Energy Lab for Kids: 40 Exciting Experiments to Explore, Create, Harness, and Unleash Energy

Hawbaker, a curriculum director with the nonprofit National Energy Education Development Project, presents an approachable collection of energy-related experiments. Color photographs show children taking part in 40 activities involving household objects: readers can simulate drilling for oil using chocolate syrup and straws, create a “biomass bag” with leftover food and yeast, build a generator, and construct a solar cooker using a pizza box, aluminum foil, and plastic wrap. Hawbaker clearly describes the implications of each activity, and sidebars lend perspective on how the labs relate to science (“In an endothermic reaction, the thermal energy goes in—it’s absorbed. An exothermic reaction is the opposite—thermal energy goes out. Which did you observe when you mixed baking soda and vinegar?”). It’s a straightforward guide to energy principles that encourages collaboration and active exploration. Ages 10–14. (May)