Opening doors to science

Anna Neena George

I would like to introduce to my fellow science teachers to three books on science learning. These are books that every science teacher should have on his/her bookshelf.

The Story of Chemistry by Anirban Hazra

Anirban Hazra has a very lucid, humourous, captivating penmanship. The use of animations, anecdotes, and concise information make this book an absorbing read. It will change one’s perspective of chemistry from being a collection of chemical equations and smelly reactions to a long journey of ardent human endeavours, which began in the cave. The book inspires admiration for our ancestors who carried out scientific research and shared their knowledge with future generations. It certainly brings the subject very close to human history: trade, wars, civilizations, travels. The book begins with the accidental discovery of fire which helped early man keep warm, cook food, and ward off predators. The book ends with the hope of preserving our earth. The reader gets a bird’s eye view of chemistry – from alchemy to the finding of the composition of water, to spectroscopy, to the periodic table, to quantum chemistry, to scanning tunneling microscope. All this without the “hardcore” terms and explanations, which put off many readers. The cartoons and snippets make the reading very compelling. The impact of major events in human history on chemistry and vice versa is clearly seen in the book. This book is a very good supplementary reading material for class 6 upwards. It can be used as a springboard for role plays, brief presentations, and understanding the chronological sequence of events in the evolution of chemistry. It will certainly create a love for the subject among the students. The book may not be entrance exam or school exam material, but it will help consolidate facts given in the textbook in a coherent manner.

Story of Astronomy written and illustrated by Uday Patil

This book is fashioned as a comic strip with funny conversations between cave men in the beginning and space travellers and aliens at the end. The author and illustrator, Uday Patil, has shown his brilliance in both, text and illustrations. The book can be an excellent supplement for middle and high school students. The conversations in the comic strips are impregnated with curiosity and wonder about celestial bodies, throughout. It also gives glimpses of folklore, mythology from different lands related to stars, sun, moon, and planets. The book reveals the sequence of events as they happened over a span of time to understand the facts, which we now know, about the universe such as the sun being in the center of the solar system and the planets revolving around it, that the earth rotates around its own axis, planets move in elliptical orbits, etc. The book gives a proper perspective about how the facts were derived. One can see how new theories replaced old established theories. It definitely brings back into focus the fundamentals of science, i.e., repeated observation, drawing inference, documenting observations, verifying, predicting. The Story of Astronomy shows us how the study of celestial bodies revealed not only the vastness of the universe but much more: the nature of light, the speed of light, the composition of celestial bodies. The leaps from studying stellar position to planetary motion to measuring the Milky Way and finding an astronomical unit, going on to finding Andromeda galaxy to the making of electronic retina to capture invisible light is The Story of Astronomy. It dispels the idea that astronomy is all about stars.

The Science Teachers’ Handbook written by Andy Byers, Ann Childs, Chris Laine

The contributors and authors of this book, not forgetting the illustrator, have woven a unique experience of doing and learning science. An excellent handbook with very creative and unbelievably undemanding ideas to teach 80 different science concepts. The highlight is that the ideas are given in extremely simple doable steps and a plethora of amusing, self-explanatory illustrations. This is a must-have science supplement book for middle and high school students and teachers. It dispels the notion that learning science is rigid and regimented. The book shows us how science can be fun and learnt using low-cost and locally available materials. The sections on teaching practice will be a great solace to the beginner and the veteran. It is difficult not to use the book. With this book in hand demonstrating science and doing projects will become unstoppable.