Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Recommended Resources Book/toy suggestions for science-y 7 year old

I would love some suggestions for books/toys/resources DS who loves science and says he wants to be a scientist when he grows up. He enjoys all things science with the exception of anatomy and paleontology. Skeletons seem to freak him out a bit--so going to the store with him once Halloween decorations are up is not fun.

Anyway, he was really into astronomy but this has waned (somewhat) and his new loves seem to be chemistry (enjoys copying the periodic table and writing formulas--we have an app that helps with this) and geology. He does like some robotics. He takes a lot of notes. He also likes to take cardboard boxes, old tubes, empty soda bottles, etc and tape them together and make new things--currently we have a periscope, a ladybug house, a marble run and some type of thing that he says is to catch and funnel water.

He has two snap circuit kits but he puts those together so quickly that I wonder if he has outgrown them. We have done some science kits. I remember the Magic School Bus (chemistry?) and a magic science kit. He's not a strong reader (probably right on grade level) and he lacks confidence in reading. He loves the See Inside and Look Inside Usborne Books but he seems to have memorized most of the information. He enjoys books with lots of illustrations.

I am planning on buying the Usborne Science Encyclopedia (with internet links). Any other suggestions? Thank you.

When searching the forums you may find multiple threads on curriculum and activities. This recent post may give a few ideas as a starting point.

Additionally the Davidson Database has great articles and lists of resources, including
- a list of resources by subject type,
- an outside link to information on making science-related toys,
- a crowd-sourced list of Gifts for Eager Young Minds.

I ordered the 3- month gift subscription to Tinker Crate last Christmas and dd7 (then 6) really enjoyed them. However, the kits broke after a couple of uses so I decided not to extend. But they were really cool if you want to check them out. Other toys she has enjoyed are terranium, scienterrific's roller coaster science. But mostly, she enjoys doing silly science using household material- making flubber using corn starch, making the best bubble mix, etc.

If you think he's mature enough to enjoy it, take a look at What If? by Randall Munroe. Dry humor, silly questions, real physics.

My son is almost seven and he loves science, too.

For books, I second What If? My DS 6 (soon to be 7) loved it. We also enjoyed "Thing Explainer" by the same author (but is full of illustrations so your son would probably love it).

Others, in no particular order:
Professor Astrocat's Frontiers of Space and Professor Astrocat's Atomic Adventure. These look like kids' books because of the retro art and cats flying spaceships but the author has a Ph.D. in Quantum Mechanics and the books are just incredible.
Howtoons graphic novels (about science and engineering) They also include some ideas about tinkering and/or building with junk you find around the house;
It's Elementary: Big Questions about Chemistry;
The Elements and The Molecule by Theodore Gray; and
Junk Drawer Chemistry and Junk Drawer Physics (better than buying any kit, in my opinion)


My son is also really into geology so we have lots of guides on rocks and minerals. For his sixth birthday, we put together a backpack with a rock hammer, goggles, a kit for testing the hardness of rocks/minerals and a book with maps showing where to find various rocks in California. We keep it in the trunk of our car so it's always with us and we have spent many happy hours collecting rocks. We also have a microscope at home so we can examine them close up.

He would probably enjoy non-fiction graphic books? If so, there's a relatively new series called Science Comics. There are only a few out so far, but the boys LOVED Coral Reefs. A few more are slated to be published later this year.

There's also a large series of graphic books called Building Blocks of Science by Joseph Midthun. Our boys (DS6 and DS5) loved Gravity.

We've also started reading the chapter book series titled Horrible Science by Nick Arnold. So far, they love Disgusting Digestion. To your point about anatomy though, most are not biology-related. And while they're chapter books, they are generously illustrated.

And again I know you said he's not into anatomy, but I have also found the graphic comic Human Body Theatre to be terrific. We got it from the library but now I'm going to buy a copy for the boys (DS5 kept it in his bed every night!). Though come to think of it, the "master of ceremonies" is a skeleton, so you might want to skip that one.

The kids novels by the Hawkings are great at that age, even if he's moving out of physics: (https://www.amazon.com/Georges-Secret-Key-Paperback-Collection/dp/1481484346/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1473947640&sr=8-2&keywords=George%27s+Secret+Key+to+the+Universe)

A real molecule set is a ridiculously expensive but awesome thing. My DS was in heaven when we pulled out my old university kit. Especially since he was doing some science experiments with materials simple enough that he could build them at all stages. (Hot ice, for example, is great for this, and way cool to play with). Even with a standard (small) kit, you have enough pieces to build the vinegar and baking soda molecules, and create all the steps of breaking up, evaporating off, re-combining, etc. Mr. Social Anxiety morphed into super-excited Showman Extraordinaire demonstrating this to his (admittedly somewhat bewildered) class in grade 2. (Here's an example, but there's tons of web sites about this: http://chemistry.about.com/od/homeexperiments/a/make-hot-ice-sodium-acetate.htm)

@RRD: I'm intrigued by the Building Blocks of Science series. I don't see any reviews on Amazon and there aren't any page previews. Which books have you read and recommend? Have you read any of the math ones?

I second the suggestion for Human Body Theater. We read it recently and loved it. The OP's son many not like it because of the skeleton but other science-loving kids will appreciate it!

Lepa,

Yes, I noticed that Amazon was pretty silent on them, but they're extremely well rated on Goodreads. And actually, I just found preview pages on the World Books Inc website.

We've only read the Gravity one so far but I've flipped through some of the others and they look good. I don't have a science background (not even close!) so I can't vouch for the quality of the material myself, but we have friends who are both scientists and love reading these to their kids as well.

So far though, I think the Science Comics will be more fun to read.