The Surfing Scientist: 40 DIY Science Gizmos

By Ruben Meerman

Spent all your pocket money again? There are heaps of great things you can make with stuff that's lying round the house -- and they won't cost you a cent! Ages 7-12.
Check out all the toys and gizmos you can make with simple household stuff! From Mexican jumping beans to a diving octopus and a popcorn lava lamp, you'll be whizzing and spinning like crazy. Watch out you don't get dizzy! Ages 7-12.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers Australia
• Release date: Jul 1, 2010
• ISBN: 9780730445463

Ruben Meerman

Ruben Meerman decided to study physics at school in an attempt to sit next to a hot girl. Sadly, this didn't work, but it was the beginning of another beautiful relationship … with science! Ruben did a Bachelor of Applied Science in Physics at Queensland University of Technology and worked for a while in an optical lab. Things started to head in a different direction when he was accepted into the Graduate Diploma in Science Communication at the Australian National University. Ruben is a regular on the ABC’s ROLLERCOASTER and also CATALYST.

Reviews for The Surfing Scientist

[shawjonathan · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a copmbined review of this and [The Surfing Scientist]These two books are spin-offs from a clutch of television and radio shows including the eponymous Surfing Scientist on Tuesday afternoons, The ExperiMENTALS. Indeed, the Surfing Scientist page on the ABC's web site includes a number of excerpts from the books, and the one episode of the delightfully manic ExperiMENTALS that I've seen recreates at least four tricks from the second book. For those who, like me, have minimal familiarity with the ABC shows, the books stand cheerfully on their own two feet as excellent sources of fun things to make and things to do, to echo a heading from Arthur Mee's Children's Encyclopedia, which gave me much joy as a ten-year old. These are superior to the ancient Arthur Mee in that they spell out the science behind the tricks in engaging ways: not only can we make a frozen hand suitable for floating scarily in a bowl of Halloween punch, but we get to understand why the red colouring doesn't spread evenly through the ice; we can construct two unconventional paper planes, and also learn something of why they fly and keep their balance despite their unflightworthy appearance. I'll be remembering these books when it's time to buy gifts for young people of curious bent and an inclination to engage with the physical world -- and is there any other kind?