Energy Lab for Kids: 40 Exciting Experiments to Explore, Create, Harness, and Unleash Energy

by Emily Hawbaker, Liz Lee Heinecke (Foreword by)

Overview

Energy Lab for Kids offers 40 discovery-filled and thought-provoking energy projects by Emily Hawbaker, a science educator from the NEED (National Energy Education Development) project—with a foreword by Liz Lee Heinecke, author of Kitchen Science Lab for Kids. Using supplies that you can find around the house or in the grocery store, these exciting projects let you observe, explore, discover, and get energized!

We hear about energy on the news, we use it every day, and sometimes we're told we have too much of it. But what is energy—potential, kinetic, chemical, radiant, and thermal? The lab activities in this book will let you explore almost everything about energy—what it is, how we find it, how we use it, and how we can save it.

Uniting this collection of science experiments for the kitchen, backyard, or classroom is the goal to explore and discover real energy solutions. The chapters cross all categories—from steam, electricity, and chemical reactions, to water, solar, and wind power—allowing kids to compare and test the different sources and to discover their strengths and failings. Why is one source of energy is more efficient for a one situation but not for another? Why might two energy sources combined work better than a single source? Which sources are renewable? Projects are geared to understanding actual issues in the news today. With an emphasis on inventive exploration, you'll discover that creativity leads to breakthroughs.

Learn about:

• chemical, radiant, and thermal energy by activating a glow stick and watching it get brighter in hot water.
• viscosity by sucking soda and chocolate syrup up an "oil pipeline" made from straws.
• solar energy by melting s'mores in a pizza box solar oven.
• wind power by lifting paperclips with a wind turbine made from a cup, paper, tape, and straw.
• calories by burning cheese puffs (and other food) in a homemade calorimeter.

The popular Lab for Kids series features a growing list of books that share hands-on activities and projects on a wide host of topics, including art, astronomy, clay, geology, math, and even how to create your own circus—all authored by established experts in their fields. Each lab contains a complete materials list, clear step-by-step photographs of the process, as well as finished samples. The labs can be used as singular projects or as part of a yearlong curriculum of experiential learning. The activities are open-ended, designed to be explored over and over, often with different results. Geared toward being taught or guided by adults, they are enriching for a range of ages and skill levels. Gain firsthand knowledge on your favorite topic with Lab for Kids.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781631592508
Publisher:	Quarry Books
Publication date:	05/01/2017
Series:	Lab for Kids Series , #11
Pages:	144
Sales rank:	697,048
Product dimensions:	8.45(w) x 8.45(h) x 0.65(d)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

Emily Hawbaker has always had energy and a passion for science and education. After graduating from Pennsylvania State University with a degree in Earth science and a minor in science education, she began teaching eighth grade science. Her school was chosen to take part in an energy education project where students learn about their energy use and then teach others, with the help of the National Energy Education Development (NEED) curriculum and materials. Emily saw her students come alive with the NEED program, where she is now curriculum director. In this capacity she shares her passion for energy education as a facilitator of teacher and student events and programming across the country and around the world.

Liz Lee Heinecke has loved science since she was old enough to inspect her first butterfly. After working in molecular biology research for 10 years and earning her master’s degree, she left the lab to kick off a new chapter in her life as a stay-at-home mom. Soon, she found herself sharing her love of science with her three kids as they grew, chronicling their science adventures on her KitchenPantryScientist website. Her desire to share her enthusiasm for science led to regular television appearances, an opportunity to serve as an Earth Ambassador for NASA, and the creation of an iPhone app. Her goal is to make it simple for parents to do science with kids of all ages, and for kids to experiment safely on their own. Liz graduated from Luther College and received her master’s degree in bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She is the author of Kitchen Science Lab for Kids, Kitchen Science Lab for Kids: Edible Edition, Outdoor Science Lab for Kids, STEAM Lab for Kids, Sheet Pan Science, and Little Learning Labs: Kitchen Science for Kids. Her namesake series, The Kitchen Pantry Scientist, pairs illustrated biographies with engaging hands-on activities inspired by their work. The books in that series include: Chemistry for Kids, Biology for Kids, Physics for Kids, Math for Kids, and Ecology for Kids.

Table of Contents

Unit 1: Energy Basics – Let’s Do Work!
Lab 1: Convection Current in a Cup
Lab 2: Beach Basics
Lab 3: What a Gas!
Lab 4: Shadow Shaper
Lab 5: Mirror Madness
Lab 6: Ramp it Up!
Lab 7: Pendulum Swinger
Lab 8: Slinky Sound Waves
Lab 9: Sound Stopper
 
Unit 2: Forms of Energy and Energy Transformations – Energy is Always Changing
Lab 10: Just Bounce
Lab 11: Glowing Bright
Lab 12: Bubbling Up
Lab 13: Hot Hands
Lab 14: Black and White in the Light
 
Unit 3: Renewable and Nonrenewable Energy Sources
Lab 15: Candy Collector
Lab 16: Chocolate Chip Extraction Competition
Lab 17: Getting the Oil Out
Lab 18: Perforated Perfection
Lab 19: Fracturing Gelatin
Lab 20: Uranium Miller
Lab 21: Wind Does Work
Lab 22: Geothermal Heater
Lab 23: Solar Cooker
Lab 24: Biomass Bag
Lab 25: Dam Fun
 
Unit 4: Using Energy – Do You Have the Power?
Lab 26: Pretzel Power
Lab 27: ElectromagWHAT?
Lab 28: Generate This
Lab 29: Light it Up!
Lab 30: Chip Combustion
 
Unit 5: Saving Energy – Conserve and Preserve
Lab 32: Insulators to the Rescue!
Lab 33: Draft Detective
Lab 34: Lighten Up
Lab 35: Solar Water Heater
Lab 36: Watts That All About?
Lab 37: Fridge Fun
Lab 38: Monitor a Month
Lab 39: Waste Watchers
Lab 39: Carbonation Conundrum
Lab 40: Road Trip
 
Glossary
Resources
Acknowledgements
About the authors
Index
 

Editorial Reviews

07/03/2017
Hawbaker, a curriculum director with the nonprofit National Energy Education Development Project, presents an approachable collection of energy-related experiments. Color photographs show children taking part in 40 activities involving household objects: readers can simulate drilling for oil using chocolate syrup and straws, create a “biomass bag” with leftover food and yeast, build a generator, and construct a solar cooker using a pizza box, aluminum foil, and plastic wrap. Hawbaker clearly describes the implications of each activity, and sidebars lend perspective on how the labs relate to science (“In an endothermic reaction, the thermal energy goes in—it’s absorbed. An exothermic reaction is the opposite—thermal energy goes out. Which did you observe when you mixed baking soda and vinegar?”). It’s a straightforward guide to energy principles that encourages collaboration and active exploration. Ages 10–14. (May)

Publishers Weekly

An array of simple demonstrations designed to give budding eco-activists an understanding of how energy is stored, transferred, used responsibly, and recycled. Developed by the National Energy Education Development Project and demonstrated here by a cast of dozens of young children…the low-cost projects range from measuring shadows and charting temperature changes to constructing a solar cooker in a pizza box, creating an inventory of home-appliance energy needs, and competitively "mining" chocolate chips from cookies, then trying to reconstruct the cookies.” – Kirkus Reviews

"The NEED Project continues to produce excellent resources for teachers. This book has an excellent variety of energy experiments. The labs are divided up into five units, making it easier to find the energy lab you need for your curriculum. The labs are easy to follow, with step by step color photos. Each lab gives specific examples as to how that specific energy concept relates to students' everyday life. The resource section for teachers helps explain the science behind each lab in the "Energy Explained" section. I also like how the book gives ideas on how to incorporate more technology into students' learning. I look forward to doing the experiments from this book with my students." - National Science Teachers Association Recommends

"Discover the amazing ways in which chocolate syrup, slinkies, and cheese curls can explain everything from solar power to sound waves and burning calories in Emily Hawbaker’s Energy Lab for Kids. Using just a few simple tools and everyday items, experiments focus on the production of all types of energy, the importance of conservation, working as a team and, of course, having fun, all in sixty minutes or less." - ForeWord Reviews

“Color photographs show children taking part in 40 activities involving household objects: readers can simulate drilling for oil using chocolate syrup and straws, create a “biomass bag” with leftover food and yeast, build a generator, and construct a solar cooker using a pizza box, aluminum foil, and plastic wrap. Hawbaker clearly describes the implications of each activity, and sidebars lend perspective on how the labs relate to science...It’s a straightforward guide to energy principles that encourages collaboration and active exploration.” – Publisher’s Weekly

"a great way for children and their parents to bond over something that's both fun and practical"

"Throughout the book Hawbaker does an excellent job of combining an active, visually engaging experiment with real-world learning on energy, explaining how it works and how we can explore and exploit it to enrich our world"—How It Works magazine

From the Publisher

09/15/2017
Former science teacher and current curriculum director of the nonprofit National Energy Education Development project, Hawbaker leads elementary-aged youth through 40 experiments that effectively harness energy, from steam to solar to chemical reactions, illustrating its power, global impact, and importance for future leaders. Each lab clearly outlines the time investment, number of participants required, a "mess alert," safety concerns, and the materials needed (almost all readily available at home or with a quick stop at the hardware store). Kids will be enthralled with many of these experiments, such as "Fracturing Gelatin," which teaches about hydraulic fracturing, and heating up balloons to learn about thermal energy. VERDICT Gorgeously presented with full-color photos, sidebars, and helpful tips, this work is rounded out with a glossary and serves as an exciting and accessible STEM resource. Recommended for all public libraries.

Library Journal

2017-04-26
An array of simple demonstrations designed to give budding eco-activists an understanding of how energy is stored, transferred, used responsibly, and recycled.Developed by the National Energy Education Development Project and demonstrated here by a cast of dozens of young children—roughly evenly split between girls and boys but the substantial majority presenting as white—the low-cost projects range from measuring shadows and charting temperature changes to constructing a solar cooker in a pizza box, creating an inventory of home-appliance energy needs, and competitively "mining" chocolate chips from cookies, then trying to reconstruct the cookies. Each entry comes with a materials list, clear, step-by-step directions with color photos, safety and potential-mess alerts, and difficulty ratings that range from "No Sweat!" (meaning doable by one person) to "Grab a Crew Member!"—for group activities, it's "All Hands On Deck!" Each concludes with a nontechnical explanation of the physical principles involved, and many feature suggestions for further tinkering with materials or variables. Fun and enlightenment for young experimenters working alone, with partners, or in groups. (glossary, index, websites) (Nonfiction. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews