11 Experiments That Failed

11 Experiments That FailedWritten by: Jenny Offill
Illustrated by: Nancy Carpenter

Question:  Can a message be sent in a bottle to a faraway land?
Answer: The hole in the bottom of the toilet leads to the sea.
What you need: Message, Bottle, Toilet

The summary is from the book cover provided by Random House Children’s books.

All kids think about the problems and questions that are in their everyday lives…and the only difference between the average kid and a scientist is that a scientist has a plan.  This a great book that shows comical experiments kids might think about doing and some crazy, possible solutions.

Quote: “I have not failed.  I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”
Thomas A. Edison

Discussion/Project Ideas:

1. Ask a question in the same manner as the main character.
Question:
Hypothesis:
What you need:
What to do:
What happened:
***Perform the above tasks and include all findings.

2. Ask another question and follow the more formal process of what is called the scientific method. The following is from the website www.sciencebob.com/sciencefair/scientificmethod.php.
Purpose/Question
Research
Hypothesis
Experiment
Analysis
Conclusion
***Visit the science bob website for detailed information on each of the steps in the scientific method.

3. Compare and contrast the two types of experimentation above. Which do you think is scientifically stronger? Why? Are there any steps you would add or take away?

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