Daring Math and Science

I am only an affiliate for one company. Educents is a company that offers groupon like deals, but always for educational products. I often buy things from this company and occasionally recommend items here. I do receive a small commission if you buy something after using my link, but I am not paid for my posts or opinions.

A product deal went up yesterday that I like enough to share with all of you. Daring Math and Science is a set of 3 books - The Book of Potentially Catastrophic Science, The Book of Perfectly Perilous Math, and The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science. If those names don't hook you, then reading the descriptions will push you over the edge.

The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science

What could be more fun for kids than to have the kind of rip-roaring good time that harkens back to pre-video game, pre-computer days? Kids will love performing these experiments, which use common household ingredients and equipment, in front of an audience or for themselves (though many require adult supervision). The book's design and illustrations recall the pulp fiction look of science magazines from the days when space travel was still considered sci-fi, while the author's voice is wry and a bit conspiratorial. For young scientists -and the young at heart - this book is a blast. Literally.

The Book of Potentially Catastrophic Science

It’s never been more important to engage a child's scientific curiosity, and Sean Connolly knows just how to do it - He leads kids through the history of science, and then creates amazing yet simple experiments that demonstrate key scientific principles. Build a simple telescope - just like Galileo's - and find the four moons he discovered orbiting Jupiter (an act that helped land him in prison). Take a less potentially catastrophic approach to electricity than Ben Franklin did with the Lightning Mouth experiment. Re-create the Hadron Collider in a microwave with marshmallows, calculator, and a ruler - it won't jeopardize Earth with a simulated Big Bang, but will demonstrate the speed of light. And it's tasty! By letting kids stand on the shoulders of Aristotle, Newton, Einstein, the Wright brothers, Marie Curie, Darwin, Watson and Crick, and more, The Book of Potentially Catastrophic Science is an uncommonly engaging guide to science, and the great stories of the men and women behind the science.

The Book of Perfectly Perilous Math

Math rocks! At least it does in the gifted hands of Sean Connolly, who blends middle school math with fantasy to create an exciting adventure in problem solving. These word problems are perilous, do-or-die scenarios of blood-sucking vampires (How many months would it take a single vampire to completely take over a town of 500,000 people?), or a rowboat of 5 shipwrecked sailors with a single barrel of freshwater (How much can they drink, and for how long, before they go mad from thirst???). Each problem requires readers to dig deep into the tools they’re learning in school to figure out how to survive.

Normally this set would cost $39.85, but if you buy through Educents, it's only $26.57 - that's 33% off. Once again if you buy through my link, I will get a commission. I plan on buying it and if you have kids who are 9-11 (or want to save the books until they are at that level), I think you should also.