Titles by Amy M. O'Quinn

Marie Curie, renowned for her work on radioactivity, was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, the first person to win in two fields (chemistry and physics), and the first woman to hold a chair position at the Sorbonne. Marie Curie for Kids details Curie’s remarkable life, from her childhood under a repressive czar in Poland to her tireless work supporting herself through college to meeting her ideal match in scientist Pierre Curie to her revolutionary research. Kids learn how Curie quietly flouted societal norms, working in full partnership with her husband while also teaching and raising two daughters. Scientific concepts are presented in a clear, accessible way, and a range of activities—from making Polish pierogies to exploring magnetism to using electrolysis to split water—allow for exploration of Curie’s life, times, and work.

Nikola Tesla was a physicist, scientist, electrical engineer, and world-renowned inventor whose accomplishments faded into oblivion after his death in 1943. Tesla was undeniably eccentric and compulsive; some considered him to be somewhat of a “mad” scientist. But in reality, he was a visionary. Many of his ideas and inventions that were deemed impossible during his lifetime have since become reality. He was the first to successfully use rotating magnetic fields to create an AC (alternating current) electrical power supply system and induction motor. He is now acknowledged to have invented the radio ahead of Marconi. Among other things, he developed the Tesla coil, an oscillator, generators, fluorescent tubes, neon lights, and a small remote-controlled boat. He helped design the world’s first hydroelectric plant at Niagara Falls. Nikola Tesla for Kids is the story of Nikola Tesla’s life and ideas, complete with a time line, 21 hands-on activities, and additional resources to better understand his many accomplishments.