Science Experiments by the Hundreds (yes, hundreds!)

One of my favorite books is out with a brand new edition - the third edition, in fact. It is an inquiry based science book entitled Science Experiments by the Hundreds. It starts out with an experiment that lets students figure out whether the speed of the flow ketchup is affected by its temperature (personally, I think the speed of ketchup is most affected by how hungry the person waiting for the ketchup is!), and ends with an experiment involving a toy truck and the impact extra weight in the truck has on its ability to go up an incline. I think this book and the other books related to it could easily be used in earlier grades as talented and gifted resources or as part of a curriculum for high ability learners.

The really great thing is that as students are doing the many "investigations," they are also learning the proper way to do an experiment, solving the issues in a systematic way. You don't have to spend a bunch of money on special equipment, most of the objects and supplies are commonly found at home or in the classroom. Best of all, the kids are learning through inquiry based science without even being aware that they're learning. How can you beat that! Check it out when you have a chance!