Art and Architecture

School Library Journal

Gr 4–7—This fun and informative book features 25 simple experiments using common household items and foods such as blueberries, colored cellophane, food coloring, Magic Markers, miniature marshmallows, and wooden toothpicks to demonstrate principles and inspire creative thought about the intersection of science with the visual and mechanical arts. The six chapters include activities that illuminate certain scientific aspects of each respective subject. For example, "Science and the Origin of Art" includes experiments on wood, rocks, sediment, metal, pigments, and paper, while "Light and Color" studies shadows, bending light, light and pigments, mixing pigments, and separating pigments. Each activity is logically ordered under headings such as "Time Required," "Materials," "Safety," "Procedure," "Analysis" (typically three questions), "Our Findings" (which briefly answer the "Analysis" questions), etc., and include one or more helpful illustrations. Interspersed are one- to two-page spreads about related topics—for example, text about the formation of clay segues into the experiment about sediments. Accessible for independent reading by children with a scientific bent or curiosity about how the world works, these experiments would also be useful for scout projects or science clubs. It would be mind-stretching for parents to conduct these experiments with their children, perhaps one each weekend, discussing the results and looking for examples in their environment.—Joel Shoemaker, formerly at South East Junior High School, Iowa City, IA