Growing With Science Blog

Month: October 2011 (Page 3 of 6)

Butterfly Science Books

October 18, 2011 / / 0 Comments

For our science books today, let’s take a look at two nonfiction picture books about butterflies, Grow Your Own Butterfly Farm by John Malam and Monarch Butterfly’s Journey by Suzanne Buckingham Slade and illustrated by Susan Swan.

Both of these book caught our eye because of the brilliant monarch butterflies on the cover. Right now the monarchs are migrating, and what better way to learn about it than reading a good book? Monarch Butterfly’s Journey starts out with the life cycle of the monarch butterfly, chronicling the stages of metamorphosis. Once the adult butterfly emerges from the chrysalis, it feeds on nectar to get ready for the long journey ahead. Soon fall arrives and the monarchs head off on their long migration to Mexico. In the spring, the butterflies head north again. In the backmatter is a one page summary of the journey.

The illustrations are bright mixed-media collages by Susan Swan. I am not a huge fan of collage art in children’s books that tries for ultra-realism, but Swan’s butterflies are an example of how it should be done. They are fascinating and fun, with a high level of energy. I love the humorous side comments of the insects which make comments in their own cartoon bubbles. One butterfly asks, “Are we there yet?”

Grow Your Own Butterfly Farm by John Malam takes another tack, presenting the butterflies with food in the form of flowering plants so you can enjoy them in your own yard. This book starts with some facts, such as what butterflies are, what wildflowers are, and why we need butterflies. There are simple instructions for planting wildflowers and starting a garden to attract butterflies. (Oddly, on pages 16 and 17, there’s a section about how cats and birds do damage to newly planted gardens and how to keep them out of your seed beds. Because any animal can do damage to a garden, including dogs, goats and chickens, I’m wondering why cats were singled out?) At the end, the author suggests letting the plants go to seed for next year’s crop.

This book is illustrated with large color photographs with a lot of pretty butterflies and flowers. It is designed to be read by the child, so the sentences are short and it has simple vocabulary words with a glossary. It is a cute book to inspire youngsters to become butterfly gardeners.

If you have a young child interested in insects or if you are doing a unit on butterflies, you should take a look at these books.

Grow Your Own Butterfly Farm by John Malam

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Heinemann-Raintree (August 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1432951165
ISBN-13: 978-1432951160

Monarch Butterfly’s Journey by Suzanne Buckingham Slade and illustrated by Susan Swan

Reading level: Ages 4-8
Paperback: 24 pages
Publisher: Picture Window Books (August 1, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1404870296
ISBN-13: 978-1404870291

These books were provided by the publisher for review purposes.

Seed of the Week: Red Yucca

October 18, 2011 / / 2 Comments

Our black mystery seeds from last week were from the popular landscape plant, red yucca (Hesperaloe parviflora).

As a small evergreen perennial, red yuccas work well in yards and along roadsides. In fact they are so common, it is easy to overlook their quiet beauty.

Although it is called red, the plant actually has pink-colored flowers on tall stalks. The name yucca is a also a misnomer. Red yuccas are in the Agave family.

Originally from the Rio-Grande area of Texas, red yuccas are drought tolerant and thrive in the heat.

The flowers are bell shaped.

The plants flower throughout the summer and into fall.

As you can see in the photograph above, it is not uncommon to see green and dried seed pods on the same stalk with open flowers.

The seeds are black and flat, forming a “D.”

The flowers are popular with hummingbirds and insects like this honey bee, too.

All in all, the red yucca is the quiet workhorse of the desert landscape.

Do red yuccas grow where you live?

More lovely photographs of the whole plant

Note:  Mystery seed is taking a break today for science book week. It will be back next week.

Science Book Week: Electromagnetic Spectrum Part I

October 17, 2011 / / 0 Comments

I am going to do something a bit different this week. On Friday I will be hosting the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Friday book meme here at Growing with Science. To celebrate, I am going to have a post with recently-published science books every day this week.

Our books today are What Do We Know About Stars & Galaxies? by John Farndon and Milky Way and Other Galaxies (The Solar System and Beyond) by Megan Kopp are excellent introductions to all the new discoveries that have been made about galaxies: how galaxies form and how they behave. (See Wrapped in Foil for a full review of the books.)

Illustration from NASA

How do scientists study objects in space? Modern astronomers use a variety of telescopes to capture information about the universe. Often the telescopes are part of orbiting satellites in space. Megan Kopp’s book, in particular, covers the technology that is used to study galaxies. She talks about the Hubble Telescope, the James Webb Telescope, the Spitzer Space Telescope, and the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2, affectionately known as the AMS-2.

How do telescopes monitor galaxies? The telescopes capture light or some of other forms of radiant energy, such as radio waves, infrared, or microwaves. These forms of radiant energy are called electromagnetic radiation.

What is the electromagnetic spectrum? It shows range of frequencies of the different forms of electromagnetic radiation. At one end, radio waves have a low frequency (long wavelength) and at the other, gamma waves are high frequency (short wavelength).

(The electromagnetic spectrum from lowest energy/longest wavelength (at the top) to highest energy/shortest wavelength (at the bottom). (Credit: NASA’s Imagine the Universe))

This week we will start with an introductory activity to organize the information, plus discuss radio waves. Next week we’ll investigate more of the different forms of electromagnetic radiation in Part 2.

Activities:

1. Create an electromagnetic spectrum wall chart.

Use a wall chart to record your observations about each type of radiation.

Gather:

  • a roll of paper about five to six feet long (butcher’s paper works great)
  • colored markers
  • tape to fix the paper to the wall (painter’s tape won’t leave a mark)
  • yardstick (optional)
  • an example of the electromagnetic spectrum like the one above (search the internet for “electromagnetic spectrum images”)

Study the example of the electromagnetic spectrum. Write the names of the different types of radiation from left to right across the center of the paper in order of size of wavelength: Radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays, and gamma rays. Add information to the chart under each type as you learn more doing the activities.

2. What is a wave?

You may have read that light and its relatives travel in waves. What does that mean?

Think about physical waves, like the waves in the ocean or sound waves. Electromagnetic waves exhibit a similar motion.

See how you can vary the wave with different motions. Gather a jump rope or other heavy rope. Have two children hold each end to the rope tightly. Now have one move the rope up and down while the other stays still. Can you create a wave motion? What happens when you speed up or slow down? How about if you move your arm higher or less?

Now we will look at different types of electromagnetic radiation, starting at the radio waves, which have the largest wavelength and low energy, to gamma rays, which have the smallest wavelength and highest energy.

3. Radio waves

Have you ever wondered how radios work? How does electricity and sound waves become transmitted through the air via radio waves?

Currently the largest telescope to detect radio waves from space is the Arecibo Radio Telescope in Puerto Rico.

Studying the electromagnetic spectrum helps us understand more about astronomy, as well as other fields like communication and medicine and it is really too much for a single post. I will link to posts about microwaves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, x-rays and gamma rays as they are published.

Edit: Part 2 is now published.

Our books today:

Earth Space and Beyond: What Do We Know About Stars & Galaxies? by John Farndon

Hardcover: 48 pages
Publisher: Raintree
ISBN-10: 1406226289
ISBN-13: 978-1406226287


What Do We Know About Stars & Galaxies? Express version by John Farndon

Reading level: 3 (simpler version for younger children)
Library Binding: 48 pages
Publisher: Heinemann-Raintree (August 1, 2011)
ISBN-10: 1410941620
ISBN-13: 978-1410941626


Milky Way and Other Galaxies (The Solar System and Beyond) by Megan Kopp

Reading level: Ages 9-12
Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Capstone Press (August 1, 2011)
ISBN-10: 1429672277
ISBN-13: 978-1429672276


Disclosures: Books were supplied by the publisher for review purposes. Also, I am an affiliate for Amazon. 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.

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