Looking at little things—things too small to see with the naked eye—can be big fun. It’s certainly smart science, and award-winning authors Shar Levine and Leslie Johnstone are here to show kids the basics of creating their own professional-quality slides and using their own microscopes. A whole world will open up to budding scientists as they learn to identify the microscope’s different pieces, practice focusing, and prepare different kinds of samples for viewing. Illustrated throughout with photomicrographs (pictures taken through a microscope), and complete with a reproducible form for documenting specimens, this fascinating, in-depth guide explains how to put bugs, water, food, plants and pollen, and even parts of the body (like fingernails) under the scope for a close-up glimpse. Of course, there are troubleshooting answers to common questions and safety instructions for parents and teachers, too.

Kids will swing, run, and jump for joy when smart science combines with super sports. These absorbing activities use both body and mind and make learning science thoroughly entertaining. As children uncover the principles that underlie everything from baseball, basketball, and biking to skiing, surfing, and swimming, they'll begin to understand how the stars perform their famous moves and why some people do better than others at certain sports. And imagine what fun youngsters will have as they kick around a beach ball to see what it takes for a soccer player to shoot straight or as they sing "Happy Birthday" while doing sit-ups to find out why athletes let out those rude-sounding grunts and groans as they play.

Looking at little things—things too small to see with the naked eye—can be big fun. It’s certainly smart science, and award-winning authors Shar Levine and Leslie Johnstone are here to show kids the basics of creating their own professional-quality slides and using their own microscopes. A whole world will open up to budding scientists as they learn to identify the microscope’s different pieces, practice focusing, and prepare different kinds of samples for viewing. Illustrated throughout with photomicrographs (pictures taken through a microscope), and complete with a reproducible form for documenting specimens, this fascinating, in-depth guide explains how to put bugs, water, food, plants and pollen, and even parts of the body (like fingernails) under the scope for a close-up glimpse. Of course, there are troubleshooting answers to common questions and safety instructions for parents and teachers, too.