Thames & Kosmos has come out with a whole bunch of new science kits, 4 of which are centered around environmental issues. All of these kits are a great way to get kids thinking about being green. Each kit comes with everything you need to experiment and learn about pressing environmental issues from Global Warming to experimenting with Fuel Cells.
Power House Green Essentials Edition
Now children ages ten and up can learn about the timely issues of alternative energy and sustainable living, by conducting 30 experiments and building ten energy-related models: the power house itself, a greenhouse, a solar cell array, a passive solar collector, a solar oven, an air conditioner, a refrigerator, a hydrometer, a lemon battery, and a wind power generator. They can even sow seeds in the greenhouse! The kit comes with a 64-page, full-color experiment manual and retails for $89.95. Available now.
Fuel Cell 10: 10th Anniversary Car & Experiment Kit. Targeted for ages ten and up, this edition enables a younger audience to experience one of the most significant technologies of the early 21st Century – especially appropriate in the midst of our auto industry crisis and global energy situation. By constructing and operating a unique reversible hydrogen fuel cell, powered by water and sunlight, children build a model car that actually runs on water! And in so doing, they join auto manufacturers in experimenting with a technology that will power not only automobiles, but electronic devices such as laptops and cell phones. This new edition has a beautifully redesigned car body with a display stand and a rewritten 64-page, full-color experiment manual, and retails for $169.95. Available fall 2009.
Hydropower
A kit dedicated to the science of water energy. Starting at age eight, children can explore the power of water with twelve experiments and building projects, which include: building a waterwheel, sawmill, and hammer mill that use water energy to do physical work; learning about water pressure with a water tower, communicating vessels, and a fountain; generating electricity with a hydroelectric power station; and discovering how electricity can be generated by harnessing power from ocean waves, tides, and rivers. Wet floors in the house are surely a small price to pay for learning about an old yet renewed and renewable form of energy. Hydropower is accompanied by a 48-page, full-color experiment manual and retails for $49.95. Available summer 2009.
Global Warming KitSecond
Global Warming KitSecond up is a kit dedicated to what might be considered the most pressing of environmental issues: Global Warming. This kit enables children ages ten and up to explore an issue of utmost criticality, both environmentally and politically, by helping them understand both the science of global warming and how to alleviate it. Children learn about the science of Earth’s climate system, weather, and atmosphere by conducting experiments that model the atmosphere, wind, and ocean currents. They examine the role of humans in global warming by learning how human activity influences the climate with experiments involving carbon dioxide and the greenhouse effect, investigating the potential consequences of global warming on humans, ecosystems, and the world’s economies, and learning what we can do to protect the climate. The Global Warming kit comes with a 48-page, full-color experiment manual and retails for $34.95. Available summer 2009.
