Galileo for Kids: His Life and Ideas, 25 Activities

For Kids

by Richard Panchyk

FOR USE IN SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES ONLY. This illuminating activity book introduces youngsters to Galileo's revolutionary discoveries in astronomy and physics. Activities include playing with gravity and motion, making a pendulum, observing the moon, and painting with light and shadow. Includes

Genres: Science, History, Biography, Nonfiction, Childrens, School

166 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Richard Panchyk is the author or editor of 14 books on a diverse range of topics, including children's nonfiction (science, history, art, politics/government) and adult nonfiction (history and folklore). His works have been translated into four languages.

Among his books are the award-winning and bestselling World War II for Kids, which is available at bookstores and museum gift shops across the nation. This book is considered as one of the top books ever published for teaching kids ages 9 and up about the war, and is used in schools and by homeschoolers from New York to Alaska. It features a foreword from the 2008 Republican presidential nominee, John McCain.

He is also the author of the lavishly illustrated Galileo for Kids, featuring a foreword by the astronaut Buzz Aldrin.

To order autographed copies of any of his books, or for more information, you may contact the author at panchyk@yahoo.com.

Richard Panchyk's latest books are German New York City, published as part of the famous Images of America series by Arcadia and 101 Glimpses of Long Island's North Shore, published by The History Press.

German New York City is the first-ever major book to cover the story German population in one of the world's biggest cities. It features nearly 200 historic photographs.

101 Glimpses is a pocket-sized book offering a snapshot of different beautiful locales along the historic North Shore, and features a foreword by Thomas Suozzi.

Coming in 2009 - The Keys to American History, featuring more than 60 of America's most important documents and speeches.

Reviews

[Tanya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn’t finish this book, but it’s great! Very well done for middle grade students

[Amanda]

This was a reread from the last time we studied Galileo, and this book was just as impressive the second time around. Much more detailed and thorough than typical science books for children. The attention to detail would be overwhelming if you only have a short time to cover Galileo, but if you're drawing it out over months, use this book as a spine for your studies! We added picture books as we went and it was such a nice well-rounded study. Already looking forward to the third repeat in a couple years!

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used for homeschool as part of our study of Astronomy. It was interesting to learn more about his life and discoveries.

[Asa Jacobs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book tell the story of Galileo's life. The book starts by giving background information about the great minds of the time, before Galileo was born in 1564. Copernicus and Tycho Brahe were the two great minds of astronomy before Galileo. Galileo's father was a brilliant man and soon it was apparent that this gift was being passed onto his son as well. Galileo loved to tinker and play instruments. He attended a monastery where he learned logic and was urged toward a career as a physician. When Galileo attended university he learned about mathematics and was hooked. He noticed things that many other did not. He invented the pugilosa a device for measuring heart rate and also discovered specific gravity. Galileo excelled in mathematics and soon move to Pisa. Galileo was friends with Johannes Kepler, they studied celestial objects. Galileo learned about telescopes and soon started making his own. He gave one of his telescopes to the Doge of Venice. They liked it so much they gave him a lifetime professorship and a large raise. Galileo soon started doing many experiments with his telescopes. He calculated the height of the mountains on the moon and even discovered the moons of Jupiter. Galileo studied sunspots, buoyancy, and even developed ways for explorers to find their latitude. Galileo went to Rome to share his theory that the sun was the center of the universe. His ideas weren't well accepted but he argued his point for months. He eventually went back home frustrated but not defeated. Galileo dealt with illness for many years but continued to study and make many discoveries. Galileo published a book called the Dialogue of the Two Chief Systems. This book was about the Copernican system of thinking, which thought the sun was the center of the universe and the Ptolemaic system which thought everything revolved around the earth. Many copies of the book were sold and the Catholic church at the time was furious. Galileo was a threat to the natural order and thinking of the time. He was put on trial for writing the book. He was sentence to be away from society so his ideas couldn't spread. He went to live in a big house on an island south of Florence. Galileo was 70 when his sentence was passed. Galileo lost his sight in his old age but continued to study and learn. He studied architecture and zoology until he died at the age of 79. He was and still is revered as a great scientist and innovator.

This book is a great biography of Galileo it does much more than tell the story of his life. As you read the book there are experiments that students can perform to learn about the things Galileo discovered. The experiments are really fun and will make the books content more connected to the book. This book would be a great resource for students who are doing reports on historical figures, but is also fun to skim. The experiments, diagrams, and pictures do a lot to make this book interesting. There is also a great glossary in the back that is divide in to people, places, and terms. I would love to have this book in my classroom as it provide background information to go with science lessons and experiments. This book would be suitable for 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders as a resource to learn about Galileo. It isn't a quick read but the content will have students wanting more.

[Karen L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Due to my time constraints as a busy part-time working home-school mom, I skimmed this one. Still, this was a good book. I found it interesting. It went into quite a lot of detail about his personal and professional life. The picture and visuals were helpful. I thought the experiments for school students looked good. My son who usually hates text book reading enjoyed this one. It is NOT a science text book, but certainly could be used as one. We are studying a combination of cosmology and basic astronomy this year. The book fits in well for that kind of study. I had him skip some chapters that went into a bit much of the politics of the day. Overall an excellent home-school or unschool Science book for ages middle school through high school.

[Barbara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read many kids science books but I loved this. It had some good ideas of things to do with kids. We will tr them probably this summer.

[Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great facts