A children's instructional book on how to use readily available materials to turn the house into a science lab Science teacher Bobby Mercer provides readers with more than 50 great hands-on experiments that can be performed for just pennies, or less. Each project has a materials list, detailed step-by-step instructions with illustrations, and a brief explanation of the scientific principle being demonstrated. From turning three pennies and two galvanized washers into a simple battery to crushing a soda can using atmospheric pressure, the experiments in this book call for materials that are recycled or repurposed—crayons, plastic drink bottles, balloons, ice cubes, and other basic items found around the house. Junk Drawer Chemistry also includes sidebars of fascinating chemistry facts. Educators and parents will find this title a handy resource to teach children about chemistry topics that include atoms, compounds, solutions, mixtures, reactions, thermodynamics, acids and bases, and more, while having fun at the same time.

There's not need for expensive, high-tech lab equipment to perform physics experiments-you probably have all you need in your home junk drawer. Turn a plastic cup into a pinhole camera using waxed paper, a rubber band, and a thumbtack. Build a swinging wave machine using a series of washers suspended on strings from a yardstick. Use a cork, string, and water-filled plastic bottle to create a simple accelerometer. Or construct your own planetarium from an empty potato chip canister, construction paper, scissors, and a pin. Physics teacher Bobby Mercer provides readers with more than 50 great hands-on experiments that can be performed for just pennies . . . or less. Each project has a materials list, detailed step-by-step instructions with illustrations, and a brief explanation of the scientific principle being demonstrated. Junk Drawer Physics also includes sidebars of fascinating physics facts: did you know the Eiffel Tower is six inches taller in summer than in winter because its steel structure expands in the heat? Educators and parents will find this title a handy resource to teach children about physics topics that include magnetism, electricity, force, motion, light, energy, sound, and more, and have fun at the same time. Bobby Mercer has been a high school physics teacher for over two decades. He is the author of The Flying Machine Book, The Racecar Book, and Smash It! Crash It! Launch It! and lives with his family outside of Asheville, North Carolina.

There's no need for expensive, high-tech lab equipment to perform biology experiments—you probably have all you need in your home junk drawer. Use balloons, drinking straws, and empty plastic bottles to construct working models of hearts and lungs. Investigate plant transpiration and photosynthesis with leaves and resealable bags. Build a candy DNA model using gumdrops, toothpicks, and licorice rope. Study capillary action in plant xylem using colored water and paper towels. Extract DNA from a banana using a simple chemical process. Or learn how to turn a smartphone into a photographic microscope. Here are more than 50 great hands-on experiments that can be performed for just pennies . . . or less. Each project has a materials list, detailed step-by-step instructions with illustrations, and a brief explanation of the scientific principle being demonstrated—seed germination, osmosis, human senses and systems, chromosomes, mitosis and meiosis, and more.

The projects in Junk Drawer Engineering demonstrate that you don't need high-tech equipment to make learning fun—just what you can find in your recycling bin and around the house. Educators and parents will find this title a handy resource to teach children problem-solving skills and applied physics, all while having a lot of fun.