This Book Will Make You A Scientist

Here is a perfect blend of interesting biographies of 25 scientists with the same number of practical experiments for readers to try at home. Such a mixture will surely inspire young people to aim high like these well-known and lesser-known scientists. Then they can put some science into action and try their hand (with some grown-up help) at some clever and original STEM activities.

I am a huge fan of these publications resulting from the exceptional partnership between experts from the University of Cambridge and the award-winning publisher Nosy Crow. The introductory pages are well laid out and are brimful of good advice. My favourite sentence is ‘You will need to have the patience, confidence and determination to believe in yourself and try, try and try again!’ (p.11.)

Each spread is devoted to one scientist and an accompanying experiment. Due to my recent visit to the fantastic cultural hub of Bath, and a trip to see the Herschel Museum there, I was delighted to learn more about Caroline Herschel, a German astronomer who assisted her more famous brother, William in the same field. (See pp.22-23.) The experiment alongside the biography of Caroline Herschel encourages youngsters to get dressed in their warm clothes and go outside at night to do a spot of stargazing and mapping.

Between the covers of this beautiful hardback not only will the young reader learn about famous figures such as Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking, but they will also discover lesser-known scientists e.g. how to ‘Make invisible ink like James Jay,’ (p. 25) and ‘Watch a volcano erupt like Katia Krafft’ (pp. 52-53). Excellence runs through this publication so there are wonderful little touches such as the clearly drawn and labelled equipment needed for each experiment, and all these experiments are printed on square graph paper!

Congratulations to all the team behind this creation! I loved finding out more about these scientists and their seismic work. Even as an arts student myself, I am certain This Book Will Make You A Scientist!