Category: Science Books (Page 64 of 87)

Bone By Bone: Comparing Animal Skeletons

While hosting STEM Friday last week, Natalie from Biblio Links told us about a new children’s picture book she found, Bone by Bone: Comparing Animal Skeletons by Sara Levine and illustrated by T.S. Spookytooth. Even though I thought maybe it would be dry and static as a pile of old bones, Natalie made it sound so good that I decided to get an electronic review copy at NetGalley to see for myself. bone-by-bone

This really fun book is not dry at all. It starts with a question, what would we be like without our bones? The answer is shown in a silly illustration:  a pile of smush!

Using a roughly question and answer format, Levine takes the reader through some of the more skeleton types, like bats with long finger bones for wings and the large neck bones of a giraffe. The author also spends some time explaining the skeletal systems (or lack of) found in invertebrates. Sprinkled in are important vocabulary words that kids will absorb without even realizing it and a glossary if they need some additional help.

Bone by Bone features one of my pet peeves, which is a mix of fonts in a book for young children. Usually I would say big jumps in fonts makes it very hard for struggling readers, but for this particular book the differences in the fonts were mild, so it actually works just fine. The varying fonts make the text seem like a conversation.

Understanding bones and skeletons is important not only for scientists, human health professionals and veterinarians, but also artists and those interested in sports. Let’s “face” it, virtually every child could benefit from learning more about anatomy, including the skeletal system and how it compares to other animals. Bone by Bone is definitely a book you will want to have on “hand” for children grades K-4.

Related activities:

1. Take a field trip to a natural history museum

Many natural history museums feature assembled skeletons. Use Bone by Bone as a guide to compare the structures found in the different animals.

2. Check for open houses or exhibits at local medical and veterinary schools.

When I was a child, our 4-H club went to the Cornell University Veterinary College Open House almost every spring. It was absolutely fascinating, and a great place to learn about anatomy.

3. Owl pellets

Dissecting owl pellets for bones is another way to find out more about skeletons.

Owls can not digest the fur and bones of the animals they eat, and instead of passing through their bodies, the remains are regurgitated back up in the form of an owl pellet. Collectors go to old barns and other areas where owls live and pick up the pellets (google for a Dirty Jobs episode about this if you want to learn more). Students can then dissect the pellets and discover what the owls have been eating.

You will need a owl pellet for each child participating, trays, forceps or pointy probes to poke through the pellet, and bone charts to help sort out where each bone belongs. Rather than go into it in great detail here, see Alison’s Owl Pellet Page for a lesson and bone charts. (Please leave a comment if this link breaks).

Owl pellets and owl pellet dissection kits are available from various sources and at various prices. For example:

 

4. Skeleton models

Having a model of some sort that they can touch and manipulate can really help children remember how the bones go together and work. You can find plastic models of both humans and other animals in a wide range of prices and styles to suit your budget.

 
human model

dog model

Discuss the names and functions of the different bones and label them.

Some students learn the names more easily if they know the word origins or derivatives. The UT Health Science Center has a lesson on the origin of bone names and activity cards to download.

Please let us know if you have an ideas for activities to accompany Bone by Bone.

Bone by Bone: Comparing Animal Skeletons by Sara Levine and illustrated by T.S. Spookytooth

Library Binding: 32 pages
Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group (August 1, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0761384642
ISBN-13: 978-0761384649

Disclosure: I am an affiliate for Amazon, and if you click through the linked titles or ads and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. Proceeds will be used to maintain this self-hosted blog.

 

Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.

Bug of the Week: Cacao Midge

We found our bug of the week today from an unusual source, a children’s picture book called No Monkeys, No Chocolate by Melissa Stewart, Allen Young and illustrated by Nicole Wong. no-monkeys-no-chocolate(For a full review, see our sister blog, Wrapped In Foil).

You may wonder what a book about chocolate and monkeys has to do with insects. It turns out that cocoa trees grown in open plantations don’t make as many seeds as trees grown under the canopy of the rainforest. When scientists began to tease out the reasons why, they found that cocoa flowers are pollinated by a small fly called the cacao midge. The flowers are highly complex, so not just any insect can do the job. The flowers are also not self-pollinated. That means our chocolate bars and hot chocolate are the direct result of the presence of a tiny fly.

What does this fly look like? I was able to find this video of Mark Moffett (the insect photographer equivalent of Indiana Jones) capturing a photograph of the elusive fly.

Now that we know about the cacao fly, I would say chocolate lovers will definitely want to do everything we can to preserve it!

No Monkeys, No Chocolate, by Melissa Stewart, Allen Young and illustrated by Nicole Wong

Publisher: Charlesbridge Pub Inc (August 2013)
ISBN-10: 1580892876
ISBN-13: 978-1580892872

 
Disclosure: I am an affiliate for Amazon, and if you click through the linked title ad and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. Proceeds will be used to maintain this self-hosted blog

Eruption and Volcano Rising: Two New Great Books for Kids

We are hosting STEM Friday this week, the gathering of children’s books about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math. We are featuring two new books by Elizabeth Rusch, Eruption!: Volcanoes and the Science of Saving Lives, with photographs by Tom Uhlman and Volcano Rising, illustrated by Susan Swan.

volcano-rising-bigger

Children are definitely interested in natural processes like volcanoes, but perhaps too often children’s books focus on the sensational, explosive aspects. Volcano Rising is a picture book for younger kids that explains not only what volcanoes are, but also how volcanoes can be a positive force by creating new land and adding nutrients to the soil. Rusch has created a two layer text, one layer that is meant to be read aloud with lots of action verb and sounds, and the other for those who want to really delve into what volcanoes are all about.

Susan Swan’s mixed-media illustrations add another clue that this is a special book (see the cover above and an example at Charlesbridge). The illustrations give the look of a picture book, and also create a uniformity of scale and appearance that would not be possible with a collection of stock photographs.

Eruption-bigger

On the other hand, Eruption!: Volcanoes and the Science of Saving Lives (Scientists in the Field Series), is all about the blast. Written for ages 10 and up, this book follows the experiences of USGS volcanologist John Pallister and his team from of the Cascades Volcano Observatory as they participate in VDAP or the Volcano Disaster Assistance Program. VDAP is an international effort to provide assistance to any country impacted by volcanoes that asks for help in monitoring and predicting eruptions. The program was formed after the deadly eruption of Colombia’s Nevado del Ruiz in 1985.

Rusch reveals how VDAP works by closely following the heart-pounding, nail-biting events of the Mount Pinatubo volcano eruption in the Philippines. She shows the science of positioning and monitoring seismographs, determining  gas content and amount of ash, and even how satellite images can help predict when the next volcano will erupt. The case study also demonstrates that human responses to orders to evacuate are almost as unpredictable as the volcano itself.

Elizabeth Rusch has shown she has done her research and also that she is a versatile children’s writer. Looking for information on volcanoes? Wanting to learn more about the science and scientists behind volcano eruption predictions? Elizabeth Rusch has the books for you!

Let’s investigate some hands-on science activities inspired by the book:

1. Floating volcanic rock

Pumice rocks are lava from volcanoes that has cooled so quickly that they often contain pockets where air bubbles had been.

Gather:

  • Pumice and other igneous rocks, such as granite or obsidian.
  • Container
  • Water

Examine the rocks and predict whether they will float or sink. Fill the container with water and then place each rock in the water to see what happens.

If you can’t do this in real life, try this virtual rock floating test at Science Kids.

For older kids, add a lesson about density.

2. The classic erupting volcano.

I almost skipped this one, because it is so overdone, but then realized that just because we adults find it has lost its novelty, doesn’t mean kids who haven’t done it should miss out.

a. Make a volcano cone.

This can be a simple as a mound of sand in the sandbox, or an elaborate cone made out of clay, paper mache, or a variety of other materials. Embed some type of container in the cone, such as a plastic bottle or cup to contain the reaction chemicals inside the cone.

b. Gather red and/or yellow food coloring (optional), baking soda and vinegar and some measuring containers. If you have a group of kids, go for the mega-store sizes, because you will be doing this again and again.

c. Have the children measure some baking soda into the container at the center of the cone. The amount will depend on how big your container is. You can adjust after you try it a few times. Add the a few drops of each food coloring to give an orange lava color. When you are ready pour the vinegar into the container with the baking soda. Be prepared to jump back if necessary.

This video shows an example. Science Bob suggests adding dish detergent to the mix, for more foaming action. Although he says to pour in the “water,” I think it is probably vinegar. Of course you can try it with water, too, just to see if it works.

 

 

Now I’m going to share our family’s top secret volcano formula. Instead of baking soda and vinegar, we use elephant’s toothpaste. The reaction is slower, but lasts longer and gives off real heat!

Do you have another way to dress up the standard volcano eruption demo?

Need pumice? You can find pumice at rock shops, some science educational supply catalogs and even online at Amazon:

 

Disclosures: Volcano Rising was supplied by the publisher for review. Eruption was from our local public library. I am an affiliate for Amazon, and if you click through the ad and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. Proceeds will be used to maintain this self-hosted blog, as well as to buy more vinegar and baking soda 🙂

 

Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.

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