The Book of Potentially Catastrophic Science: 50 Experiments for Daring Young Scientists

by Sean Connolly

It’s never been more important to engage a child's scientific curiosity, and Sean Connolly knows just how to do it—with lively, hands-on, seemingly "dangerous" experiments that pop, ooze, crash, and teach! Now, the author of The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science , takes it one step He leads kids through the history of science, and then creates amazing yet simple experiments that demonstrate key scientific principles.

Tame fire just like a Neanderthal with the Fahrenheit 451 experiment. Round up all your friends and track the spread of "disease" using body glitter with an experiment inspired by Edward Jenner, the vaccination pioneer who's credited with saving more lives than any other person in history. Rediscover the wheel and axle with the ancient Sumerians, and perform an astounding experiment demonstrating the theory of angular momentum. Build a simple telescope—just like Galileo's—and find the four moons he discovered orbiting Jupiter (an act that helped land him in prison). Take a less potentially catastrophic approach to electricity than Ben Franklin did with the Lightning Mouth experiment. Re-create the Hadron Collider in a microwave with marshmallows, calculator, and a ruler—it won't jeopardize Earth with a simulated Big Bang, but will demonstrate the speed of light. And it's tasty!

By letting kids stand on the shoulders of Aristotle, Newton, Einstein, the Wright brothers, Marie Curie, Darwin, Watson and Crick, and more, The Book of Potentially Catastrophic Science is an uncommonly engaging guide to science, and the great stories of the men and women behind the science.

Genres: Science, Nonfiction, Childrens

306 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2010

About the author

Sean Connolly will be familiar to listeners of BBC Radio Five Live and Radio Wales. Among his more than 50 books aimed at children and adults are Wholly Irresponsible Experiments and Witness to History: The Industrial Revolution. He has also written for the Kingfisher Science Encyclopedia. His three children are either collaborators or guinea pigs, depending on the project.

Reviews

[H (no longer expecting notifications) Balikov · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars
There were times when an enterprising child could actually play with dangerous chemicals and devices in the name of developing an interest in science and engineering. For better (or some say, for worse), those days are past.

Sean Connolly not only provides safe "experiments" but he advocates having an adult present for those activities. The fifty experiments are presented in "historical" order and could provide a history of humankind's invention and experimentation. The reader will find out how the wheel and axle were developed; how gunpowder was invented; and, why the Chinese may have invented the seismometer. Going through the book will create some oohs and aahs, but most of it will be a success if the reader just has an "aha" moment.

The book is generally well written, but the background and instructions may find the child bored or frustrated. It will take a "in sync" grownup to help and make the "lessons" complete. Because of the lack of clarity in what is pitched to whom, I have deducted a bit. Having said that, I have no doubt that most readers will learn something valuable from Connolly's book.

[Anirudh Ganesh · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you are reading this book, take my warning. This is just about as clickbait as a book can get. Now let me clear this up, the book might be good if you are into learning all the science and history behind certain things, but if, like me, you are in it for fun science experiments, like the name would suggest, then you will be sorely disappointed. First of all, it blatantly lies about certain things, such as "raising the dead" which is never once mentioned throughout. And others, like "splitting atoms" just mention famous scientists doing it, and never even attempts to give you a watered down version of it. Next, I would like to discuss the "Potentially Catastrophic" phrase, clearly designed to grab in viewers thinking that they will be daredevils. The most "Catastrophic" this book gets is when you are using light fire, or just sitting outside in the sun. And for some reason, this book counts its daringness in nukes, and if something has no risk it still gets a nuke. I would be fine with this book had it not been for the clearly attention grabbing "Potentially Catastrophic", which is not delivered on. Some experiments can be very fun, such as the rocket one, but others tell you to go to a theme park, or put 2 eggs on a sheet. I did like the history and learning aspect, but I came for the full package of the experiments too. Whether you do them or not, not one will be potentially catastrophic, unless a slight risk of stains is deserving of a 3/5 on the danger scale. I would not be "ranting" about this if he had called it "What really happens: a book about the history of science with fun experiments along the way," or something similar. Yes, it is partly my fault for wishing to pick up a book based solely on its title, but I still believe a book should deliver on these fronts. I was unsatisfied, which a good book should not do. The front and back cover elude to some gigantic payoff, but you will very quickly see how it does not live up to the hype, and falls flat in most areas. I want a book called "Potentially Catastrophic Science Experiments" to make me feel like a daredevil who's taking risks, not someone reading about people who took daring risks. In the same vein as how good mystery books make you feel like you are carried away from your potentially mundane life to solve a crime, this book should make me feel like I am one of these scientists, doing daring experiments that could have changed everything. Yes, I was partly dissatisfied because I was very hyped, but I am not much to blame when the front cover makes it sound amazing. All in all, this book will deliver on some fronts if you do not go in hyped and ready for potentially catastrophic experiments, but for most, including me, it falls flat in what makes a good experiment book, and is hyped up for almost nothing. But that is just my opinion, and everyone is entitled to their own, so don't let me stop you from reading it. Just know that if you are going in expecting what the name suggests, you might be disappointed

[Brandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

What causes an avalanche? Find out when you make one. What’s happening during a lunar eclipse? Find out when you recreate it in your living room. How is rocket fuel different from regular fuel? Find out when you build your rocket out of a soda bottle. How long will it take a pizza to be delivered? It doesn’t matter once you’ve built a solar pizza cooker.

Easy booktalk on the title alone, though the book itself is maybe a little dense to read through for all but the most intrepid of young scientists. I suspect most middle-schoolers will skip over the history and the explanation of the science to get to the good parts: the experiments in which they blow stuff up, launch objects, or build machines.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was awesome! A mixture of science and history because it told you the history of the science experiment- who did it, who made the break through and then it gave you a couple of experiment based on the theory of the original some of which were potentially catastrophic!

[Electro Duck · Rating 2 out of 5]

For LITTLE KIDS only. Mini weapons is MUCH better. A few fun things though.

[Jim D'Ambrosia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I probably shouldn't review this book, as I haven't done any of the experiments :(.

Ok, most of the experiments are nowhere close to catastrophic or daring. But they're all related, possibly tangentially, to dangerous things like explosions or whatever. A lot of the experiments look fun, and meaningful.

There are a few science mistakes in some of the explanatory text, that I was surprised to see. Overall -- written with a good heart, verve and a good sense of humor. I absolutely give Connolly credit for trying. I should look up some of his similar books.

[Ümit Mutlu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Popüler bilim kitapları iyidir. Tarih kitapları iyidir. Deney yapmana yardımcı olan kitaplar da iyidir.

Bilim iyidir.

Bu kitapta bunların hepsi ve daha fazlası var. Yediden yetmişe herkesin ilgisini ve merakını çekecek, müthiş bilimsel gerçekler ve tuhaflıklar var. Bilim tarihine tek seferde hakkaniyetli bir bakış atmanı sağlayacak konular ve içerik var.

Çocukluğumda okuyabilseydim bu tür kitapları, çocukluğumda çok daha mutlu olurdum. (Gerçi bol bol ansiklopedi okuyordum ben, hıh!)

[Emerson Lima · Rating 4 out of 5]

O livro perfeito para dar de presente aos seus filhos quando eles tiverem idade para explodir a casa!
Ninguém gosta do tédio...Ciência é isso mesmo: diversão e perigo!

[JACKSON VERITY-MCMORAN · Rating 5 out of 5]

it is full of science.

[Maxine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read as 8th grade science. Fun read!

[Thomas Ray]

Also Theo Gray's Mad Science: Experiments You Can Do at Home - But Probably Shouldn't and Mad Science 2: Experiments You Can Do At Home, But STILL Probably Shouldn't by Theodore Gray.

[Stephanie Peterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really neat book that is full of science experiments and the history to go along with it. Ever experiment has been grouped into a category and the history of the category is explained before the experiments are listed. For example, on page 136, they begin talking about George Stephenson's stream train. The explain what the stream train is and then go on to explain the science behind the steam train on page 140. This is followed by a science experiment that closely resembles what was just explained. In this case, on page 142 there is an experiment about Stephenson's steam can. I also love how there is a "catastrophic meter chart" on each experiment that tells how messy it is and how much supervision is needed. I think this would be a great book for students to use for science experiments, or if they just want to have fun and learn about the history of scientists and the science that backs up their inventions. Very cool book!

[MaggyGray · Rating 4 out of 5]

Für junge Forscher eine nette Zusammenstellung von Themen und Experimenten, auch wenn diese alles andere als "voll gefährlich" sind (selbst für Kinder). Die Zeichnungen hätten einen Tick netter sein können, aber sonst ist dieses Buch eine nette Einsteigerdroge.

[Thomas Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very informative book. I learned a lot from it.

[Gladius · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, for a look about science. The author made it story-like.
Best science book I have read this year so far.

[Ch J Loveall · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have seen these experiments before. If you have not, it might be a good read.