A note from Wizard IV: To Be a Scientist

To be a scientist, you don’t need a laboratory filled with fancy equipment. Many of the world’s most famous scientists made great discoveries and inventions using common, everyday items.
A great place to find a good inventory of scientific equipment and supplies is as close as your neighborhood hardware store. Each department in the store contains items that you can use to perform many scientific tricks, experiments and demonstrations.
Michael Faraday used sealing wax and thread to make insulation for the world’s first electromagnet. Guglielmo Marconi used bailing wire and strips cut from tin cans as parts for his early radio transmitters. Alexander Graham Bell used thread spools to wind coils for his early telephones. Marie Curie used hammers, kitchen pans and large soup ladles while processing minerals in her quest for Radium.
This web site will not only show you how to transform everyday items into scientific apparatus, but will also teach you how to, “think like a scientist.” While building and performing activities in this book, you’ll be encouraged to repeat those process skills used by scientists around the world. You’ll practice making observations, taking careful measurements, making predictions, solving problems and keeping records.
Scientist are experts at, ”trying it again!” If your trick or experiment doesn’t work the first time, don’t give up. You might need to make only slight adjustments to your equipment.
Scientists are also safety experts. Practice being careful when handling equipment or materials that are sharp or generate heat or flame. A scientist always seeks help from others, so don’t be afraid to ask an adult for help at any time.
Perhaps, while searching the aisles of the store for an addition to your hardware laboratory, you might find just the right piece of hardware for your very own scientific discovery or invention. A trip to the hardware store can get you started on many fantastic scientific adventures. In just a short time you might be mysteriously floating a screw driver in mid-air, or scooting across your driveway on a home made hovercraft!