Famous Scientist Children’s Book

Name_________________________________________ period____ DUE: Tuesday, Jan. 10th

It’s nice that we aren’t shivering under branches in the rain, starving on a regular basis, cowering in fear from carnivorous animals, living lives in perpetual disease, and communicating with each other with crude grunts. We don’t live this way because a few people who lived before us were creative and energetic enough to solve problems and discover new knowledge. Looking back at the lives of these people provides some interesting stories and inspiration in knowing that you, too, can make new discoveries of your own and change the world, ideally in a positive way.

From the list on the back side of this sheet you will select a scientist to research (only one student will research each scientist in each physci period). On especially Tuesday and Wednesday, you will begin researching the life and work of your assigned scientist/inventor in class. There are some great books on most of these scientists at the OHS library.

Research the life and work of this scientist using at least 2 of these source types:

o a. Book from OHS or Timberland Library (such as a biography or autobiography)

o b. Reference book from OHS or Timberland Library

o c. Video or DVD

o d. Internet (only one of these accepted)

o e. OHS Library on-line programs

· Read your sources and take hand-written notes on the relevant aspect of your scientist’s life and work in your science notebook. Record where you obtained the information and source type next to your notes (title, author, and year published)

· After you have hand-written notes from at least 2 different sources in your science notebook, make an outline of your book answering the questions in the outline below – complete this outline in your science notebook.

· Construct an aesthetically pleasing children’s book about your scientist – all of the aspects of the outline should be covered in your story

· Cite your sources for researched information using a superscript number corresponding to a source written at the end of your book

Example: Robert Oppenheimer is often referred to as the father of the atomic bomb.1

1 Robert Oppenheimer: a biography written by Jim Badger and published in 2002

The Outline

1) Where and when were they born? What are some notable aspects of their family?

2) What kind of environment did they live in as a child (rural/urban, rich/poor, access to education, friends or teachers who might have inspired them, etc.)? How did they become interested in the scientific area that led to their main invention(s) or discovery?

3) What were their most significant discoveries or inventions in science? What was their career? Why are they famous and why do people remember them?

4) What were people’s initial reactions to their invention or discovery? Did people accept it right away, or did it take a long time?

5) What are the lasting effects of their inventions and/or discoveries? How do they directly or indirectly impact YOUR life in Olympia, Washington, in 2017.

Checklist for the grading of the assignment

23 pts. In labs/projects grade (3 points possible extra credit)

10 pts. Homework grade

__ Hand-written research is thorough and answers five sets of questions in science notebook (5 HW points)

__ Two allowed sources are used for research and written next to notes in science notebook (5 HW points)

__ At least 2 allowed sources are listed at the end of the book and referenced (5 L/P points)

__ Material from all five sets of questions is included in the book (5 L/P points)

__ Book is at least ten pages long (5 L/P points)

__ Book is well-written, interesting, neat, colorful, and aesthetically pleasing (5 L/P points)

__ 1-2 minute presentation conveying the information about your scientist to your classmates in an informative and interesting fashion (3 L/P points)

(3 pts. possible extra credit for reading an exceptionally well-done book to your classmates as part of your presentation)


Scientists From Whom to Choose


1. Archimedes (287-212 B.C.)

2. Franklin, Rosalind (b. 1920)

3. Curie, Marie Sklodowska (1867-1934)

4. Copernicus, Nicolas (1473-1543)

5. Galilei, Galileo (1564-1642)

6. Banneker, Benjamin (1731-1806)

7. Pasteur, Luis (b. 1822)

8. Newton, Sir Isaac (1642-1727)

9. Oppenheimer, J. Robert (1904-67)

10. Carver, George Washington

11. Watson, James Dewey (b.1928)

12. Hubble, Edwin (b. 1889)

13. Darwin, Charles (1809-82)

14. Bell, Alexander Graham (1847-1922)

15. Aristotle (384-322 B.C.)

16. Nikola Tesla (b. 1856)

17. Guglielmo Marconi (b. 1874)

18. Antoine Lavoisier (b. 1743)

19. Alfred Nobel (b. 1833)

20. Stephen Hawking (b. 1941)

21. Edmond Halley (b. 1660)

22. Alexander Fleming (b. 1881)

23. Jonas Salk (1914-1995)

24. Charles Babbage (c. 1800)

25. Whitney, Eli (b. 1765)

26. Edison, Thomas Alva (1847-1931)

27. Davinci, Leonardo (b. 1452)

28. Wright, Orville and Wilbur (c. 1867)

29. Pauling, Linus (b. 1901)

30. Guttenberg, Johann (c. 1398)

31. Bernouilli, Daniel (1700-82)

32. Bohr, Niels Henrik David (1885-1962)

33. Boyle, Robert (1627-91)

34. Brahe, Tycho (1546-1601)

35. McCormick, Cyrus (b. 1869)

36. Davy, Sir Humphry (1778-1829)

37. Franklin, Benjamin (1706-1790)

38. Goeppert-Mayer, Maria (1906-1972)

39. Hooke, Robert (1635-1703)

40. Kepler, Johann (1571-1630)

41. Pascal, Blaise (1623-62)

42. Hodgkin, Dorothy Crowfoot (b. 1910)

43. Planck, Max (1858-1947)

44. Rutherford, Ernest (1871-1937)

45. Tyndall, John (1820-93)

46. Volta, Alessandro, Count (1745-1827)

47. Ptolemy (90-168)

48. Hippocrates (c460-377B.C.)

49. Venturi, Giovanni Battista (b. 1746)

50. Faraday, Michael (1791-1867)

51. Van Leeuwenhoek, Antoni (b. 1632)

52. Copernicus