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The Curious Kid's Science Book: 100+ Creative Hands-On Activities for Ages 4-8
What happens if you water plants with juice? Where can you find bacteria in your house? Is slug slime as strong as a glue stick? How would your child find the answers to these questions? In The Curious Kid's Science Book, your child will learn to design his or her own science investigations to determine the answers! Children will learn to ask their own scientific questions, discover value in failed experiments, and - most importantly - have a blast with science. The 100+ hands-on activities in the book use household items to playfully teach important science, technology, engineering, and math skills. Each creative activity includes age-appropriate explanations and (when possible) real life applications of the concepts covered. Adding science to your at-home schedule will make a positive impact on your child's learning. Just one experiment a week will help build children's confidence and excitement about the sciences, boost success in the classroom, and give them the tools to design and execute their own science fair projects.
226 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 8, 2015
44 people are currently reading
203 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
October 11, 2015
We've been going through Asia Citro's newest book, Curious Kid's Science Book: 100+ Creative Hands-on Activities for Ages 4-8. She's put together over 100 fun science experiments for kids that need little or no set-up and use household items. Perfect for busy families!
The best way to nurture children’s interest in science is to let then explore and follow their lead. My children chose to start with experiments in the Water and Ice chapter, and they really enjoyed them.
Each of the science experiments comes with a 'extras'; extensions to do or real-life applications. This makes it easy to adapt the projects to various levels, even while they work together at the same time. For some experiments a real 'little scientist' gives his or her results. How do your own results compare? This is a fun addition!
As any true scientist, Asia asks lots of questions. She leaves them open for young scientists to ponder and explore. This book doesn't go in a 'step by step' format, but rather gives you the tools and freedom to manage them on your own.
Some of the experiments will take only a few minutes, like the ones we sampled, but others will take a few days, especially the Mold, Bacteria, and Fungus ones. I'd really love for my little scientists to try these, and I'm going to be adding agar and petri dishes to my next grocery list so we can have some more fun.
Some of these experiments we've done in the past. Some are classics, and many are ones that are completely new to us, or give a new spin on the classics.
We're looking forward to trying out more experiments. This would make a great book for parents, teachers, and daycares.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
The best way to nurture children’s interest in science is to let then explore and follow their lead. My children chose to start with experiments in the Water and Ice chapter, and they really enjoyed them.
Each of the science experiments comes with a 'extras'; extensions to do or real-life applications. This makes it easy to adapt the projects to various levels, even while they work together at the same time. For some experiments a real 'little scientist' gives his or her results. How do your own results compare? This is a fun addition!
As any true scientist, Asia asks lots of questions. She leaves them open for young scientists to ponder and explore. This book doesn't go in a 'step by step' format, but rather gives you the tools and freedom to manage them on your own.
Some of the experiments will take only a few minutes, like the ones we sampled, but others will take a few days, especially the Mold, Bacteria, and Fungus ones. I'd really love for my little scientists to try these, and I'm going to be adding agar and petri dishes to my next grocery list so we can have some more fun.
Some of these experiments we've done in the past. Some are classics, and many are ones that are completely new to us, or give a new spin on the classics.
We're looking forward to trying out more experiments. This would make a great book for parents, teachers, and daycares.
I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
October 16, 2020
A chunky book filled with great science experiments & ideas! The chapters are divided into 'topics' making it easy to find activities based on curriculum themes. Each experiment has a scientific question, things to consider, data collection and how to link it to real-life. The book also incorporates STEM into each of the activities.
April 13, 2021
This book is a solid resource with many wonderful ideas.
I appreciated:
>Citro purposefully made the guidelines (not instructions) such that the experimenter needs to decide many of the variables
-but still also provides enough of a framework that laypersons can figure it out
>the experiments really were kid-friendly, and kid-doable, and will almost certainly capture their interest and imaginations
>that a variety of both boys and girls are included, and that the girls are highlighted often in the book's pages
>that the supplies can all be readily found around the house or at common, usually non-speciality, stores (e.g. grocery stores, home improvement stores, etc.)
-the supplies are generally inexpensive
-some even come from the recycling box
For me, there were only two drawbacks:
>All of the kids in the book are white
>Citro recommends buying insects online and having them shipped to where people live
-in one example she even says 'after the research release them or buy xyz food to keep them'
-NO it is NEVER a good idea to bring in insects from another place. Many of these animals become invasive pests when released into a new ecosystem it is a really BAD idea.
-NO just NO. NEVER DO THIS!!
>OK, and also isopods (rolly pollys/pill bugs/woodlice) are NOT insects
-they are, in fact, terrestrial crustaceans
-they should still not be imported to a new region
I got my copy of this book from the library which, alas, would like it back soon. But, I am adding it to my to-buy list for a time when I can again afford to purchase books, or when people would like to gift me with one.
-they are
I appreciated:
>Citro purposefully made the guidelines (not instructions) such that the experimenter needs to decide many of the variables
-but still also provides enough of a framework that laypersons can figure it out
>the experiments really were kid-friendly, and kid-doable, and will almost certainly capture their interest and imaginations
>that a variety of both boys and girls are included, and that the girls are highlighted often in the book's pages
>that the supplies can all be readily found around the house or at common, usually non-speciality, stores (e.g. grocery stores, home improvement stores, etc.)
-the supplies are generally inexpensive
-some even come from the recycling box
For me, there were only two drawbacks:
>All of the kids in the book are white
>Citro recommends buying insects online and having them shipped to where people live
-in one example she even says 'after the research release them or buy xyz food to keep them'
-NO it is NEVER a good idea to bring in insects from another place. Many of these animals become invasive pests when released into a new ecosystem it is a really BAD idea.
-NO just NO. NEVER DO THIS!!
>OK, and also isopods (rolly pollys/pill bugs/woodlice) are NOT insects
-they are, in fact, terrestrial crustaceans
-they should still not be imported to a new region
I got my copy of this book from the library which, alas, would like it back soon. But, I am adding it to my to-buy list for a time when I can again afford to purchase books, or when people would like to gift me with one.
-they are
September 22, 2017
Most books of science activities for kids bill themselves as "experiments" when they are actually projects: step-by-step instructions tell kids what to do, what should happen when they do it, and why they'll observe those results. This wonderful book is actually full of experiments. The introduction starts with explaining what the scientific method is, and each experiment title contains the independent and dependent variables . The instructions help kids think through ways to control confounding variables, as well as helping them to set up the independent variable and measure the dependent variable.
For example, one experiment asks if changing the amount of water affects plant growth. It specifies that each test subject needs the same container, the same kind of dirt, the same amount of dirt, the same kind of seed, and the same amount of sunlight. It cautions kids to mark each subject so it gets the same amount of water each time. Finally, it asks how the water will be measured and how the growth of the plants will be measured. Real experiments, set up in ways that little kids can understand and care them out reasonably independently.
For example, one experiment asks if changing the amount of water affects plant growth. It specifies that each test subject needs the same container, the same kind of dirt, the same amount of dirt, the same kind of seed, and the same amount of sunlight. It cautions kids to mark each subject so it gets the same amount of water each time. Finally, it asks how the water will be measured and how the growth of the plants will be measured. Real experiments, set up in ways that little kids can understand and care them out reasonably independently.
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September 1, 2025BOOK 72 (2025)
The curious kid's science book, Asia Citro
read in portuguese
PLOT
A book full of activities and scientific kids for ages 4-8
RATING
N/A /10
KEY-IDEAS/FEELINGS
science, homeschooling, everyday science, systematic
GOOD POINTS
Very systematic
Approachable ideas
BAD POINTS
A bit schematic and uneventful
FOR WHO
Parents and teachers that need new scientific input for their children
The curious kid's science book, Asia Citro
read in portuguese
PLOT
A book full of activities and scientific kids for ages 4-8
RATING
N/A /10
KEY-IDEAS/FEELINGS
science, homeschooling, everyday science, systematic
GOOD POINTS
Very systematic
Approachable ideas
BAD POINTS
A bit schematic and uneventful
FOR WHO
Parents and teachers that need new scientific input for their children
September 11, 2018
This book is so fun! It is written for littler kids but I have been doing some of the learning with my 11-year-old and it is very engaging. The author makes the scientific method fun and not boring. And the illustrations and success stories are very helpful. Highly recommended for home-schoolers and elementary educators.
January 7, 2025
The experiments in this book look fun! My kids aren’t old enough yet, but when they are I hope they will feel the same! Reading this brought back wonderful memories of doing experiments when I was a kid. I love that the author doesn’t give step by step instructions. Parents should guide kids to set up the experiment and choose variables that make sense. I would love to own this book!
November 27, 2016
Great resource
Love all the ideas and the sci method approach to start children thinking as scientists. A great resource for parents and teachers.
Love all the ideas and the sci method approach to start children thinking as scientists. A great resource for parents and teachers.
September 30, 2018
Wonderful resource! We would not have survived summer break without it.
January 3, 2016
While my not-quite-3-year-old is a little too young to understand the principles behind most of these, this book should keep us busy for some time. (A number of the experiments should be good for entertainment value now and then can be repeated in a few years with greater understanding.) This isn't so much a step-by-step guide as a set of questions and vague suggestions designed to prompt budding mad scientists to come up with their own questions, hypotheses, and experimental setups. That is, this book tries less to teach scientific facts as to teach the scientific method, which is probably more fun and educational than one that simply tries to get the young elementary crowd to memorize chemical bonds or something. My only real quibble is that in an effort to hit the 100+ mark, they go seriously overboard on the baking soda experiments. They get really repetitive.
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August 13, 2016Meant for kids to design their own science experiment. Asia Citro challenges kids to ask their own scientific questions, to develop skills to solve problems, to be scientific thinkers and doers. The book draws on a kid’s natural curiosity, and in the context of the scientific method, moving from questions, to hypothesis, to experiment, to results, and conclusion.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews