Leap Into Space

Ages 8 to 13 years. This book encourages children to learn about the universe through observation, experiments, and crafts. A few of the main characters in Leap into Space include the sun, the moon, Earth, Saturn, Jupiter, brown dwarfs, comets, black holes, and asteroids. Young readers will: Learn about important people in the field of astronomy, from Galileo to Sally Ride; Learn about brown dwarfs, objects that have properties both of stars and planets; Study the sun and learn what makes the auroras seen from both poles of the earth; Read legends about the constellations like Ursa Major; find out why the Egyptians worshiped Ra, the Sun God; and discover why Polaris, the North Star, wasn't always the North Star. Children will love the experiments and craft activities, from bubble painting a moon to making a sun dial to experimenting with a rainbow star or with motion. Amusing and colourful artwork illustrates the pages along with spectacular photographs from NASA.McRae, Patrick is the author of 'Leap Into Space', published 2008 under ISBN 9780824968151 and ISBN 0824968158.