Auckland University Faculty of Science: Incredible Science

Every year, the Faculty of Science at Auckland University runs an open day for primary school children, with talks, wall displays, and demonstrations of everything from glassblowing to the more spectacular applications of chemistry.

I've taken my children along three times, and each time it's been bigger, rowdier, and more frenetic than before. The crowding can be severe, but assuming the university can keep the event from collapsing under the weight of its own success, it's clearly going to become an institution.

This year's open day saw the launch of a tie-in book for use at home or in the classroom. Three sections focus on biology, physics and Earth science, offering basic information, with attractive illustrations and layout, plus experiments for kids to try.

Secret codes; water-propelled rockets to make; how to give yourself an electric shock with a balloon ... these are all pitched for young scientists, using fun activities to put the scientific fundamentals across.

My one reservation: if you've gone looking for introductory science books for kids, you will know the market is actually rather crowded. As well as a wide range of books very similar to this one, there are also the highly popular Horrible Science titles, which use appalling pre-adolescent humour to smuggle abstruse ideas into young minds. There's some local content to mark Incredible Science out from the pack — the section on building a bird feeder lists New Zealand native species which might be attracted, for instance — but that is too slight a point of difference to warrant a big fuss.

Still, the book is well produced and engaging. With the increasingly popular Auckland University open days as a launching pad, it may well take off.

* David Larsen is an Auckland reviewer.
* Penguin, $19.95