Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)I completed the projects in this book with the assistance of a 4 year old and a nearly 10 year old.
This would be an excellent weekend project or home schooler project. It could be easily adapted for use in school - with maybe 1 set per 2-4 children. In our case, it was a weekend project.
In the box are instructions for nearly 20 different projects (although many are redundant - e.g. do it outside, then do it inside) studying the effects of solar energy. Several projects could conceivably be done simultaneously (although some education value might be lost). It took us about 3 laid back days to complete them (with maybe 20-40 m hands-on time).
The first project is to set up the thermometer and mark it. It should have been pre-marked at the 20C mark, which ours was not. This was pretty simple for me to figure out using another thermometer. The book starts you off discussing the various types of energy and why solar energy is so exciting (great discussion topic). The information contained was accurate and appropriate for a wide range of ages (I simplified text for the 4 year old, and asked some follow-ups and gave some examples to clarify things for the 9 year old). The first several projects deal with taking temperatures and do not require the little solar panel - e.g. setting water-filled cups (you provide) on colored paper, white paper and measuring the temperature of the water across several time points, making a mini-water heater.
We did skip some of the redundant projects. However, they are all educational and really useful for engaging their interest in alternative energy sources. Additionally, I had the children predict the outcome at each step - which is useful when discussing scientific method. We talked about solar ovens, hybrid cars, solar powered fountains, solar panels on roofs... Fabulous!
As nothing in the kit is used up, you can come back to the exercises repeatedly. Great price - fun project!
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SOLAR ENERGY MINI LAB
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