Children's Book Week, DAY 3 - Science and STEM Books
Mims Books Children's Book Week Challenge #3: Science & STEM Books
Sometimes science takes a long time!
It’s time to challenge kids to read some nonfiction - Science & STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) books!
Mims House has two books on the Children’s Book Week Science and STEM Booklist!
A Little Bit of Dinosaur received a starred Kirkus review: “…entertaining tale… A science-centric winner, especially for young dinosaur lovers.”
STORY SETTING
Ask kids to think about the setting of this story. Why would the author start the story in Colorado and end in Arkansas? Discuss your ideas.
After discussion, read these facts to help you understand the story setting.
FACT: Where in the US have dinosaur fossils been found?
Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Texas. This area is the best source of dinosaur fossils in the world.
The very first T. Rex fossils (a few scattered teeth) were discovered near Golden, Colorado in 1874.
FACT: Where are the headwaters of the Arkansas River? See the map on pp. 10-11 of the book. The Arkansas River runs from the Rocky Mountains of Colorado through Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and empties into the Mississippi River.
Discuss why the setting for the story works.
(T.Rex’s once lived in Colorado, and the Arkansas River could plausibly carry a calcium atom from a T.Rex down river.)
POLLEN: Darwin’s 130-Year Prediction
- Junior Library Guild Selection
- Kirkus Review - *Starred*
- SLJ Review
- Eureka! NonFiction Book Award Honor – California Reading Association
- 2020 NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book
- “…an inviting story…” Publisher’s Weekly
Darwin predicted that the Madagascar star orchid would be pollinated by a giant moth. 21 years later, in 1903, two etymologists, or insect scientists, published a new book about moths. Baron Rothschild and Karl Jordan described a new species of Madagascar hawk moth (Xanthopan morgani praedicta). It had a very long proboscis (straw-like mouth), long enough to pollinate the star orchid.
However, no one had actually observed the pollination happening.
POLLEN: Darwin’s 130 Year Prediction is the story of the star orchid and the hawk moth and how scientists eventually proved that the moth pollinated the orchid. It only took them 130 years!
In other words, scientists stand on the shoulders of the giants in science who went before them. It’s important to know the history of science and to learn about the scientific experiments and studies of previous generations of scientists. Each generation builds on the work of the previous as they work to answer questions about the world around us.
DOWNLOAD THE 49-PAGE PACKET OF CHILDREN’S BOOK WEEK ACTIVITIES (Includes the science activity sheets.)
25% Off MIMS HOUSE 6-Book Set of SuperPower Books - bit.ly/MimsBookWeek
READ OTHER CHILDREN'S BOOK WEEK POSTS
(Links go live throughout the week.)
- Day 1 - Draw characters
- Day 2 - Environmental Books
- Day 3 - Science & STEM Books
- Day 4 - Arts Books
- Day 5 - Social Studies
