Ask HN: How to get 9-12 years old interested into Science domains through books? | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: How to get 9-12 years old interested into Science domains through books?

14 pointsKumarAseem10 comments

I got many kids in the age group of 9-12. The schools teach crap these days and the kids don't seem to develop any thinking prowess or curiosity. I want to introduce kids to various fields, and to name a few: BioTech, Geology, Astrophysics, Computer Science/programming, analytical thinking, etc.

I cannot spend an hour or two everyday with these kids as they are not in the same place as I am, but occasionally I can talk to them on phone. Are there any books that I can give to the kids and ask them to read those and maybe they will develop interest in one or the other field?

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I got interessted in science not through books but through experiments. Every sunday morning after breakfast our parents made us do simple experiments. After my interest was roused, i became interested in books by myself.

E.g. surface tension experiments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsksFbFZeeU

Books are tools they can use to gain knowledge. You need to find books that get them to create projects that use science as its base and praise them not for the project but the hard work it took to finish the project. You need to be available to answer questions. Not on the project but on how they can find the answer to the questions they have. Giving them direct answers will just make them dependent on getting the answers from someone as opposed to getting the answers themselves. Also, encourage them to create something a bit more complicated. The idea is to lead them up the latter of knowledge with encouragement and praise while they learn how to find answers for themselves.

One of the failures of schools is that we are taught from childhood that there will always be someone with the answer. If we don't know the answer them all we have to do is ask a power figure. Schools should be teaching kids how to ask questions and how to find the answers for themselves.

Two books I recommend, both of which are very digestible by your target age group:

- The Way Things Work by David Macaulay and Neil Ardley

This book is like an encyclopedia, starting from simple machines and guiding the reader to more complex technologies. The illustrations and diagrams are amazing.

- One, Two, Three...Infinity by George Gamow

This book talks about many topics in math and science!

My kids, who are in that age range, like to listen to audio books. “Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!” was a hit with them. They also liked Chris Hadfield’s book, “An astronaut's guide to life on Earth“.

But in general I listen to what their interests are and where their natural curiosities take them and supplement that.

Maybe an unpopular take, but not every kid will be or should be interested in this kind of thing. It is more important to teach them to love learning and exploring. Introduce them to a variety of topics ranging from science, math, history, art, literature, sports, etc and see where their curiosity takes them?

Are you limiting yourself to books? I got interested in science with docuseries personally (Cosmos, old and new one, come to mind). And there's a lot of good YouTube channels out there, Veritasium for physics, numberphile for math, historia civilis for history, Wendover productions for general knowledge that always ties back to planes.

You could buy them the "Unix For Dummies" or "Python For Dummies" books. I liked those as a kid because they didn't feel intimidating. The title is just to make them seem less intimidating.

Maybe not books, which may be boring, but magazines, with pictures/drawings/explanations on experiments, and some they could reproduce themselves would be a good start!

Nowadays, I'd say some YouTube channels might be interesting too.

The main idea, at least for me, was "try".

History and biography. Concentrate on movers and shakers and adventurers in the sciences and engineering disciplines. Stay far far away from boring numbers and facts. Flirt with the controversial.

I read Jurassic Park at around that age, and most other books by Crichton. Skip the one about global warming, thought (it’s onspiracy bullshit that was a decade out of date even when it first came out).

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