Book Review: Maker Lab: Outdoors; 25 Super Cool Projects by Jack Challoner

Maker Lab: Outdoors; 25 Super Cool Projects by Jack Challoner actually includes twenty-eight science projects and experiments to be done outside. The projects focus on Earth and the environment, plants and animals, rocks and minerals, and space, bringing science learning home and into the backyard. Young scientists can make a cave system and find out about underground rivers, construct a working model of tectonic plates and learn about earthquakes, build a telescope and look to the planets and stars, and more. The book includes clear step-by-step instructions, and detailed explanations. 

Maker Lab: Outdoors; 25 Super Cool Projects is a well written and organized collection of experiments and activities. The instructions are easy to understand and paired with helpful photographs and labels that can assist young scientists in achieving success. I liked that the projects are divided into four groups, Nature Watch, World of Weather, Water Power, and Earth and Sky. This can help young readers focus on a subject matter that interests them most, or to supplement what they are learning at home or in school. Some of the projects are classics, or at least ones I have seen more than once before. However, a couple seemed new to me.  I loved that the templates were all included in one location at the end of the book, along with a glossary and index to make things even more clear and accessible. I am looking forward to trying out some of these projects with my own kids this summer, or letting them loose to try more independently in my yard. 

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