Constellations for Every Kid: Easy Activities that Make Learning Science Fun

By Janice VanCleave

Book Overview

Where can you find Leo the lion?

How can you bring a constellation into your room?

What are the oldest stars?

How did the Milky Way Galaxy get its name?

Now you can explore the answers to these and other questions inJanice VanCleave's Constellations for Every Kid. Find theconstellations Draco, Libra, Hydra, Hercules, and many more fromyour own backyard. Make a star disk that can track star movements.Find out what a balloon can tell us about stars. With activitieslike making an astronomer's flashlight and a shoebox planetarium, Janice VanCleave's Constellations for Every Kid will have youreaching for the stars.

Each of the activities begins with a statement of purpose, followedby a list of materials, step-by-step instructions, expectedresults, and an easy-to-understand explanation. Every activity hasbeen pretested and can be performed safely and inexpensively athome or in the classroom.

Also available in this series from Janice VanCleave:
* ASTRONOMY FOR EVERY KID
* BIOLOGY FOR EVERY KID
* CHEMISTRY FOR EVERY KID
* DINOSAURS FOR EVERY KID
* EARTH SCIENCE FOR EVERY KID
* ECOLOGY FOR EVERY KID
* GEOGRAPHY FOR EVERY KID
* GEOMETRY FOR EVERY KID
* THE HUMAN BODY FOR EVERY KID
* MATH FOR EVERY KID
* OCEANS FOR EVERY KID
* PHYSICS FOR EVERY KID

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471159794
• ISBN13: 9780471159797
• Release Date: July 1997
• Publisher: Wiley
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.82 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

A great book to start : kids or adults alike !!

I like this book because it gives only a couple important concepts in each chapter, therefore, makes it easier to learn without feeling overwhelmed. I also like how some important concepts are explained using concrete examples. For instance, the concept of "parallax (the apparent shift in position of an object when viewed from different places)" is explained in such a way that everyone can easily relates to "To understand ......palce your thumb near your nose, then look at it, closing one eye at a time. Your thumb seems to jump from side to side as you see a different background behind it. Stars, like your thumb, seem to move when viewed from differt positions." I agree with other reviews that a brief story about each constellation will better fit the title of this book.

Great book

My 7 year old daughter and I have had a great time with Constellations For Every Kid. Each chapter provides a "bite size" chunk of information, a stargazing opportunity, questions to reinforce what was taught, and an astronomy-related activity. Other strong points include simple but quality illustrations and helpful pronunciation guides. The book covers topics like the general motion of the sky, precession, ecliptic, variable stars, spectral types, folklore, as well as the names of the stars and consteallations clearly, with enough depth to be interesting but not so much detail as to be overwhelming. In short, My daughter may not remember all the specifics but she's getting the basic ideas and we're having fun in the process.