This guide is a collection
of resources recommended by the teachers who created the original Snackbook.
It includes sources for some hard-to-get items, for books and print materials
considered exceptionally valuable, for unique suppliers, and for items that
might not conventionally be considered to be science resources. It does not
pretend to be all-encompassing, exhaustive, or universal, but we hope it will
be useful.
STORES AND SUPPLIERS
We recommend that you browse
through toy stores, office supply or stationery stores, and hardware or home
repair stores, and think about how the items on display might be used in a science
class. This can be an amazingly creative endeavor and can generate long-term
rewards. A few examples of uses of common items are given below.
Toy Stores
You can use dart guns for
experiments in projectile motion, wind-up toys for energy transformations, and
toy cars of various types for velocity and acceleration experiments.
Hardware and Home Repair
Stores
You can use pulleys and
jacks for simple machines, flashlight bulbs, sockets and knife switches for
electricity activities, Mini-Mag flashlights and penlight flashlights for light
sources, springs for Hooke's Law, and mousetraps to power cars.
Stationery and Office
Supply Stores
You can use spring clips
for mirror holders, colored stickers for retinal afterimages, pencils to obtain
diffraction patterns, rubber bands for propulsion, paper clips for use in electric
motor construction, and banker's box-type cardboard boxes for storage.
Grocery Stores
You can use Wesson oil,
Karo syrup, or mineral oil for index of refraction experiments and demonstrations,
sugar for making rock candy, Alka-Seltzer for generating a gas, peanuts for
calorimetry experiments, and bread for demonstrating density (before and after
sitting on a loaf).
Plastics Stores
You can get Plexi-mirror,
clear and colored acrylic sheet (for static electricity demonstrations or colored
filters), aluminized mylar, and plastic tubes. Most plastics stores will cut
plastic to size (for a price), and they may have a bargain scrap bin for pieces
by the pound.
Thrift Shops
Salvation Army, Goodwill,
St. Vincent DePaul, or local hospital and hospice thrift shops can sometimes
provide useful items at bargain prices. For example, we found a working hair-dryer
for $1.00 (see Balancing Ball), a working turntable for $5.00 (see Spinning
Blackboard), and a bowling ball for $5.00 (see Resonant Pendulum). Use your
imagination!
Science Museum Stores
The
Exploratorium Store
http://www.exploratoriumstore.com/
3601 Lyon St.
San Francisco, CA 94123
Mail order phone 1-415-561-0393
Check science museum stores in your own area.
Science and Nature
Stores
The
Nature Company (The Discovery Channel Store)
http://naturecompany.com/
(800)477-8828
Mail Order Division
P.O. Box 188
Florence, KY 41022
This company and others
like it are often expensive, but the good news is that they often have some
interesting items, and may be found in shopping malls.
Scientific Supply Companies
These are the most traditional
sources for the most traditional supplies, from test tubes to preserved frogs.
If you do not have access to these extensive catalogs, visit your local high
school science department, where they usually exist in abundance. If you have
never thumbed through one of these volumes, it is worth your while to do so.
You will get an overview of what things are available and what they are used
for, and you may get ideas for how to improvise more economical substitutes
or more creative variations.
A2Z
http://www.a-two-z.com/
(413) 586-1611
email@a-two-z.com
57 King Street
Northampton, Massachusetts 01060
American
Science and Surplus
http://www.sciplus.com
(847)982-0870
fax (800)934-0722
3605 Howard Street
Skokie, IL 60076
Mostly real science stuff (lab equipment, small motors, etc.) with strange hardware
odds and ends, wide range of peculiar adhesives.
Anatomical
Chart Company
http://www.anatomical.com/
(800)231-6000
8221 Kimball
Skokie, IL 60076-2956
Formerly "Anatomical Supply," good for plastic skeletons, muscle or nerve charts,
and bone related items.
Arbor
Scientific
http://www.arborsci.com/
arborsci@arborsci.com
(800)367-6695
PO Box 2750
Ann Arbor, MI 48106-2750
Educational/instructional including pre-packed physics modules for various grade
levels.
Edmund
Scientific Company
http://www.edsci.com
(609)573-6250 or (609)547-3488
101 E. Gloucester Pike
Barrington, NJ 08007
If you are a science teacher, you need to get an Edmund Scientific catalog.
It is a prime source for offbeat science materials, from moiré patterns
to polarizing material. They are a particularly good source for optics supplies.
Fisher
http://www.fisheredu.com/
Fisher Science Education
Toll Free: (800)955-1177
Ordering &. Service: (800)955-1177
Fax Orders: (800)955-0740
email: fisheredu@ix.netcom.com
Frey
(888)222-1332
fax: (888)454-1417
Beckley Cardy Group
100 Paragon Parkway
Mansfield, Ohio 44903
Rare-Earth
Magnets
http://www.rare-earth-magnets.com/
Specializes in providing high-quality neodymium-iron-boron
(NdFeB) rare-earth permanent magnets with no minimum
order size.
National
Imports
3125 Valley Lane
Falls Church, VA 22044
Toll Free: (888)774-6005
Fax: (703)935-6440
Email: info@nationalimports.com
Sargent-Welch
http://www.sargentwelch.com/,
VWR Scientific Products Science Education
the USA's leading distributor of Science Supplies
US & Canadian Phone Orders (800)727 4368
US & Canadian Customer Service (800)727 4368
Other Contacts: (847)465 7559
Orders Only - Fax: (800)676 2540
Other Fax: (847)459 6975
email: sarwel@sargentwelch.com
Mailing Address: PO Box 5229, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089-5229
Street Address 911 Commerce Court, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089-5229
The
Science Fair
http://www.thesciencefair.com/
(800)304-9403 or in Delaware call (302)453-1817
140 College Square
Newark, DE 19711-5447
ScienceStuff
http://www.sciencestuff.com
800-795-7315, 512-837-6020
1104 Newport Avenue
Austin TX 78753
Supplier of science products and lab equipment for students, teachers and schools.
Chemicals
Flinn
Scientific
http://www.flinnsci.com/
(708)879-6900
131 Flinn St.
PO Box 219
Batavia, IL 60510-0219
In addition to being a chemical supply house, Flinn has an unmatched array of
materials related to laboratory safety. Their catalog is a valuable teaching
resource, and they also offer publications with ideas for chemistry lab experiments
and activities. They only sell to teachers. Don't fail to visit their exhibit
if you ever go to an National Science Teachers' Association convention.
Electrical/Electronics
Radio
Shack
http://www.radioshack.com/
Everywhere
Electrical and electronic
supplies: alligator clips, resistors, buzzers, meters, wire, etc. Catalog available,
but browse a store if you can.
Local Alarm Companies
A local alarm company may
be a source for free batteries. These companies have periodic schedules for
battery replacement, and the old batteries are often still usable.
Mouser
Electronics
http://mouser.com/
(800)34-MOUSER
1000 North Main Street
Mansfield, Tx 76063-1511
Mail-order electronics supplier
with an extensive selection. Catalog routinely sent to schools.
HARD TO FIND MATERIALS
This section gives sources
of materials that are unique, useful, or hard to find. The listings are categorized
by supply or material, rather than by store type, as in the previous section.
Cow Magnets
Local Feed Stores
Cow magnets are strong, cylindrical magnets with rounded ends. These magnets
are fed to cows so that any iron material eaten by the cow (nails, bits of wire,
and so on) will remain in the stomach and not pass through the digestive tract.
These are excellent magnets for many science activities; you can probably find
them at a local animal feed store.
Dowling Miner Magnetics
Corp.
(707)935-0352, or (800)MAGNET 1
PO Box 1829
Sonoma, CA 95476
Source of extremely strong neodymium magnets at reasonable cost. Cow magnets
also available.
The
Magnet Source/Master Magnetics,
Inc.
http://www.magnetsource.com/
(800)525-3536
fax: (303)688-5303
747 S. Gilbert
Castle Rock, CO 80104
Source of extremely strong neodymium magnets at reasonable cost.
Liquid Crystal Postcards
and Postcard Thermometers
Exploratorium
Store
http://www.exploratoriumstore.com/
fax: (415)561-0370
3601 Lyon Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
Diffraction Gratings
Learning
Technologies, Inc.
http://www.starlab.com/
40 Cameron Avenue
Somerville, MA 02144
Holographic diffraction grating: bright, inexpensive, and gives fantastic separation.
Polarizing Material
Polaroid
Corporation
http://www.polaroid.com/
(800)225-2770
1 Upland Rd.
Norwood, MA 02602
Polaroid material.
Vector Toys aka Ramp Walkers
Many toy stores
have these. We found a website called JD's Plastic Ramp Walkers (http://www.angelfire.com/mi/rampwalkers/)
where you can get more information about them and buy them.
BOOKS AND JOURNALS
The resources in this section
are primarily print materials and include magazines, textbooks, lab manuals,
demonstration collections, and resource books.
Science Teaching
Journals
If you haven't
seen these, make it a priority to do so. They are invaluable as sources of concrete
ideas for teaching.
The
Physics Teacher
http://www.aapt.org/pubs_catalog/tpt/tpt.html
American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT)
http://www.aapt.org/
Main Phone: (301)209-3300
Fax: (301)209-0845
One Physics Ellipse
College Park, MD
20740-3845
Catalog of publications also
available.
The Science
Teacher
Science and Children
Annual NSTA Guide to Science Education Suppliers
National Science Teachers Association (NSTA)
http://www.nsta.org/
1742 Connecticut Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20009
Catalog of publications also available.
ChemMatters
American Chemical Society
http://www.acs.org/
Dept L-0011
Columbus, OH 43268-0011
The Exploratorium
Exploratorium Magazine
http://www.exploratorium.edu/exploring/
3601 Lyon St.
San Francisco, CA 94123
Each issue deals with a single topic. Some examples are Antarctica, Insects,
Motion, and Robots. While this magazine is not specifically focused on the classroom,
it contains lots of unusual and useful information, as well as hands-on activities.
Textbooks
There are many
textbooks, and each has its advocates and its critics. The books listed below
emphasize a readable, qualitative approach to the concepts of physics, rather
than a mathematical approach.
Conceptual
Physics (Ninth Edition)
Paul Hewitt
Addison-Wesley, 2002
http://www.awl.com/sf-aw/
Demonstration
Collections, Lab Manuals, and Related Resources
Activity Cards
TOPS Learning Systems
http://topscience.org/
(888)-773-9755 (orders only)
FAX: (503)266-5200
10970 Mulino Rd.
Canby, OR 97013
Activity cards for physical science projects using everyday materials (rubber
bands, paper clips, etc.). An extremely valuable resource for teaching low-budget,
hands-on science with simple materials and without elaborate facilities. The
activities cover an amazingly wide range of content.
Amusement Park
Physics
American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT),
1994
Carole Escobar
http://www.aapt.org/
Main Phone: (301)209-3300
Fax: (301)209-0845
One Physics Ellipse
College Park, MD 20740-3845
Boston
Children's Museum Activity Books
Activity books directed toward younger children, but with ideas that could be
used by any age. There are several titles in this series, not all from the same
authors and publishers. A few illustrative titles: Wheels at Work, Messing Around
With Water Pumps and Siphons, Science Sensations.
Clouds in a
Glass of Beer
Craig Bohren
John Wiley & Sons, 1987
http://www.wiley.com/
and
What Light Through Yonder Window Breaks
Craig Bohren
John Wiley & Sons, 1991
http://www.wiley.com/
Discussion and activities concerning atmospheric physics.
Comparisons
The Diagram Group
St. Martin's Press, 1980
Unique book of approximately 100 comparison charts for a wide range of topics,
from sizes of bridges to frequencies of sound. An immensely useful teaching
tool.
A Demonstration
Handbook for Physics
G.D. Frier and F.J. Anderson
American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT),
1981
http://www.aapt.org/
Main Phone: (301)209-3300
Fax: (301)209-0845
One Physics Ellipse
College Park, MD
20740-3845
Brief descriptions and diagrams for zillions of physics demonstrations.
The Dick and
Rae Physics Demo Notebook
Dick and Rae, Inc.
Voice: (540) 464-7505
Fax: (540) 464-7214
Email: Dickm@vmi.edu
VMI Mallory Hall
Lexington, VA
24450-0304
Explorabook
John Cassidy and The Exploratorium
Klutz Press, 1991
The Flying
Circus of Physics with Answers
Jearl Walker
John Wiley & Sons, 1977
http://www.wiley.com/
An extensive, fascinating collection of problems and questions about the real
world. Answers and references are given in separate sections at the end of the
book.
Gee Wiz!
Linda Allison and David Katz
Little, Brown, 1983
One of the Brown Paper School Book series. Creative, science-oriented activities
for younger students, but adaptable to any age.
GEMS
http://www.lhs.berkeley.edu//GEMS/GEMSpubs.html
Lawrence Hall of Science
http://www.lhs.berkeley.edu//Publications.html
University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA 94720
A series of activity-based publications covering everything from bubbles to
fingerprinting.
Getting Started
in Electronics
Forest M. Mims III
Radio Shack, 1983
http://www.radioshack.com/
A good introduction to basic electronics. Includes theory and practical applications,
and lots of stuff to build with relatively inexpensive parts.
Graph Paper
from Your Copier
John Craver
HP Books, 1980
More than 100 graph grids of various calibrations that can be used in a copier.
The Hole Thing
Jim Shull
Morgan & Morgan, 1974
A manual of pinhole photography.
How Things
Work
Richard Crane
American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT),
1992
http://www.aapt.org/
Main Phone: (301)209-3300
Fax: (301)209-0845
One Physics Ellipse
College Park, MD
20740-3845
Brief descriptions and diagrams for zillions of physics demonstrations.
Ontario Science
Center Activity Books
Addison-Wesley
http://www2.awl.com/
A series of activity books directed toward younger children, but adaptable over
a range of ages. Titles include Sportworks; Foodworks; and Scienceworks.
Physics Olympics
Handbook
Susan Arguso, Carole Escobar, and Virginia Moore
American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT),
1984
http://www.aapt.org/
Main Phone: (301)209-3300
Fax: (301)209-0845
One Physics Ellipse
College Park, MD
20740-3845
Brief descriptions and diagrams for zillions of physics demonstrations.
Physics: a
Window on Your World, (Third Edition)
Jay Boleman
Prentice Hall
http://vig.prenhall.com/
A Potpourri
of Physics Teaching Ideas: Selected Reprints from THE PHYSICS TEACHER
Donna Berry Conner
American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT),
April 1963-December 1986
http://www.aapt.org/
Main Phone: (301)209-3300
Fax: 301-209-0845
One Physics Ellipse
College Park, MD
20740-3845
Safe and Simple
Electrical Experiments
Rudolf Graf
Dover, 1985
A practical book of activities covering electricity and magnetism.
Seeing the
Light
David Falk, Dieter Brill, and David Stork
John Wiley & Sons, 1986
http://www.wiley.com/
A unique and outstanding text covering virtually all aspects of light, vision,
and color. Though essentially a college text, it is largely qualitative, rather
than mathematical. It also has many application activities which are quite doable
by students. An invaluable resource for any science teacher covering a significant
amount of light.
String and
Sticky Tape Experiments
Ronald Edge
American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT),
1987
http://www.aapt.org/
Main Phone: (301)209-3300
Fax: 301-209-0845
One Physics Ellipse
College Park, MD
20740-3845
Brief descriptions and diagrams for zillions of physics demonstrations.
Teaching Chemistry
with TOYS
Jerry L. Sarquis, Mickey Sarquis, John P. Williams
Tab Books, 1995
http://teacher.scholastic.com/tab/
Teaching Physics
with TOYS
Jerry L. Sarquis, Mickey Sarquis, John P. Williams
Tab Books, 1995
http://teacher.scholastic.com/tab/
Thinking
Physics (Second Edition)
Lewis Carroll Epstein
Insight Press, 1989
Illustrated multiple-choice conceptual physics problems related to the real
world-with solutions.
Turning the
World Inside Out
Robert Ehrlich
Princeton University Press, 1990
A new collection of demonstrations and activities.
The Way Things
Work
David Macaulay
Houghton Mifflin, 1988
Profusely illustrated descriptions of the way a lot of things work.
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