Happy Birthday, Bill Nye!

Before Doctor Who made bow ties cool,

there was  Bill Nye!

  Today is Bill Nye’s 60th birthday!

A whole generation of kids  grew up on his TV shows. In addition, he has written a number of science books. His two most recent books have not been targeted at students, but more towards adults, for whom he can break down complicated topics into comprehensibility.

If you are looking for a good laugh from Bill, you should look for video clips of him reading mean tweets. I won’t post the link her, because I know of at least 1 of my students who reads my blog (HI, Audrey!) and there is some foul language involved in some of the tweets. Apparently, Mr. Nye has a large number of detractors.

 

 

Crazy inventors

When I was in teacher’s college, we had an “Invention Convention”, the 80’s alternative to the Science Fair. I innovated Band Aids for my teapot that were placed around the spout to catch drips. Very practical.

The main characters of 2 new books are a little less practical.

Poco Loco, by J. R. Krause and Maria Chua, tells the story of a rat who invents things by combining two seemingly unrelated items into unique but practical creations. This book is fun for a number of reasons. First, there are the wacky inventions like salt & pepper gloves, vacuum cleaner socks and yo-yo pants. Secondly, it incorporates Spanish vocabulary into the text. A glossary of terms used in the story appears before the story begins, but the context clues often help readers decipher the meaning of the Spanish words without needing to consult the glossary. This would be a fun read aloud, or an inspiration for crazy things kids could invent and write about.

The wacky inventor in What Floats in a Moat?, written by Lynne Berry and illustrated by Matthew Cordell, is a goat name Archimedes.

Archie wants to cross a moat with out taking the drawbridge, as suggested by his friend, Skinny the Hen. Rhyming text introduces readers to the principles of buoyancy and the scientific method.  The author also includes a description of the real Archimedes’ experiment about water and displacement. A fun read that will encourage young scientists to persevere “in the name of science!”