Overview
Thomas Edison, one of the world's greatest inventors, is introduced in this fascinating activity book. Children will learn how Edison ushered in an astounding age of invention with his unique way of looking at things and refusal to be satisfied with only one solution to a problem. This book helps inspire kids to be inventors and scientists, as well as persevere with their own ideas. Activities allow children to try Edison's experiments themselves, with activities such as making a puppet dance using static electricity, manufacturing a switch for electric current, constructing a telegraph machine, manipulating sound waves, building an electrical circuit to test for conductors and insulators, making a zoetrope, and testing a dandelion for latex. In addition to his inventions and experiments, the book explores Edison's life outside of science, including his relationship with inventor Nikola Tesla, his rivalry with George Westinghouse, and his friendship with Henry Ford. A time line, glossary, and lists of supply sources, places to visit, and websites for further exploration complement this activity book.
Full Product Details
Author: Laurie Carlson
Publisher: Chicago Review Press
Imprint: Chicago Review Press
Dimensions:
Width: 27.90cm
, Height: 1.00cm
, Length: 21.50cm
Weight: 0.562kg
ISBN: 9781556525841
ISBN 10: 1556525842
Pages: 160
Publication Date: 01 February 2006
Recommended Age: 9-12
Audience:
Children/juvenile
,
Children's (6-12)
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Temporarily unavailable
The supplier advises that this item is temporarily unavailable. It will be ordered for you and placed on backorder. Once it does come back in stock, we will ship it out to you.
Reviews
A solid addition to the Edison shelf. -- Kirkus Reviews Approachable and educational...a valuable resource for units on electricity, communication, or inventors. --VOYA A wonderful addition to your homeschool library. Nothing dry and dull here. --Home Educator's Family Times Inspires kids to be inventors and scientists and persevere with their own ideas. -- Georgia Family Magazine An engaging introduction to the life and work of inventor Thomas Edison. -- KLIATT Blends the historical and the practical beautifully. -- Library Media Connection This book will inspire kids to be inventors and scientists. -- Parents Express This cool book will inspire the curious minds of a new generation. -- Charlotte Parent
Carlson tucks 21 science activities, most at least slightly related to Edison's inventions, into this account of his career and times. Portraying him as a self-taught go-getter with terrible business sense but an unrelenting work ethic, an altruistic impulse that led him deliberately to leave some of his ideas unpatented, and a mischievous streak (one of his early, lesser-known inventions was an electrified cockroach trap), the author follows him from itinerant youth to renowned old age with side glances at his private life, as well as general descriptions of his major inventions and (usually ill-fated) business ventures. She also keeps the projects simple, stressing the use of common materials and noting when adult supervision is required. Illustrated with period diagrams and photos, and closing with a generous resource list, this makes a solid addition to the Edison shelf-though for capturing its subject's maverick genius, or enduring effect on our daily lives, it isn't going to replace Marfe Ferguson Delano's Inventing the Future: A Photobiography of Thomas Alva Edison (2002). (Biography. 9-12) (Kirkus Reviews)
Approachable and educational...a valuable resource for units on electricity, communication, or inventors. --VOYA
Author Information
Laurie Carlson is the author of Classical Kids, Colonial Kids, Days of Knights and Damsels, Green Thumbs, More Than Moccasins, and Westward Ho, and the co-author of Kids Camp.
