Evil mad scientist has done it again and developed a pattern to make these two bags the d20 is a icosahedron (composed of twenty triangular faces, with five meeting at each of the twelve vertices) lined zipper bag. The (retro-dork-chic-DIY) d12 bag is a dodecahedral (composed of twelve regular pentagonal faces, with three meeting at each vertex). I just love when math meets craft … so very nerdy cool.

Wholly Irresponsible Exploits: 65 Ways to Muck About with Science by Sean Connolly (allen unwin) and Corinthian (March 3, 2009).

A sequel to Wholly Irresponsible Experiments! (not really deserving of the irresponsible part of the title though as these are all pretty responsible). A winner of a book, just like the previous book, lots of fun – very slight danger – a bit of fire and ice here and there – but with lots of caution warnings all over the place.

With crazy projects like making a paper saucepan – is it possible to boil water in a paper cup over an open flame? Make some fake blood, light a sugar cube on fire, garlic smelling balloons, a storm in a bottle, make a straw rocket, solar powered oven and really so much more.

My husband and son got a huge kick out of doing some of these experiments as did my son’s kindergarten teacher – a book with a really broad range of appeal – although of particular interest to kids who like to experiment and who like to make stuff and who are interested in how stuff works.

Save the Earth Science Experiments: Science Fair Projects for Eco-Kids by Elizabeth Snoke Harris. Lark Books; (January 6, 2009).

You may not think science experiments are crafty – but they so are – crafting, science and the environment all mixed up together – fantastic learning fun for kids.

Mixed up with the science experiments – aimed at middle school age kids but also appropriate for younger kids with parental supervision, is lots of information about the environment, ‘our carbon footprint’, weather patterns and solar facts.

The experiments include growing plants – trialling different types of fertilisers and water absorption, making a solar still to purify salt water, make a water wheel and see how fast it can go and how much water it can lift, grow bacteria and see which disinfectant cleaners actually work, make a mini wind turbine and measure the voltage it produces – and many more…

A fantastic resource for learning about the environment and science while making stuff.

Female reproductive system by textile artist Christa Rowley- seen on craftster - find more on etsy.

Mary Joy from Yummy yarn is currently working on a Periodic Table of Knitting. Inspired by other periodic tables – she says:

It’s a perfectly logical match, if you think about it: the craft of knitting involves the use of stitches and techniques that are abbreviated and translated into symbols that are universally recognized.

part of unplug your kids project - here is a great little outdoor safe science project for kids – melting crayons with a magnifying glass from pepperpaints

QI: The Book of Animal Ignorance by John Lloyd and John Mitchinson, published by Faber and Faber (October 4, 2007)

This book is fantastic, full of fun and interesting facts on all sorts of animals – did you know that cats have an evil plan to take over the world and that if you turn a shark upside down it will go into a trance – read about fleas and flies and frogs, jellyfish, cicadas and catfish and lots more. Good to read to younger children or aimed at the reading level of older primary children.

The Big Picture Book of Environments by John Long published by Allen & Unwin June 2008.

Wow! this book has lots of stuff in it – its going to take me a while to look at this. Its even go Polar bears and dinosaurs.

[quote from my 5 year old boy]

This is a marvelous glossy hardcover book full of interesting facts – big pictures and text suitable for primary readers and buddy scientists. Its a good overview of the history of the earth – starting off with 4 billion years ago and the beginning of the earth – coming up to dinosaurs and the beginning of human evolution. Then it looks at the present and the different environments on the planet – the earths atmosphere and the types of plants and animals that live in the different climate zones on the earth and in the water. Then the last section is the earths future and global warming. This is a terrific book of facts and images – well structured and easy to read.

Human Body: An Interactive Guide to the Inner Workings of the Body (Discoverology Series) by Steve Parker published by Barrons Educational Series and Allen and Unwin (March 1, 2008)

This is a picture pop up/flap book with interactive elements to help children learn about how the human body works. My daughter recently took it to school to help with her project on how hair grows and she and her friends were very impressed. There is a very impressive pop up of the skull and brain, and another one of the heart and circulation system, there are flaps and flip ups of the lungs moving and hair growing. It also goes under the microscope with some images of germs and cells and glands. Altogether an excellent book for primary children and budding science buffs.