Growing With Science Blog

Today we have a lovely new picture book A Leaf Can Be . . . with poetic text by Laura Purdie Salas and breathtaking illustrations by Violeta Dabija. This book has been generating a lot of excitement in the children’s literature world (See my review at Wrapped in Foil).

In the book Salas gently describes leaf “jobs,” which are all the roles that leaves may play.  “A leaf can be a…Shade spiller…Mouth filler…Tree topper…Rain stopper….” She covers not only the basics, such as that leaves are where plants make food, but also more whimsical and imaginative uses, such as they serve as a place to conceal moths or snakes. She includes a section “More About Leaves” in the backmatter that feels and looks like she is sharing her handwritten research notes.

The mixed-media illustrations by Violeta Dabija are in a class by themselves. They “leave” this veteran book reviewer speechless (The video trailer below does not do justice to their beauty).

The bottom line is that A Leaf Can Be . . . is sure to be a winner with budding scientists.

Activities to investigate leaves, inspired by A Leaf Can Be . . .:

Make a leaf collection to study leaf form and function.

There are many, many ways to make a leaf collection.

• Laminate dried leaves
• Take crayon rubbings of leaves (5 Orange Potatoes has instructions on how to make leaf rubbing templates from laminated leaves.)
• Preserve autumn or dried leaves in wax paper or contact paper (instructions and templates)
• Use a plant press or old telephone book to make pressed leaves (how to make a simple plant press)
• Draw leaves in a nature journal

My new favorite way to preserve leaves is to scan them.

Simply lay fresh or dry leaves on the bed of a scanner. Rather than using the machine cover, which might crush the leaves, gently cover with cloth or a large piece of construction paper to serve as a backdrop. Scan and save electronically. Now you can add your scans to an electronic journal or print them out for a paper one. No more lost or crushed specimens.

Be sure to include information about when and where you collected your leaves and any information you have about the identity of the plant. Collections like this can be an important learning and research tool, as well as a useful reference resource.

With the excitement of spring, with all the glorious new plant growth,  it is a perfect time to investigate leaves.

Related activities:

1. Laura Purdie Salas has a teaching guide to use with the book on her website, with suggestions for art, science, math and literature activities.

2.The Botany & Art, and their roles in Conservation lesson plans include a podcast about botanical illustration. as well as other materials (at the Smithsonian).

3. Bookish Ways in Math and Science has a unit on plants that includes a “Leafy Comparison.”

4. Shirley at Simply Science has a review of A Leaf Can Be . . . and suggests taking a leaf walk.

5. Older children and adults might enjoy these leafy puns at The New York Times.

A Leaf Can Be . . .

Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Millbrook Pr Trade (February 1, 2012)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0761362037
ISBN-13: 978-0761362036

The author provided an electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Our weekend science fun was inspired by a book, Becoming Invisible: From Camouflage to Cloaks by Carla Mooney. Most children’s books about camouflage talk about how animals try to blend into their environment. This book is very different. It is about how modern engineers and scientists are trying to make the fictional invisibility cloak from the Harry Potter books into a reality. For a review of the book and links to more science books, see STEM Friday at Wrapped in Foil.

Camouflage and invisibility are two very different things. Camouflage is the use of color or other aspects of appearance to help an object blend with its environment. Invisibility, on the other hand, is changing the way light reflects or refracts when it hits an object and thus preventing the light from reaching our eyes. We literally can not see an object that is invisible.

Becoming Invisible: From Camouflage to Cloaks tells how scientists have been able to bend electromagnetic waves that are near relatives of visible light (see Exploring Light and its Relatives Part I and Part 2) with special man-made materials called metamaterials. Using metamaterials made of metal and fiberglass, scientists have been able to develop “cloaks” that bend microwaves and infrared light around an object, hiding it from detection. Very cool!

Activity 1. Hiding with color – camouflage for younger children

Read one of the books suggested below to introduce the idea of camouflage.

Gather:

• Fabric swatches of different colors and designs
• Painter’s blue tape (doesn’t leave a residue when it is removed, but it is more expensive) or masking tape
• Suitable area to play hide and seek, indoors or out

You might want to sort the children into teams if you are working with a large group. You will need enough swatches of fabric so that each child or team can hide a few different swatches. Make loops of tape with sticky-side out and then apply a few to the back of each swatch. Now select a child/team to be the hider. They will hide the swatch in plain sight in the play area by taping the swatch to items while the other children, who will be the seekers, close their eyes or wait in another area. When the hiders have applied their swatch, have the seekers come look for it. Once they have found it, change roles. The goal is to find a background object that matches the color close enough that the fabric is difficult to see, and thus takes longer to find.

Activity 2. Hiding with color- camouflage for older children

Gather:

• Paper
• Art supplies such as markers, crayons, colored pencils, etc.
• Painter’s blue tape (doesn’t leave a residue when it is removed, but it is more expensive) or masking tape (optional)
• Suitable area to play hide and seek (optional)

For older children, have them create their own camouflage patterns for different settings. You could also have the children do the hiding activity (1), but substitute their own designs on paper for the fabric swatches. Or figure out an experiment to test the effectiveness of various camouflage designs.

Activity 3. Making glass “disappear”

We don’t need high tech metamaterials to make an object invisible. We can hide a piece of Pyrex® glass by immersing it in a material that has a similar index of refraction, Wesson® oil.

Gather:

• small Pyrex® glass bowl
• A larger glass bowl
• Wesson® oil or baby oil, or a mix of the two

Place the smaller bowl inside the larger bowl. Fill them both with Wesson® oil, baby oil, or a mix of the two. Once covered with oil, the smaller Pyrex® bowl should disappear from view.

See a similar activity using a Pyrex® stirring rod and explanation from Exploratorium

Activity 4. Make jelly marbles disappear in water

Obtain some jelly marbles from science supply stores, for example from Steve Spangler. Soak the jelly marbles overnight in water. Then fill a clear glass container with water. When you drop in the soaked jelly marbles, they will disappear.

Jelly marbles are polymers that absorb water. When they are swollen with water, they have the same index of refraction and disappear when you place them in water.

This video shows examples of both of the index of refraction activities:

Isn’t that amazing?

If you try any of these activities, be sure to let us know what you find out.

Related camouflage links:

• Brain Pop Jr. has a unit on camouflage
• The Invisible Man
• The Arts of Deception at Mongabay.com (has ads)
• Survivors: How Does Color Protect Insects from Predators?

Children’s books about camouflage (title links go to Amazon):

	Becoming Invisible: From Camouflage to Cloaks (Great Idea) by Carla Mooney (is for ages 8 and up) My review
	Hiding in Deserts (Creature Camouflage) by Deborah Underwood My review
	Animal Planet Weird and Wonderful: Show-Offs (Animal Plant Weird & Wonderful) by Margaret McPhee is not just about camouflage, but all the ways animals use color. My review
	Where in the Wild?: Camouflaged Creatures Concealed… and Revealed by David Schwartz and Yael Schy, with photography by Dwight Kuhn My review
	Where Else in the Wild? is a enchanting combination of poems by David M. Schwartz and his wife, Yael Schy, and photographs by Dwight Kuhn. My review
	How to Hide an Octopus and Other Sea Creatures (Reading Railroad) by Ruth Heller
	How to Hide a Butterfly and Other Insects (Reading Railroad) by Ruth Heller.
	What Color Is Camouflage? (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 2) (Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 2) by Carolyn B. Otto and illustrated by Megan Lloyd

This is the final post for Science Book Week. Today we’re going to highlight science-related picture books that were nominated for the 2011 Cybils awards. These picture books are for roughly 4-8 year olds.

What are Cybils? The acronym stands for Children’s and Young adult Bloggers Literary awards. Bloggers who specialize in children’s and young adult books have developed the Cybils awards to celebrate some of the best books published in the previous year.

In fact, the Cybils nomination lists are great ways to find wonderful books for children of all ages and genres. (The Cybils link will take you to the website.)

Also, if you are ever looking for more science books for children, be sure to check the science books for kids button at the top of the blog. I’ll be adding these books and more to that list as time goes by.

	A Place for Fish by Melissa Stewart and illustrated by Higgins Bond
	About Hummingbirds: A Guide for Children (The About Series) by Cathryn Sill and illustrated by John Sill
	Planting the Wild Garden by Kathryn O. Galbraith and illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin My review Related science activities
	A Butterfly Is Patient by Dianna Hutts Aston and illustrated by Sylvia Long My review Related Science activities
	All the Water in the World by George Ella Lyon and illustrated by Katherine Tillotson
	Animal Fights by Catherine Ham
	Bring On the Birds by Susan Stockdale
	Bugs by the Numbers by Sharon Werner and  Sarah Forss
	Can We Save the Tiger? by Martin Jenkins and illustrated by Vicky White My review
	First Garden: The White House Garden and How It Grew by Robbin Gourley
	Celebritrees: Historic and Famous Trees of the World by Margi Preus and illustrated by Rebecca Gibbon
	Gorillas by Gail Gibbons
	Hatch! by Roxie Munro
	How Hybrid Cars Work (How Things Work) by Jennifer Swanson and illustrated by Glen Mullaly
	How the Weather Works: A Hands-on Guide to Our Changing Climate (Explore the Earth) by Christiane Dorion and illustrated by Beverley Young
	Howler Monkey: Super Loud (Animal Loudmouths) by Natalie Lunis
	Meadowlands: A Wetlands Survival Story by Thomas F. Yezerski
	Prairie Storms by Darcy Pattison and illustrated by Kathleen Rietz
	Star of the Sea: A Day in the Life of a Starfish by Janet Halfmann and illustrated by Joan Paley
	Super Science: Feel the Force!: Full of Pop-Up Physics Fun by Tom Adams and illustrated by Thomas Flintham
	Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Natureby Joyce Sidman and illustrated by Beth Krommes My review
	The Case of the Vanishing Golden Frogs: A Scientific Mystery by Sandra Markle
	The Watcher: Jane Goodall’s Life with the Chimps by Jeanette Winter
	Thunder Birds: Nature’s Flying Predators by Jim Arnosky