"Don't let anyone rob you of your imagination, your creativity, or your curiosity."
- Mae Jemison, physicist and astronaut
We don't always think about it, but every child is a scientist! From the moment they push a spoon off their high chair to see what happens or start asking, "why?" to everything, they start on a long and exciting lifetime of discovery. Their inquisitive minds will always be on the hunt for answers. It is, therefore, important to encourage your kids to be curious about the world they live in. The most important thing a scientist does, after all, is ask questions.
To celebrate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science & to help you ignite your child’s scientific curiosity, we’ve compiled a list of 5 of our favourite books that’ll inspire the young budding scientists!
Let’s find out.
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This series adapts biographies for younger readers through engaging illustrations. This was written to help introduce kids to the lives of outstanding people, be it artists, scientists, or activists. All of them achieved incredible things and each began life as any child with a dream. Told as a story, with facts and photos at the back, this sweet series for kids celebrates triumph over adversity through some of history’s favorite characters. It covers the lives of women such as Jane Goodall, Marie Curie and Ada Lovelace whose contributions to their respective fields cannot be overlooked.
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Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls is a series of 2 books which are packed with 100 stories that celebrate 100 extraordinary women. The book includes illustrations and details about women that’ll inspire your little girls (and boys!) with household names like Cleopatra and Michelle Obama. The book sheds light on the lives of women.
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Home Lab: Exciting Experiments for Budding Scientists includes twenty-five outdoor science projects and experiments that will spark kids' creativity and help them develop science skills through hands-on learning. Build a soap-powered sailboat, recreate the Solar System out of rubber bands, construct your own colourful kaleidoscope, or make mouthwatering monster marshmallows. By performing these simple and fun experiments, kids will slowly fall in love with science!
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The Hello, World! Series covers a wide range of topics illustrated by Jill McDonald. The series of books was designed to help kids learn through engaging artworks and stories. Hello, World! Solar System was written to help teach toddlers and kids learn all about the beauty of space and the Solar System.
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There are thousands of women scientists in India who perform experiments in laboratories, peer through powerful telescopes, camp out in harsh and extreme conditions to uncover the secrets of the earth. Fantastic Adventures in Science was written by 2 passionate women to highlight the achievements of Indian women in science. The text is lucid and informative and the illustrations are beautiful and gripping. All kids should have a copy of this on their shelves. These inspiring stories are bound to encourage your kids’ curious minds.
With that, you have 5 of our favourite children’s books to encourage them to be budding scientists. We hope that these books help your kids to find the little scientists in them. Let us know your favourites in the comments!