Recreate Discoveries About Sound

Although there is great value in providing opportunities for young scientists to investigate, create and invent on their own, there is also value in exposing them to some of the great ideas and discoveries of scientists who have gone before them. The “Recreate Scientific Discoveries” series by Crabtree Publishing is excellent at briefly summarizing the scientific theory behind each invention or discovery and giving students a hands-on activity to apply the knowledge.

Recreate Discoveries About Sound is part of the “Recreate Scientific Discoveries” series. Like other books in this series, Recreate Discoveries About Sound is filled with easy to follow step-by-step directions for projects based on a scientific theme. In this case, the projects are about solids, liquids, and gases.

The instructions are clear and well-illustrated. The list of “What You Need” for each project requires items commonly found in your home. Some activities do recommend adult assistance or supervision.

The series follows the standard nonfiction format, including a table of contents, glossary, index, and a short list of books and websites with further information on the topics. There are also a few suggestions for where to buy materials for the projects.

Recreate Discoveries About Sound is organized into 10 projects of increasing complexity. The projects examine vibrations, pitch, music, amplification, recording, and other relevant topics. Students will even learn how to make an electric pressure mat to keep intruders out. Each project provides some background information about a person who originated or contributed to the knowledge in each area. There is a captioned photo of Alexander Graham Bell in the introductory section titled “Understanding Sound”.

Students will find lots to do and learn in Recreate Discoveries About Sound. The historic information combined with the simple projects will encourage young readers to think more deeply about each of the topics. The simple hands-on activities will be popular with multimodal learners. Like other books in the series, I highly recommend Recreate Discoveries About Sound. It will be an excellent addition to your science library or to your MakerSpace.