Recreate Discoveries About States of Matter

Recreate Discoveries About States of Matter is part of the “Recreate Scientific Discoveries” series from Crabtree Publishing. This series provides a brief summary of the scientific theory behind an invention or discovery, followed by 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. A reminder on the Table of Contents page tells readers:

Take Care!
These projects can be made with everyday objects, materials, and tools that you can find at home, or in a supermarket, hobby store, or DIY store. Some projects involve working with things that are sharp, breakable, or need extra strength to operate. Make sure you have an adult on hand to supervise and help with anything that could be dangerous. Always get permission before you try out any of the projects.

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.

Recreate Discoveries About States of Matter is organized into 10 projects of increasing complexity, including chocolate art, summer slushies, and instant ice-cream. The projects examine freezing, melting, evaporation, crystals, condensation, global warming, and other relevant topics. Each project provides some background information about a person who originated or contributed to the knowledge in each area.

For example, students will create a desert cooler based on the work of Mohammed Bah Abba (1964-2010).

Mohammed Bah Abba was from a family of clay pot makers in Nigeria. He later became a teacher. He developed a refrigerator out of two pots. This invention was very useful for people in northern Africa because it is very dry and hot. This invention helped people save food and lower disease. Abba hired workers to make thousands of the fridges for local families.

Students will find lots to do and learn in Recreate Discoveries About States of Matter. The historic information combined with the simple projects will encourage young readers to think more deeply about each of the topics while experiencing the success of apply the knowledge through a simple hands-on activity. This book is sure to be popular with multimodal learners.