Explanatorium of Science (DK Explanatorium)

Love at first sight! I homeschool 6th grade, kindergarten and pre-k. It is a challenge to find a Book relevant to all ages (and keep them interested). This book is it! Huge pictures, perfect explanations and plenty of topics! Matter, reactions, materials, energy,forces,life,earth and reference. The best part is the glossary has definitions. Thank you Smithsonian!

This new addition to the DK Science Library provides not only the essential principles of each branch the natural sciences, it also illustrates experiments that can be easily implemented in even the most rudimentary middle or high school laboratory. Student agency is a core component of contemporary education and having this book on our supplementary reading shelf provides a perfect catalog of possible course projects. HIGHLY recommended.

This book was well received by the 10 year old boy it was purchased for. There are plenty of great photo illustrations.

For my nephew for Christmas. He will love it. Cost less then our bookstore. That's a plus.

Solid

purchased this as a Christmas gift for my smarty pants nephew and he absolutely loves it! definitely a gift that can last a lifetime.

This was sent as a gift for a grandchild.

I was very impressed with this book. It is a nice reference for adults, though I think it would be quite excellent for middle school students and above. The book has two elements that when put together make it a good science book. It has explanations of phenomena grouped in logical sections of matter, reactions, materials, energy, forces, life, earth, and reference. It may seem like physics is overrepresented, but the life section is the longest, and so it is actually more balanced than it may seem. The earth section also includes stellar (and our sun's solar) explanations, so the categories should not be taken to be too exclusive. This is in tune with how actual science is and so I appreciate the integration that is used among them. It also includes two pages on plasma which I am appreciative of. It didn't say much on nuclear fusion, but it did explain it, but devoted more paper to nuclear fission (I'd say fairly justified in the energy section, though I think it would have been nice to illustrate fusion for the pages on stars).The part that sets the book apart is that it includes experiments showing the science. This works very well with physics and chemistry, and while the experiments should not be done without training (many include Bunsen burners), they would be excellent ideas for teaching scientific thinking. Some examples are classic, such as salt crystal growth in water to fairly novel (to me, at least) such as combining (colorless liquids) potassium iodide and lead nitrate to form potassium nitrate (yellow). There is a wide variety of experiments that are brilliantly shown on the large colorful pages.I was also impressed with the detail and lack of typographical errors. I have only a few comments on the science portion. It presents the scientific method at the beginning which is an idealization of what actually happens, and so I wish it emphasized this fact a bit more, as there is a tendency for people to think they must follow the "steps of science" to do science. I am not an expert in all of these sciences, but I found nothing but small quibbles for physics [gravity is always attractive {if by gravity we mean curvature of space-time, then it can be repulsive}, the Rutherford atom though they explain electron clouds, friction and static electricity have some intricacies that are not explained] that I would not worry about for a book at this level. In biology, I thought they missed a chance to explain that the sex chromosomes shown as XX=female and XY=male is not universal in the animal kingdom. In birds the equivalent to X and Y is Z and W. Then ZZ=male and ZW=female, so it is the females with the "different" chromosome. The only really true problem I have is that they describe lactic acid as causing muscle cramps. I think there is a fairly large literature [Scientific American has an entry by Mark A. W. Andrews, associate professor of physiology for cramps and doi: 10.1080/00913847.1983.11708485 for lactic acid and soreness] now that shows that lactic acid is not very well associated with cramps or muscle soreness, but I am ready to be corrected.As an aside, if you don't know the history of the peppered moth as an example of evolution, used in this book, it's a fairly interesting story. See the Wikipedia entry for it's history.Overall, a great book that shows and tells. The book is large with thick, glossy papers and plenty of color. I would love to use some of the experiments with young people interested in science, and it has good explanations of what is going on, as well. It would be great for younger science-inclined people, but is a nice resource for anyone with an interest in science and science experiments.

Very good present for a budding scientist.

love the book

Purchased for a reluctant reader interested in science. Fantastic images and facts that make the subject matter easy. This is one of a series which we will now also purchase.

Brilliant book.

Bought this as a birthday present for our 9-year old and he absolutely loves it.