You'll only find diamond armor in Minecraft (Material Science Jr.)
August 5, 2019 6:26 AM   Subscribe

Does anyone have any recommendations for material science or properties of materials resources (books/videos/websites) for elementary age children? See details below the fold...

On a recent visit to the science museum, my son was flabbergasted to see a demonstration of someone breaking a piece of obsidian with a hammer. Like many 8-year-old kids, he is obsessed with Minecraft and assumed obsidian was nigh-invulnerable. His confusion led to a spirited discussion regarding why certain materials work for some applications and not for others.

But I'd love to keep the conversation going, if at all possible, but I haven't found any good, age-appropriate books for him. In a perfect world, the book would define some characteristics of materials (e.g., availability, hardness, weight, density) and identify why they are important, contain a second section of materials rated in each of those areas. Or is it something I'd need to write myself?
posted by TofuGolem to Science & Nature (4 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
Following this question.

We currently have a rock tumbler and a rock-interested 7 year old - and tumbling rocks need to be a certain hardness so it's been interested to talk about stuff like why sandstone doesn't work in a tumbler but have yet to find good books/documentaries for this age group.
posted by typecloud at 6:37 AM on August 5, 2019


Not a book but, here's a small kits of rocks of differing hardness. I remember the science class demo with a set of rocks like that fondly.
posted by gregr at 7:07 AM on August 5, 2019 [1 favorite]


There is no substitute for actually handling the materials yourself. I spent a lot of time playing with rocks, wood, branches, metal, fabrics, ice, etc. when I was a kid. That gave me a good intuitive sense of things, and lets me look at other materials in action and understand them.
posted by amtho at 9:33 AM on August 5, 2019


I don't think it is exactly age-appropriate but "The New Science of Strong Materials: Or Why You Don't Fall through the Floor" by J.E. Gordon is a very accessible book on materials.
posted by bdc34 at 12:13 PM on August 5, 2019


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