Kitchen Science Cookbook

I received a copy of this free from the publishers. All views are my own.

The Kitchen Science Cookbook by Dr Michelle Dickinson, design by Suburban Creative Ltd, Photography by Magic Rabbit Ltd.

It was a lovely surprise last week to receive a mystery parcel in the post

It also showed how much the postmen have got used to me and my bookpost as it was sent to my home postcode but with no house number on…one of the postmen has just written ‘try xx’ and sure enough…!!

Anyway, it was lovely and inside was a real treat.

Not just a copy of Dr Michelle Dickinson’s brilliant Kitchen Science Cookbook, but all the bits needed to have a go at a couple of the experiments – what fun!

Now, before we get into the book itself, I have to tell you the design and layout are slick. It is vibrant, fun and colourful whilst retaining a really stylish, attractive feel; it’s perfectly finished and would make a gorgeous gift for budding scientists or just curious and creative little minds!

The book is split into sections, each themed around a different area of science, meaning you can look for specific themes – handy for teachers or children with specific scientific interests.

The experiments themselves are clearly set out with lists of equipment/ingredients that really do seem to be everyday, household things that, for the most part, you’d either have anyway or could pop in the trolley cheaply and easily.

My only minor grumble is there’s a fair bit of disposable plastic in there (plastic straws, cutlery etc), BUT they are mostly easily replaced by non-plastic versions – I was pleased to see Penguin had put in a wooden spoon instead of a plastic one for my catapult, and I switched out the plastic straws for metal/paper ones in the rocket investigation.

The instructions are easy to follow (even I managed it!) with large photos of each investigation to refer to if needed.

I had a great time with my marshmallow catapult, so can only imagine how much fun could be had by kids with one!

For non-science-y types like me or younger readers, you could easily leave it there and still have a brilliant time whiling away weekends and rainy days with the huge variety of experiments in here – volcanoes, edible slime, bouncing bubbles, floating eggs…

But there is also a really great explanation of the science behind each experiment. Perfectly pitched, this is easy to follow and understand but doesn’t dumb anything down. It is ‘proper science’ in language children will understand.

There are also suggestions for ways to alter the experiments to test what happens. This is brilliant for deepening understanding and helping children apply it to making more predictions, not to mention giving each experiment more life – revisit it and try one of the ‘explore further’ ideas.

I have to be honest and say I haven’t tried each and every experiment, but I’ve had a go at several and found them all fun and immensely do-able! I’ll be using the straw rockets at our Space Out Saturday in work over the summer too!

Overall, I was really impressed by this book and its one I’ll be recommending enthusiastically in work. Attractive, varied, informative and LOADS of fun – just brilliant!