STEM Friday

September 27, 2019September 11, 2019

STEAM Jobs in Cybersecurity

STEAM Jobs in Cybersecurity (Series: STEAM Jobs You’ll Love)
by Cynthia Argentine
48 pages; ages 9 – 13
Rourke Educational Media, 2019

Just one month ago, the computer systems in 22 small Texas towns were hacked and held for ransom. Hackers blocked access to data, effectively closing down town governments and court systems. Just a week earlier, hackers locked down computer systems for a small town library system and school system.

Like pirates, hackers held town and institutional data hostage until a ransom could be paid. Their demands: hundreds of thousands of dollars in bitcoin. Those who don’t pay don’t get their data back. Even those who do pay often don’t get all their data returned.

Cities aren’t the only victims. Hospitals, credit agencies, even individuals are increasingly facing cyber-threats. So there are plenty of opportunities for people seeking a job in cybersecurity. Author Cynthia Argentine writes about those jobs, and the importance of a STEAM education for young people hoping to go into the field.

STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math. Cybersecurity involves many of these subjects, from information technology to psychology and cryptography – that’s the math and science of secret codes. Art is included because musical patterns and visual art help develop creativity and problem-solving skills.

Argentine shows how hackers can get into a computer system, and shares their “toolkit of tricks”: viruses, malware, and bots. She devotes an entire chapter to designing a defense against cyber-intrusion, another to ethics

Fast Fact boxes add information about specific cyber-attacks, how computers influence our lives, and which passwords are the worst. Hint: don’t use starwars! Throughout the book she highlights STEAM jobs in cybersecurity: cybersecurity analyst, cybersecurity consultant, malware analyst, cyber-forensic investigator, security software developer, information security administrator, cybersecurity engineer and architect, and cybersecurity lawyer.

Another cool thing about this book: it’s part of the STEAM Jobs You’ll Love series. Other books in the series focus on jobs in Agriculture, Architecture, Forensic science, Game development, Robotics, Wildlife Conservation … and the list goes on. Review copy provided by the publisher.

It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

September 20, 2019September 15, 2019

Silent Swoop

Silent Swoop: An Owl, an Egg, and a Warm Shirt Pocket
by Michelle Houts (Author) and Deb Hoeffner (Illustrator)

Booktalk: An owl swoops down to lay her egg in a coal yard–a dangerous spot for a fragile egg! Rescued by Walter, a bird expert with a big heart and warm shirt pocket, the egg miraculously hatches and is aptly named Coal. Additional pages of science information, literacy connections, and STEM activities can be found in the back of the book.

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BONUS! Download the Science and Engineering Activities

It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

September 20, 2019September 10, 2019

The Lost Forest

The Lost Forest
by Phyllis Root; illus. by Betsy Bowen
40 pages; ages 4 – 9
Univ Of Minnesota Press, 2019

How do you lose a forest?

Especially when trees are so tall you can’t see their tops. So big it takes two or more people holding hands to reach around. You’d think a forest of trees like that would be easy to find – but in 1882, in Minnesota, a survey crew lost an entire forest. It disappeared right off their maps! Great news for the trees – they kept right on growing. Great news for the other plants and the animals living in the forest – they kept on raising seeds and babies and continuing their community of life.

For more than 75 years the mistake stayed on the map, protecting the trees from the lumberjacks’ saws and axes. Now the forest is protected and you can go visit 350-year old pines. So it is a lost-and-found forest, right?

What I like about this book: I love the way Phyllis Root tells her story, with a sly wink to the reader. “If you were trying to turn this rollicking land into straight lines on paper, you might make a mistake,” she writes. She reminds readers that the trees had never been lost. Neither had the orchids, porcupines, and other wild plants and animals. They knew exactly where they were!

I love the illustrations by Betsy Bowen. They pull you right into the woods. I like the endpages – maps of the township – and the plentitude of back matter. There you’ll find out more about old growth forests and some of the species you might find there. You can find out more about surveying, and there’s a fun section called “how to talk like a surveyor”.

Check out “beyond the book” activities over at Archimedes Notebook

It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

September 13, 2019September 12, 2019

Fun with Nature Projects

Fun with Nature Projects: Bubble Wands, Sunset in a Glass, and More
by Megan Borgert-Spaniol (Author)

Booktalk: Photos and step-by-step instructions guide readers through projects that introduce them to the science of nature. While making a volcano or a thermometer, readers will learn about light, temperature, and more.

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It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

September 13, 2019August 25, 2019

A rotten book!

Rotten! Vultures, Beetles, Slime, and Nature’s Other Decomposers, by Anita Sanchez ; illus by Gilbert Ford
96 pages; ages 7-10
HMH Books for Young Readers, 2019

“It’s a rotten world,” writes Anita Sanchez. No matter where you look, from the backyard compost pile to the landfill – and even in the back of your fridge – things are decomposing. And that’s a good thing, because imagine what the world would be like if nothing broke down. Decomposed. Rotted away. What would happen to dead animals, orange peels, that pile of dog poop?

In this book we meet dung beetles –the little critters that especially love the dung of plant-eating animals. Turns out, dung beetles are major players in the battle against global warming.

We meet vulture and other scavengers that feed on the flesh of dead animals. Scavenging is a pretty good strategy because dead meals don’t fight back!

We meet the “fun guys” of the decomposer club, fungi. They excel at breaking down the tough bonds that hold molecules of wood together, Sanchez writes. They turn fallen logs into humus – crumbly dark soil perfect for growing new plants. We meet ants, termites, slugs and slime molds, and even take a field trip into our own homes to check out what’s rotten.

I love the way Sanchez makes rotten things sound like the most exciting stuff to look for! And her hands-on challenges: follow sandwich crusts and a “rot it yourself” test. And I really like the last chapter about Rotten People – and we’re not talking about scallywags, thieves, and politicians!

It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

September 6, 2019September 5, 2019

So You Think You Know About… Velociraptor?

So You Think You Know About… Velociraptor?
by Ben Garrod (Author)

Booktalk: Discover dinosaurs, new science, how to find a fossil and ask an expert — world-renowned paleontologist, Dr. Ben Garrod.

Snippet:

See the book trailer.

It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

September 6, 2019August 24, 2019

The Secret Life of the Skunk

The Secret Life of the Skunk (Secret Life series)
by Laurence Pringle; illus by Kate Garchinsky
32 pages; ages 6-9
Boyds Mills Press, 2019

This book takes us inside the underground burrow of a striped skunk and her kits. The burrow is a cozy place, lined with soft leaves and grasses. It’s filled with warmth, earthy smells, and mama skunk’s musky scent. As the kits grow, they begin exploring outside the den. Eventually mama takes them on a foraging expedition, digging up beetle grubs to show them how to find food.

What I like about this book: Kate Garchinsky’s illustrations are so soft that you almost feel the furry little kits. And Laurence Pringle finds the best words to describe skunk sounds: squeak, squeal, churr, twitter. I love the narrative arc of the story told over one season of the skunks’ lives: from birth in the spring, through summer growth, and into the fall when they are preparing for winter dormancy. I also like the back matter where you can learn a lot more about skunks, check out words in the glossary, and find a short list of books about skunks.

Head over to Archimedes Notebook for some beyond-the-book activities.

It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

August 30, 2019August 29, 2019

Summer Green to Autumn Gold

Summer Green to Autumn Gold: Uncovering Leaves’ Hidden Colors
by Mia Posada (Author / Illustrator)

Booktalk: Find out why leaves change color in autumn. Back matter offers additional scientific details as well as suggested further reading and links to hands-on activities.

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It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

August 30, 2019July 23, 2019

Habitat books are Popping Up

Two recent books use pop-ups to invite young children into their habitats. They are written by Libby Walden and illustrated by Clover Robin, with paper engineering credits to Martin Tyler. Originally published in England, Kane Miller released them in US this past spring (2019).

Across the Savannah

In the early morning haze / The noble lion loves to laze.

Pop-up pages introduce readers to six different savannah animals: lion, giraffe, hippo, meerkat, and elephant.

On the Mountain

In the whispering mountain breeze / Two wolf cubs run between the trees.

In this book each pop-up page introduces the reader to an animal you might find when hiking on a mountain: wolf, trout, bighorn sheep, black bear, and bald eagle.

What I like about these books: Simple, rhyming text describes where each animal lives – beneath the rippling surface of a mountain lake, a muddy watering hole, in deep burrows, or on a jagged rocky slope.

Sidebars contain fun facts and additional information about each animal and the habitat. And the pop-ups provide an abundance of details that will have kids searching for more.

Beyond the Books:
Try your hand at making a pop-up book about animals in your back yard.

Review copies provided by the publisher.

It’s STEM Friday! (STEM is Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

August 23, 2019

We Dig Worms

Let’s take a look at the natural history comic book and leveled reader for kids, We Dig Worms by Kevin McCloskey.

Kevin McCloskey’s book allows young readers to explore earthworms inside and out in a fun way. He shows the anatomy and life cycle of earthworms, emphasizes the importance of earthworms in their natural habitat — as food for other animals, for their role in the decomposition of plant waste, and as aerators of the soil — and includes discussions of earthworm behavior.

As if that weren’t enough, in the back matter are tips and suggestions for parents and teachers on how to read comics with kids, with emphasis on going “for the shared pleasure.” Wonderful!

We Dig Worms is a resource that young readers will want to return to again and again. Pick up and enjoy a copy today!

Be sure to visit Growing with Science blog for an inside look at the book and for related activity suggestions.