Poor design and wasted funding characterize today's American playgrounds. A range of factors--including a litigious culture, overzealous safety guidelines, and an ethos of risk aversion--have created uniform and unimaginative playgrounds. These spaces fail to nurture the development of children or promote playgrounds as an active component in enlivening community space. Solomon's book demonstrates how to alter the status quo by allying data with design. Recent information from the behavioral sciences indicates that kids need to take risks; experience failure but also have a chance to succeed and master difficult tasks; learn to plan and solve problems; exercise self-control; and develop friendships. Solomon illustrates how architects and landscape architects (most of whom work in Europe and Japan) have already addressed these needs with strong, successful playground designs. These innovative spaces, many of which are more multifunctional and cost effective than traditional playgrounds, are both sustainable and welcoming. Having become vibrant hubs within their neighborhoods, these play sites are models for anyone designing or commissioning an urban area for children and their families. The Science of Play, a clarion call to use playground design to deepen the American commitment to public space, will interest architects, landscape architects, urban policy makers, city managers, local politicians, and parents.

Contains sixty-five activities that introduce readers to scientific exploration, including such subjects as weather, soil science, plants, color, and light.

In this inspiring book of personal insight and sound advice, veteran scientist Carl J. Sindermann gives an insider's look at the competitive world of science and reveals the best strategies for attaining prominence and success. Taking apart the many different roles scientists must play during their careers, Sindermann compares common mistakes scientists make with what the best strategists do-whether they are publishing papers, presenting data, chairing meetings, or coping with government or academic bureaucracy. In the end, he maintains, well-honed interpersonal skills, a savvy eye on one's competitors, and excellent science are the keys to a satisfying and successful career.

Fun, easy experiments that help children ages 5-8 grasp science basics--effortlessly: that’s what Let’s Play Science is all about. Written by an expert who teaches at one of America’s most highly regarded schools, it will grab kids’ attention and provide a firm foundation for future learning. Mary Stetten Carson knows what her audience likes and how they absorb information: she covers such popular topics as growing things, the human body, magnets, machines, water, and more. Each activity is explained in the simplest language, often with questions that gently guide youngsters through the scientific process. Among the entertaining experiments: playing a "touch game” with different objects; making a rainbow in a glass; and constructing a coat hanger balance.

Look in a mirror. Who do you see? Your very own self, that's who! Now look in a shiny doorknob or in a puddle. Can you see yourself in them? How about in the pages of this book? You might not see yourself, but you will feel yourself getting smarter as you begin to understand how and why you can see yourself. Renowned science author Vicki Cobb illuminates the scientific principles of light and reflection in a way that even the youngest kids can understand. Follow this book with a young child who loves to play, and see the light in a whole new way. Discover science, and the world will never look the same. Fun hands-on activities and irresistible illustrations by Julia Gorton makethis book a perfect excuse to learn about science . . . just for the fun of it!

A lively, deeply reported tour of the science and strategies helping athletes like Tom Brady, Serena Williams, Carli Lloyd, and LeBron James redefine the notion of “peak age.” Season after season, today’s sports superstars seem to defy the limits of physical aging that inevitably sideline their competitors. How much of the difference is genetic destiny and how much can be attributed to better training, medicine, and technology? Is athletic longevity a skill that can be taught or a mental discipline that can be mastered? Can career-ending injuries be predicted and avoided? Journalist Jeff Bercovici spent extensive time with professional and Olympic athletes, coaches, and doctors to find the answers to these questions. His quest led him to training camps, tournaments, hospitals, antiaging clinics, and Silicon Valley startups, where he tried cutting-edge treatments and technologies firsthand and investigated the realities behind health fads like alkaline diets, high-intensity interval training, and cryotherapy. Through fascinating profiles and first-person anecdotes, Bercovici illuminates the science and strategies extending the careers of elite older athletes, uncovers the latest advances in fields from nutrition to brain science to virtual reality, and offers empowering insights about how the rest of us can find peak performance at any age.

Is it possible that what looks like play is something else entirely? German author Mechtild Käufer presents findings from scores of researchers worldwide who study why dogs play, the benefits they get from play and how to recognize the “rules” of play that dogs follow to keep their play behaviors fun and safe. There are dozens of color photographs included to help illustrate the actions of dogs at play.