This STEM Friday is for the Fishes

August 24, 2012 by Sue Heavenrich 5 Comments

The Big Green Book of the Big Blue Sea

by Helaine Becker; illustrated by Willow Dawson

For ages 8 – 12; Kids Can Press, 2012

If you take this book with you to the ocean, you won’t be sitting under the beach umbrella reading it for long… because it has a whole lot of stuff that you just need to get up and do. And the really neat thing – you don’t even have to go to the ocean to do it!

This is a hands-on, let’s-find-out-how-the-ocean-works kind of book. There’s 80 pages of information, experiments, games and activities on everything from how much of the earth is water (75%) to how one stops an oil slick from spreading (rice chex maybe?). Want to know how a starfish’s tube feet work? That’s in there. Want to know how a jellyfish stinger works? That’s in there too.

There are hands-on explorations that help explain global warming impacts on the ocean: how warming can affect currents, and how ocean acidification affects coral reefs. You can create a tsunami in your bathtub, check out how oil spills affect bird feathers, and test what fishy shapes are best for swimming. And there’s a fun game that can really help you understand the population impacts from overfishing.

There are scads of sidebars, too: newsy bits that bring readers up to date on efforts to fight environmental hazards, risks to the ocean, and things kids can do. A great resource for kids who want to learn more about how oceans work.

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