Inventors / Inventions

STEM Tuesday — Inventions that Changed the World — Book List

By on September 3, 2024   /   Inventors / Inventions, STEM Tuesday  

Inventions make the world go round and allow technology to evolve. This book list not only highlights such remarkable inventions (including those made by children), but also encourages critical thought. By fostering an analytic mind that enables one to understand how things work and how problems can be solved, readers can inspire to make their own inventions.

Kid-ventors: 35 Real Kids and their Amazing Inventions

Written by Kailei Pew & illustrated by Shannon Wright

This is an especially inspiring book because it chronicles a slew of inventors who are children, proving that even the youngest people can change the world. From Popsicles® to swim fins to robots and glitter shooting prosthetics, sometimes, it takes the imagination of a child to create something new.

 

 

Invent It!

Written by Rob Beattie

This fun and informative guide walks readers through the entire invention process, from brainstorming and prototyping all the way through production and marketing. Kids can follow along with their own ideas, learning practical tips along the way while being inspired by some of history’s best breakthroughs…and biggest flops!

 

 

Engineered!: Engineering Design at Work

Written by Shannon Hunt & illustrated by James Gulliver Hancock

This book is eye-opening because it shows young readers that engineering can solve many problems, from how to land a rover on Mars to saving a herd of caribou from potential extinction. A helpful seven-step flowchart of the engineering design process is also featured, encouraging future engineers.

 

 

How to Become an Accidental Genius

Written by Elizabeth MacLeod and Frieda Wishinsky, & illustrated by Jenn Playford

Structured as a how-to guide for would-be inventors, this fun book cultivates the mindsets needed for innovation. The chapters are organized to highlight the role that experimentation, failure, and coincidences can play in the engineering process and the importance of being open to new possibilities. The inventor profiles feature a mix of well-known pioneers, like George Washington Carver; lesser-known historical figures, like Hedy Lamarr; and contemporary young people, like Hayley Todesco.

 

Calling All Minds: How to Think and Create Like an Inventor

Written by Temple Grandin

This book was voted as a Teacher’s Pick on Amazon. Not surprising, as it’s written by world-renowned autism spokesperson, scientist, and inventor Temple Grandin. She successfully chronicles personal stories, inventions, and facts in a way that both educates and inspires. She encourages young readers to ask questions and follow up by researching the answers.

 

 

How Things Work: Discover Secrets and Science Behind Bounce Houses, Hovercraft, Robotics, and Everything in Between

Written by T. J. Resler

This book encourages critical thought, with the simple question of “how does it work” as the perfect springboard. The book includes true stories, biographies of real scientists and engineers, diagrams and illustrations, accessible explanations, trivia, and fun features. Sometimes, you just need to take something apart to figure out how it works!

 

 

The Science and Technology of Leonardo da Vinci

Written by Elizabeth Pagel-Hogan & illustrated by Micah Rauch

Leonardo da Vinci is one of the world’s most captivating and enduring inventors. This book chronicles his achievements in art, engineering, anatomy, mathematics, astronomy, and aeronautics, while weaving in important scientific and historical context. Each chapter includes hands-on activities, which allow readers to follow in da Vinci’s footsteps using a homemade “inventor kit.”

 

 

Inventions and Discoveries series by Capstone Press

Various authors and illustrators

Eye-popping images and engaging, short, snappy text allow these inventions to come to life in this graphic novel series. Some books focus on classic moments in history, like how the Wright Brothers invented the airplane, while others focus on lesser known figures, like how the Z-Boys skateboarding team influenced modern skateboarding.

 

Black Inventors: 15 Inventions that Changed the World

by Kathy Trusty

This biography compilation chronicles the journeys of 15 incredible inventors who changed the world with products like hair brushes, traffic lights, and home security systems. Each chapter includes a short biography of an inventor, information about the significance of their invention, and follow-up questions for reflection and further investigation.

 

 

1001 Inventions and Awesome Facts from Muslim Civilization

by NatGeo Kids

This book was created as a companion to the award-winning “1001 Inventions” exhibit, which has traveled the globe to raise awareness about the golden age of Arabic science. Each spread is packed full of eye-catching photographs and fascinating facts about everything from pottery to architecture to the elephant water clock. It features female innovators prominently, who contributed to the development of mathematics, medicine, astronomy, and the arts, among others. Find the teacher guide at https://www.nationalgeographic.com/pdf/1001-muslim-inventions-ed-guide.pdf.

 

This month’s STEM Tuesday book list was prepared by:

Author Lydia Lukidis

Lydia Lukidis is an award-winning author of 50+ trade and educational books for children. Her titles include DANCING THROUGH SPACE: Dr. Mae Jemison Soars to New Heights (Albert Whitman, 2024), DEEP, DEEP, DOWN: The Secret Underwater Poetry of the Mariana Trench (Capstone, 2023), which is a Crystal Kite winner, Forest of Reading Silver Birch Express Honor, and Cybils Award nominee. A science enthusiast from a young age, she now incorporates her studies in science and her everlasting curiosity into her books. Another passion of hers is fostering a love for children’s literacy through the writing workshops she regularly offers in elementary schools across Quebec with the Culture in the Schools program. For more information, please visit www.lydialukidis.com.

 

 

author Callie Dean

 

Callie Dean is a researcher, writer, and musician living in Shreveport, LA. She writes stories that spark curiosity and encourage kids to explore their world. Her first picture book will be published in 2026. For more information, please visit https://calliebdean.com.

 

Back to Top

STEM Tuesday Cool Inventions and the People Who Create Them – Interview with author Mary Kay Carson

By on May 22, 2018   /   Author Interviews, Inventors / Inventions, STEM, STEM Tuesday  

Welcome to STEM Tuesday: Author Interview & Book Giveaway, a repeating feature for the fourth Tuesday of every month. Go Science-Tech-Engineering-Math!

Today we’re interviewing author Mary Kay Carson who wrote this month’s featured cool invention book, Alexander Graham Bell for Kids: His Life and Inventions 

Find out how Alexander Graham Bell invented not only the telephone, but also early versions of the phonograph, the metal detector, airplanes, and hydrofoil boats. This Scottish immigrant was also a pioneering speech teacher and a champion of educating those with hearing impairments, work he felt was his most important contribution to society. Bell worked with famous Americans such as Helen Keller and aviators Glenn Curtiss and Samuel P. Langley, and his inventions competed directly with those of Thomas Edison and the Wright Brothers.

May Kay’s books include  a number of titles in Houghton Mifflin Harcourt’s award-winning SCIENTISTS IN THE FIELD series, including  Park Scientists and The Bat Scientists, an ALA’s 2011 Notable Children’s Books for Middle Readers. Her book Exploring the Solar System was the 2009 recipient of the American Institute ofAeronautics and Astronautics Children’s Literature Award and the State Library of Ohio selected Beyond the Solar System as a CHOOSE TO READ OHIO book for 2015 & 2016. Visit her at marykaycarson.com  or on Twitter at @MaryKayCarson

Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org

JAS: Thanks for joining us today, Mary Kay. This is a fabulous book! I love how you found such a unique trait to describe this historical figure. I mean, everyone knows that Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, but not many know why. Can you tell us how you discovered this fact? And also why you used it to create your whole book?

MKC: In today’s terms, we’d call Alexander Graham Bell a third-generation speech therapist. Bell’s father and grandfather worked with people trying to overcome speech impediments like stuttering or pronunciation struggles because of hearing impairments. Alexander Graham Bell was born into a family where the proper mouth position for making the sound of S was dinner table talk. Bell naturally went into this line of work, as well. Growing up with a mother who couldn’t hear gave him a deep understanding of both the isolation of the hearing impaired as well as a motivation for understanding how sound is made, transmitted, and perceived.

JAS: How did you come up with all of the activities? And why did you choose to add activities to your book?

MKC: I knew Alexander Graham Bell For Kids would include activities as a title in the Chicago Review Press “For Kids” series, all of which have 21 activities. It’s actually why I thought the book would be such a good fit for the series. Bell’s experiments, investigations, and inventions run the gamut from sound and light to flying machines and sheep genetics. The telephone invention alone lends itself to activities about electricity, sound, vibrations, and batteries. I’ve written four other books in this series with activities and Alexander Graham Bell For Kids was by far the easiest to come up with activities for. He was a wellspring of ideas.

JAS: The use of original sketches of Bell’s inventions are really great. How difficult was it to get permission to use them?

MKC: The Library of Congress has a huge Alexander Graham Bell archive, much of it digitized and in the public domain. It includes laboratory notebooks, invention blueprints, journals, personal letters, and photographs. It’s a real treasure trove of primary source material.

JAS: Why do you think learning about inventors is a so important for kids?

MKC: One of my favorite Bell quotes is: “The inventor is a man who looks around upon the world and is not contented with things as they are. He wants to improve whatever he sees, he wants to benefit the world.” To me, Bell’s description of an inventor actually describes young people in general. Most see the world as overdue for upgrades and improvements. Many have ideas on how to make things better, too. Being able to envision something different is the first step to inventing. Whether we’re talking about tackling a changing climate or designing a fun video game, it all starts with “What if…”

JAS: How would you suggest a teacher use your book in the classroom?

MKC: There are quite a few ways teachers can use the book in the classroom. The biography itself is instructive on how life experiences shaped the inventor that Bell became. The primary source material is cited and resources given for older kids who want to dig deeper into Bell’s life and legacy. Some of the activities in the book are simple enough for even kindergarteners to explore sound and light. Other activities are more open ended and challenge students to think of and execute an idea of their own.

Buy a Copy of the Alexander Graham Bell book

Praise for Alexander Graham Bell: “Many of the activities featured throughout the chapters, such as making an ear trumpet and feeling sound vibrations, use materials readers likely have at home, fairly easily giving them a taste of the devices used during Bell’s time and illustrating properties of sound. Avid readers can also pursue activities that require special purchases, such as seeing sound and making a pie-tin telegraph. Numerous black-and-white photographs of Bell and his family, period scenery, and artifacts immerse readers in the world of this prolific inventor, from his free-roaming childhood through his adulthood as a teacher of the deaf, an inventor many times over, and a family man. Children who enjoy exploring different symbolic communication codes, historical sciences, and inventions will find much to dig into in this detailed volume.

Thorough and well-rounded. (timeline, resources, glossary, notes, bibliography)”–Kirkus

 

Win a FREE copy of the Alexander Graham Bell book!   Enter the giveaway by leaving a comment below. The randomly-chosen winner will be contacted via email and asked to provide a mailing address (within the U.S. only) to receive the book.

Good Luck! 

Hosting this week is Jennifer Swanson, fellow science nerd, and author of Astronaut Aquanaut: How Space Science and Sea Science Interact and other nonfiction books for kids. @JenSwanBooks

Back to Top

STEM Tuesday Inventors- Those Awesome People of Science – Writing Craft & Resources

By on May 15, 2018   /   Diversity, Inventors / Inventions, New Releases, STEM Tuesday  

 

Reading Between the Facts

Don’t you just love it when a story comes to life? When you are reading something and you can smell the sooty aromas, hear the grinding gears of a new invention, taste the tang of tart pie? And when, long after you’ve put a book down, you find yourself wondering about the characters? But that’s fiction, right? A story that wraps you up and carries you away.

Wait, what about fact-filled books that transport you like that? When I looked at this month’s book list, packed with techy inventions and their nerdy inventors, a story that transported me was the last thing I expected. Physical science isn’t my thing, so I gritted my teeth anticipating some dull, dry reading.

                     Support Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.orgSupport Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.orgSupport Independent Bookstores - Visit IndieBound.org                      
Boy was I wrong. Flying Machines: How the Write Brothers Soared had me so hooked I convinced my aerospace engineer husband he had to read it (sidenote: he was impressed with the accuracy of the content).  Eureka! Poems About Inventors drew me through periods of history I had never cared about. And then there’s Isaac The Alchemist: Secrets of Isaac Newton, Reveal’d which made me pondering how light works, I mean really think about the physics of it. A week later I found myself Googling “Newton’s Laws of Motion because I wanted to actually understand them – not just memorize them. How did this book do this to me?

I had to know.

So I did what every good writer does, I studied the words on the page. I looked at how Mary Losure cast stories, how she used sentences, how she arranged paragraphs, and how she constructed chapters that draw me in. And then I noticed something.

Writing Between the Facts

Mary Losure had written a lot between the facts. When you research a historical figure, you only have so much information.  From the level of detail included (like the child’s drawings found in the house where Isaac grew up) it is obvious that this author dug and dug and dug until she found gold. But even a gold nugget won’t reflect light unless it is polished and placed in just the right position – in this case it shone a spotlight on Isaac’s childhood attributes. Losure had to bridge the gaps between the facts.

I’m not saying she falsified facts. No, through clearly-stated, careful conjecture, she brilliantly brought her readers into the world of inquiry.

“Far in the future, a child’s drawings would be found scratched in the farmhouse’s soft stone walls: a windmill, a church, a figure with a spurred boot. It was clear the child who drew them was bright and imaginative. The pictures had been hidden by layers of plaster for many years. The people who found them wondered if the drawings had been made by Isaac. It was easy to imagine him scratching away, unnoticed by anybody in the busy household.” Page 5, The Alchemist: Secrets of Isaac Newton, Reveal’d

Once I noticed that, I turned my mental search engine on, pulled out my wet-erase markers and transparency paper. I got to work. I wanted to ferret out all of the hard facts on a page, find the gaps between them, and see how Losure bridged them. Laying the transparency paper over a page allowed me to mark up the page without leaving a mark in the book.

I highlighted the obvious facts in green, qualifying words in red, and passages I wasn’t sure about in yellow.

Page 5, Isaac The Alchemist: Secrets of Isaac Newton, Reveal’d 

Cool! Working my way through the book, I found lots of examples:

  • She presented us with quotes from texts he read: “In his book The Mysteries of Nature and Art, there were instructions for making: A Water Clock …” page 31
  • She admitted we don’t know but presented evidence: “No one today can know exactly how Isaac and his friends spent their time, but the list Isaac made …” page 55
  • She referenced oral history: “To this day, people tell an old familiar story …” page 122

I learned lots of writing moves from Mary Losure that day. And as a bonus, the next time I read a fact-filled text, you can be sure my mind will read right between the facts – that’s an skill for every reader needs to hone.

—–

By Heather L. Montgomery

Heather L. Montgomery writes for kids who are WILD about animals. She reads and writes while high in a tree, standing in a stream, or perched on a mountaintop boulder. www.HeatherLMontgomery.com

The O.O.L.F Files

For the Out of Left Field (O.O.L.F) post, let’s look at inventions gone wrong.

Some inventions are completely pointless, like shoe umbrellas and the car exhaust grill : http://www.complex.com/style/2013/05/25-inventions-that-are-completely-pointless/air-conditioned-shoes

Inventions aren’t always used the way they were intended. Read how a soybean fertilizer became Agent Orange and why the Wright brothers regretted creating airplanes:

http://bigthink.com/laurie-vazquez/6-scientists-who-regret-their-greatest-inventions

Time shares 50 of the worst inventions, including pay toilets, DDT and hair in a can:

http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,1991915,00.html

And then there are always human errors… To read true tales of technological disasters, check out Steven Casey’s Set Phasers on Stun.

Back to Top