle is a great project for your kids this summer!

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Sometimes I fondly remember the days of homeschooling, when our four kids were baking, cooking, blowing things up, and painting. This book would have been great fun - it allows you to explore the environment and speculate on what might happen.

Then it gives you ideas on what you can do and what should happen: "What could you learn from this project?" Parents will like it for its lessons - but kids will like it because it's a fun book and there are lots of ideas.

Recommended.

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Interesting book for ideas on science crafts. Nice for introducing kids to science in a hands-on way. Also easy to understand.

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It is science book.
It depicts lovely experiments using jars, water, Colors , baking soda and other common household stuff.
Pictures are lovely and make understanding very easy.
Various laws of different streams of science are covered. There are lots of facts to be learnt by toddlers.
Experiments are simple and educational. Recommended to all teenagers who have interest in science experiments. It can work as a primer for scientific thinking and exploration.
Make clouds in jar, grow your seeds, how compost firms, lighting bulb with potatoes. There are many similar experiments.
Thanks netgalley and publisher for review copy.

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Some great ideas - can't wait to try them out! I'm always looking for new ideas and there are plenty inside this fabulous book.

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This is the book I wish I had as a kid. It’s awesome, explains the purpose of the experiment and also allows you to make your own observations.
I personally would have liked to have seen space for the experiment observations, but as that’s not everyone’s style I understand why it’s not been put in.
It’s a perfect book that allows young adults to experience the fun of STEM.

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Digital Arc via netgalley. This book was a lot of fun. The arc still had some display problems with the pictures but I would recommend a hard copy of the book just because the kids can choose more easily which experiment they want to do. I would recommend this book for parents who want to encourage their kids to be scientist and observe and question the world around us in a playful way. 4 stars because I'm missing some disclaimers of adult supervisor and advice to use non toxic glue and non toxic laundry detergent. So please read this book and buy the ingredients before you let your kids be in danger of poisoning themselves. (Older kids probably won't have to be told to not eat slime and wash their fingers after playing with said slime, but you never know)

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Science in a Jar is a new tutorial STEAM resource guide by Julia Garstecki. Released 23rd July 2019 by Quarto on their Quarry imprint, it's 128 pages and available in ebook and flexibound formats. Aimed at middle grade readers aged 8-12, it includes 29 labs with alternate parameter refinements for many of them, split into 5 subject chapters. The individual chapters give a nice overview in life science, chemistry, earth science, physical science, and environmental studies. The links are arranged by chapters and the alphabetical index is cross referenced.

I am constantly talking about the importance of STEAM education on my blog and elsewhere. Tomorrow's critical reasoning, innovation, problem solving, technological and medical breakthroughs are all going to come from the kids we interest today. This book has a bunch of really interesting and fun labs to do together with an adult or with minimal supervision. The supplies for the labs are easily found and can be sourced inexpensively.

It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

Five stars. This would make a great classroom resource book, summer library science activity guide, homeschooling resource guide or gift for a young person.

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I read a NetGalley copy, in exchange for an honest review.

This is the science book I wish I had when I was Homeschooling my children years ago. The be experiments are laid out in an easy to understand fashion with easy to follow materials lists and steps to complete each experiment. I found the thought questions at the end of each experiment valuable as a way to continue the conversation.

The pictures were clear and would be useful in setting up an experiment. This book is ideal for the middle school or an advanced early elementary age learner. I also appreciate the concept of using jars and easy to find materials which removes some of the fear of doing science at home.

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As the kid who hated science nearly all her life I could not stress more the importance of a book like <i>Science in a Jar</i> by Julia Garstecki. I don't know how much earlier exposure to really fascinating pieces of science would have increased my interest, but I like to think that it would have. And <i>Science in a Jar</i> is pretty much just as it states, a collection of fun and engaging science experiments for kids that you can complete all within the confines of a jar-like space. I have to admit, I loved that about this book.

Ultimately the experiments are all fairly simple, easy enough for any parent to do with their child. Some a kiddo, depending on their age, might even be able to manage all on their own. Of course, parent supervision is always a must with these sort of things. I could even see an older sibling doing these experiments with their younger brother or sister, which would be pretty brilliant. Ultimately, they all include the use of a "jar" in one way or another and the science varies from subject to subject.

While one experiment may relate more to life science, another might relate more to chemistry.

I wish I'd had a book like this in my life as a child. Though I actually do have memories of doing some similar experiments in my youth (that egg in vinegar one is actually quite fascinating, if a little gross), I find that my lack of interest in science did hinder me somewhat as I got older. It would have been nice to see if a book like this might have changed that. This is definitely a book I would recommend to all parents. There's a lot of useful aspects to having a guide to science opportunities within one's everyday lives.

<i>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

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This is a well illustrated, comprehensive how-to book that teaches kids how to do simple science experiments with jars and a few other household materials. It goes into great detail about the scientific process and has step-by-step photos of the directions for each experiment. Most important, a simple summary of the science is provided at the end of each experiment, sometimes with variations to try.

Chapters and experiments included are:

Life sciences -- grow a beansprout, make color changing carnations, examine pond water with a magnifying glass, create a wormery, have jars of warm water in a "huddle" and one to the side to see that heat leaves the lone jar sooner

Chemistry -- try to mix oil and water, add dish soap to the oil and water, make elephant toothpaste (yeast, dish soap, hydrogen peroxide, food coloring), combine baking soda and vinegar, change the color of purple cabbage water with an acid and a base, dissolve the eggshells off eggs in vinegar and then put one in corn syrup and one in water to see how they change, make slime with glue and liquid laundry detergent (and add things to vary it)

Earth science -- make a tornado, use food coloring and water to simulate the different depths of the ocean, put a balloon on top of a jar with burning paper inside to learn about air pressure, an elaborate experiment stripping the wires of Christmas lights and building a conductivity meter with a 9-volt battery to test the conductivity of salt water, see if eggs float or sink in salt water and fresh water, make epsom salt crystals, use ice and hot water with hair spray to make clouds

Physical science -- use a jar to amplify and direct music from a smart phone, make water sound different by sloshing it differently in a jar, make musical scales by filling jars with different amounts of water, refract a drawing of an arrow through a jar of water, make a pencil appear to bend by standing it in water, make "walking water" that fills empty jars with colored water via folded paper towels that mix the colors, use surface tension to drop nail polish colors on water and then dip your fingers in to paint your nails, put iron fillings in a jar and use a magnet to move them around, use a washer and string to try to simulate launching a space shuttle

Environmental science -- make compost in a jar, erode M&Ms in water in jars, see how food coloring disperses in hot water versus ice water, compare how nails rust in liquids like salt water and vinegar, try to remove pollutants like newspaper and detergent from water

Most of us have probably already done most of these experiments with our kids or classes, but it's nicely compiled by type of science and there are a few that were new to me. It also is refreshingly science-based for a science activity book. As with most science experiment/fun books, I do wish it went into even more of the science that's going on. For example, for the baking soda and vinegar activity, the explanation is: "Baking soda and vinegar react to each other because they exchange atoms. Baking soda is a base, and it wants a proton. The vinegar is an acid, and it will get rid of a proton. When the acid gives the base a proton, it creates the exciting fizzing reaction you just saw!". This sort of explanation is MUCH better than none at all, but many kids will have a lot of unanswered questions and a little more information would really take it farther. Still, the book provides more science than many of this type. It also provides a glossary, suggested reading list and works cited list.

My rating system:

1 = hated it
2 = it was okay
3 = liked it
4 = really liked it
5 = love it, plan to purchase, and/or would buy it again if it was lost

I read a temporary digital ARC of the book for the purpose of review.

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Julia Garstecki's book "Science in a Jar," is a fun introduction for kids to the world of science. The book covers fun subjects like chemistry, biology, the weather, your environment and many other topics. The nice thing about this book is that these are experiments your 6 or 7-year-old kids can do without a lot of assistance from you.

This book and the experiments herein give kids confidence to explore the world around them and help them to see things through a new lens. There are over 35 experiments to try out and each have easy-to-follow instructions and pictures to help the child understand what to do.

I received this eBook free of charge from Quarto Publishing Group – Quarry via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. I did not receive any fiscal compensation from either company for this review and the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.

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This is a really practical Science book. I loved it. It was great fun and the experiments were interesting and fun to carry out. It included easy to follow steps for each experiment as well as detailed diagrams. It also covered every aspect of the science curriculum, chemistry, earth science, environmental science, life science and physical science. There is something in this book for every lover of science as well as experiments to attract every student towards the realm of science. We loved it and my kids are now hooked.

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It is difficult to choose which experiment is the most interesting- I want to do all of them with my little ones and I will! Chemistry, life sciences, physics, meteorology- you name it, they are all here with lots of fascinating projects, clearly illustrated and explained.
Thank you to NetGalley and Quarry (Quarto Publishing Group) for the ARC provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

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Some cool science projects in here, all that can easily be done at home. Plenty of imagery to break up the text and make it more interesting for children.
Teaching all the basics about science experiments and providing hints and tips along the way. Something fun and educational- particularly in the school holidays

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This is one of my favorite types of books for kids -- one where they can jump in and actively learn things while having fun! This book gives many different STEM activities which can be done in jars. Parents, teachers, and kids will like this book!

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Awesome experiments for kids who love science. Some could be used in a classroom, too. most use things found around a home, so putting together these projects could be relatively un-expensive and easy. That should make parents happy. Step by step instructions and lots of photos of kids doing the projects is inspiring, too. Good book for a collection needing experiment books.

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A great book for little scientist and their moms or dads. I don't think that there is anything that they could have done to make it better. they really did a nice job illustrating and writing out every experiment. It is a must do if you're tying to get someone interested in science.

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This was an easy to follow, interesting read. Lots of fun experiments and as a teacher I know I will use some of them in my classroom.

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