Farm School blog posts/General Science:
Tentative high school science plans
Do It Yourself Science
Science with Tom Edison
Learning to think like scientists, and learning how to think about science
More food for thought: connections and disconnections
Science Summer School
In search of freedom and independence, and big bangs
The beautiful basics of science
A virtual education, about the debate on virtual science classes
Farm School blog posts/Biology:
Darwin and evolution resources for Darwin Day aka Darwin 200: Charles Darwin’s Day
I typed this all by myself with my opposable thumbs
Charles Darwin Has a Posse
Celebrating Darwin Day: Many happy returns
Farm School blog posts/Natural History:
Nature writing and writers
Farm School blog posts/Chemistry:
Do It Yourself Science
Retro Chemistry
Still sniffing around the kitchen: Chemistry with the Curious Cook; which means you might be interested in this review by Nicole at Baking Bites of How Baking Works: Exploring the Fundamentals of Baking Science by Paula Figoni
Review: The Periodic Table: Elements with Style! by Basher and Dingle
Farm School blog posts/Physics:
Spreading the love
Lists of Living Books for Science:
4 Real Learning “Great Outdoors” book list; nature study and natural history books for grammar stage and up, including picture books
Regena’s lists of science and history books
Paula’s Archive: Grammar stage science book list compiled by Carol Richey
Links and Resources:
The Society for Amateur Scientists (“Helping Ordinary People Do Extraordinary Science”), also known as SAS, and SAS’s Labrats program for children; both SAS and Labrats are headed up by Dr. Shawn Carlson
Dr. Shawn Carlson’s CD compilation of 72 years’ worth of “Amateur Scientist” columns from Scientific American magazine: Amateur Scientist 4.0 CD, “Science Fair Edition”
The Guardian‘s Science Course: Part I, The Universe; Part II, Life & Genetics; Part III,The Earth; Part IV, Humans; Part V, Energy; Part VI, Building Blocks; and Part VII, Experiments for Kids
Home Chemistry
Singing Science; free songs to download
Geekdad, from Wired
Charles Darwin Has a Posse: awareness stickers
Boing Boing
“The Way Things Work” two-disc DVD set by David Macaulay
Modern Mechanix
Scientific American article, “15 Answers to Creationist Nonsense” by John Rennie, September 2002
Science books from the Farm School bookshelves, library list, shopping carts, and wish lists:
Biology:
The Intelligent Man’s Guide to the Biological Sciences by Isaac Asimov; don’t hold the unfortunate title of the 1960 book against Asimov (for older children and up)
Scientific American: The Amateur Biologist by Shawn Carlson (for ages 9 or 10 and up)
Life on a Young Planet: The First Three Billion Years of Evolution on Earth by Andrew H. Knoll (for older children and up)
Your Inner Fish: A Journey into the 3.5-Billion-Year History of the Human Body by Neil Shubin(for older and up)
The Fairy-Land of Science by Arabella Buckley; free online in book form here and as an audiobook at Librivox here (for younger children)
Natural History/Nature Writing (by author):
Edward Abbey
Liberty Hyde Bailey
Wendell Berry
Hal Borland
Rachel Carson
Gerald Durrell
Loren Eiseley
Edward Hoagland
John Kieran
Barbara Kingsolver
Joseph Wood Krutch
Gale Lawrence
RD Lawrence
Aldo Leopold
Barry Lopez
Bill McKibben
John McPhee
Farley Mowat
John Muir
Sigurd Olson
Ernest Thompson Seton
Edwin Way Teale
Henry David Thoreau
and also
Nature Writing: The Tradition in English, edited by Robert Finch and John Elder
American Earth: Environmental Writing Since Thoreau, edited by Bill McKibben(Library of America, April 2008
Nature Study:
How to Be a Nature Detective by Millicent Selsam, illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats (for young children)
The Listening Walk by Paul Showers, illustrated by Aliki; I prefer the original unrevised edition of 1961 with Aliki’s black and white, less cutesy illustrations (less distracting), but am glad to see that this one is still in print (for young children)
Exploring Nature with Your Child: An Introduction to the Enjoyment and Understanding of Nature for All by Dorothy Edwards Shuttlesworth (1952); out of print but worth buying secondhand
The Amateur Naturalist by Gerald Durrell, with Lee Durrell; out of print and worth tracking down (for the whole family)
The Amateur Naturalist’s Handbook by Vinson Brown (and also his How to Make a Home Nature Museum and How to Make a Miniature Zoo, two of my childhood favorites)
Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock (for the whole family)
The Beginning Naturalist: Weekly Encounters With the Natural World, A Field Guide to the Familiar: Learning to Observe the Natural World, and A Naturalist Indoors: Observing the World of Nature Inside Your Home by Gale Lawrence (for the whole family)
The Curious Naturalist by John Mitchell and The Massachusetts Audubon Society (for the whole family)
The Fieldbook of Natural History by E. Laurence Palmer and H. Seymour Fowler (originally published in 1949, revised in 1975, and which I suspect grew out of Palmer’s 1927 The Nature Almanac: a Handbook of Nature Education); Palmer, a professor of nature study at Cornell University, was a colleague of Anna Botsford Comstock (for the whole family)
The Nature Handbook: A Guide to Observing the Great Outdoors by Ernest Herbert Williams (for the whole family)
Naturalist’s Guide to Observing Nature by Kurt Rinehart (for the whole family)
Keeping a Nature Journal: Discover a Whole New Way of Seeing the World Around You by Clare Walker Leslie and Charles E. Roth (for the whole family)
The Amateur Naturalist by Nick Baker (not to be confused with the Durrell title, but quite good)
The Study of Life: A Naturalist’s View by RD Lawrence
The Natural History of Canada by RD Lawrence, revised by Dr. Michal Polak
Entrusted to My Care by Grant MacEwan (older readers and up)
Collecting for the City Naturalist by Lois J. Hussey and Catherine Pessino (Thomas Y. Crowell, 1975)
John Kieran’s A Natural History of New York City: A Book for Sidewalk Naturalists Everywhere
The Urban Naturalist by Steven Garber
City Birding: True Tales of Birds and Birdwatching in Unexpected Places
Snowshoeing Through Sewers: Adventures in New York City, New Jersey, and Philadelphia by Michael Aaron Rockland
Suburban Safari: A Year on the Lawn by Hannah Holmes
Chemistry:
The Periodic Table: Elements with Style! created (and illustrated) by (Simon) Basher, and written by Adrian Dingle
Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry Experiments: All Lab, No Lecture by Robert Bruce Thompson (DIY Science series)
Fizz, Bubble & Flash!: Element Explorations & Atom Adventures for Hands-On Science Fun! by Anita Brandolini
Mad Professor by Mark Frauenfelder
The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments by Robert Brent; out of print but available as a free PDF to download, and available in softcover via Lulu for under $30.
Basic Chemistry Experiments (A Golden Hobby Book) by Robert Brent; an abridged edition of The Golden Book of Chemistry Experiments, also out of print. Keep your eyes peeled at garage sales.
How and Why Wonder Book of Chemistry by Martin L. Keen
Entertaining Science Experiments With Everyday Objects by Martin Gardner
Chemical Magic by Leonard A. Ford and E. Winston Grundmeier
Mr. Wizard’s 400 Experiments in Science by Don Herbert and Hy Ruchlis
The Joy of Chemistry: The Amazing Science of Familiar Things by Monty L. Fetterolf and Cathy Cobb
Hands-On Chemistry Activities with Real-Life Applications: Easy-to-Use Labs and Demonstrations for Grades 8-12 by Herr and Cunningham
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen by Harold McGee
The Curious Cook: More Kitchen Science and Lore by Harold McGee
Physics:
Physics: Why Matter Matters! created (and illustrated) by (Simon) Basher, and writtenby Dan Green
Physics in a Hardware Store by Robert Friedhoffer
Physics in a Housewares Store by Robert Friedhoffer
Rubber-Band Banjos and Java Jive Bass: Projects and Activities on the Science of Music and Sound by Alex Sabbeth
How Do You Lift a Lion? by Robert E. Wells
Gizmos and Gadgets: Creating Science Contraptions That Work (& Knowing Why) by Jill Frankel Hauser
Hands-On Physics Activities with Real-Life Applications: Easy-to-Use Labs and Demonstrations for Grades 8-12 by Cunningham and Herr
Understanding Physics by Isaac Asimov
Fear of Physics by Lawrence M. Krauss
Earth Science:
Basin and Range, In Suspect Terrain, Rising from the Plains, and Assembling California by John McPhee (available together in the collection Annals of the Former World)
Isaac Asimov’s Guide to Earth and Space by Isaac Asimov
Astronomy:
Illustrated Guide to Astronomical Wonders: From Novice to Master Observer, first in the (DIY Science series) by Robert Bruce Thompson and Barbara Fritchman Thompson
Isaac Asimov’s Guide to Earth and Space by Isaac Asimov
The Stars: A New Way to See Them and Find the Constellations by H. A. Rey (of Curious George fame)
General/Reference:
Asimov’s Chronology of Science and Discovery by Isaac Asimov
The Canon: A Whirligig Tour of the Beautiful Basics of Science by Natalie Angier
How to Think Like a Scientist by Stephen P. Kramer and illustrated by Felicia Bond
The Way Things Work by David Macaulay
Why Science? by James Trefil
The Nature of Science: An A-Z Guide to the Laws and Principles Governing Our Universe by James Trefil
Science Matters: Achieving Scientific Literacy by Robert M. Hazen and James Trefil
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