The Ben Franklin Book of Easy and Incredible Experiments: A Franklin Institute Science Museum Book

by Franklin Institute, Cheryl Kirk Noll

Learn about science the same way Ben Franklin did--by performing incredible experiments! Ben Franklin, the famous patriot and signer of the Declaration of Independence, was also America's first great scientist. At a time when science was a mystery to most people, he performed incredible experiments that revealed amazing facts about light, heat, sound, electricity, the weather, and other aspects of the natural world. Now the enormously popular Franklin Institute Science Museum shows you how to do your own exciting experiments Ben Franklin's way. He used common objects such as cooking oil, a glass bottle, or pieces of colored cloth to chart the Gulf Stream, predict the weather, or measure how much a molecule weighs. Using inexpensive, easy-to-find items, you'll discover how The Franklin Institute Science Museum was built in 1934 in Ben Franklin's hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The first hands-on science museum ever, it offers people a chance to learn about science by experimenting with hundreds of exhibits, including a 20-foot model of the human heart, a 350-ton steam locomotive, and a working weather station.

Genres: Science

144 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 1995

About the author

The Franklin Institute is a science museum and the center of science education and research in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US. It is named after the American scientist and statesman, Benjamin Franklin, and houses the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial. Founded in 1824, the Franklin Institute is one of the oldest centers of science education and development in the United States.

In 1826, The Journal of The Franklin Institute was established to publish US Patent information and to document scientific and technological achievements throughout the nation. It is the second oldest continuously published scientific journal in the country, and is now primarily devoted to applied mathematics.

Reviews

[Ebookwormy1 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book combines simple biography of Ben Franklin's inquisitive exploration of the world with projects that kids can do to learn about the things that fascinated Franklin. The excitement of our students for this approach unseated our regularly scheduled science curriculum to make way for implementation Franklin's interests.

So we put our science curriculum on hold and worked our way through this book as we studied Colonial America and the Revolutionary War. It was a good decision. Understanding of both history and science were enhanced by this guide.

Observation (including scientific method), Exploring the Weather, Exciting Electricity, Making Music, Paper and Printing, and Light & Sound all got rave reviews. Some of them were review and some preview from our normal program.

Generally, the book features directions for things that can be made at home and used for experimentation. The instructions are good enough to go this route. But, we used some help. In Exploring the Weather, we used Smart Box: Weather. For Electricity, we used Snap Circuits.

Have fun exploring!

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben Franklin was a man of many talents. In addition to his writing and publishing, he was a diplomat and scientist. This book is filled with experiments for 8-12 year-olds that are based on some of Franklin's experiments with electricity, weather, musical instruments, printing and more. Clear illustrated instructions show how to make musical instruments and weather stations, do magic tricks or assemble printing presses, all with household materials. A great way to learn about science and history, and have fun too.