ISBN 1-61628-392-0

9 781616 283926

DO IT NOW!

WILD EXPERIMENTS & OUTDOOR ADVENTURES

DO

IT NO

W!

DO IT NOW!82 wacky investigations and cool

explorations in nature!

9 grow a crystal initial

25 build a tiny robot15 write in invisible ink

66 nurture tadpoles

82 fossilize footprints

US $6.99 CAN $7.99ISBN 13: 978-1-61628-392-6 ISBN 10: 1-61628-392-0

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contents

erupt a soda geyser

squeeze an egg into a bottle

bend water with static

ring a bell with a tv

light a room with a ponytail

make tissue defy gravity

tell time with a potato

mold a bouncy ball

grow a crystal initial

lift a friend’s fingerprint

isolate dna

encode notes with a scytale

send secrets by morse code

spy with a periscope

write in invisible ink

turn the world upside down

spin a mini kaleidoscope

view an eclipse

make a sun print

how to use this book

investigate

get cooking in a solar oven

rig a lightbulb

trap shadows

light up a lava lamp

flash a matchbook light

build a tiny robot

set off an exploding volcano

launch a rocket

play the electric spatula

create speaker monsters

power a spinning machine

craft a metal detector

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make a hive for mason bees

raise a butterfly

start an ant farm

predict bunny friendships

introduce two rabbits

spot animal warning signs

spy on sea life

construct a dam

nurture tadpoles

cultivate carnivorous plants

hollow out a birdhouse

personalize a melon

dry and press flowers

stain clothes on purpose

save poppy seeds

sprout an avocado pit

dry tomato seeds

pluck marigold seeds

mix up seed paper

sow a seed bomb

paint moss graffiti

compost in your backyard

plant a veggie patch

dig up a lost civilization

fossilize footprints

set up a solar compass

make a magnetic compass

estimate remaining daylight

locate the north star

spot pictures in the moon

identify moon phases

find the south pole

pitch a tent on the beach

set up a snow camp

sleep in the rainforest

camp in the desert

construct a lean-to shelter

get water from dewy grass

collect water in damp sand

drink from a tree branch

identify clouds

predict a rainstorm

blaze a trail

identify scat and tracks

learn dog body language

greet a new dog

read kitty’s body language

make friends with a cat

build a bat house

set up a lizard lounge

welcome butterflies

explore

tell me more

index

about the authors

credits

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1011

1 erupt a soda geyser

Warm the diet cola in the sun. Keep the cap on.

Put the cap on the bottle. Fill with Mentos™.

Insert the paper clip into the pipe.

Bend the paper clip into a hook. Tie on a long string.

Drill a hole through the pipe near the tape.

Drill a hole in the endcap.

Tape the pipe to the cap.

Widen the hole so that the candy will fit.

Drill a hole in the cap.

Add the endcap.

Stand back and yank the string.

diet

diet

diet

rotarytool

¾ in (2 cm) pvc pipe

¾ in (2 cm) pvc endcap mentos™file

1 2

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15

Juice half a lemon. Paint a message with the juice. Let it dry.

Hand the “blank” paper to a friend.

Heat reveals your juicy secret!

write in invisible ink

If you want to get extra stealthy, wait for the lemon juice to dry, then write a decoy message in regular ink on top. When you heat the paper, the secret message will rise to the top!

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25build a tiny robot

Glue fringe to a clean salsa cup.

Slip the battery between the wires. It’s alive!

Decorate your ‘bot.

Attach the motor. Bend one wire up.

Apply double-stick foam tape to the cup’s top.

Take the vibrating motor from an old cell phone.

Give your ‘bot plenty of room to zip around.

superglue double-stick foam tape

vibrating cell-phone

motor

watch batterysalsa cup

× 50

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set up a solar compass

make a magnetic compass

Mark the new end of the shadow.

Make a windproof puddle.

Rub a needle against a magnet.

Set the needle on a leaf in the puddle.

The needle aligns with the poles.

Place a tall, straight stick in the ground.

Mark the end of the shadow. Wait.

Connect the marks, then make a cross.

15minW W

E

EW

N S

N S

This compass is more accurate the closer you are to the equator and the equinoxes. Once you’ve set it up, you can mark the end of the stick’s shadow every hour to make a sundial.

The needle will align along the north-south axis. You’ll have to use other clues, like the sun’s position in the sky, to tell which end of the needle points north.

tell me more

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set up a lizard lounge

build a bat house

Stagnant water attracts bugs—bats’ 

favorite food!

Hang high  on a pole.

Cold-blooded lizards love to sun on rocks.

Leafy plants provide shade and good hiding spots.

Paint it black to trap and hold the sun’s warmth.

Caulk and  then screw 

the wood  together.

Line your pond form with rocks.

Staple mesh to one side of each board.

Lizards are drawn to running water. Use a pond form and a pond pump, and be sure to build close to an electrical source.

Connect the pump to a hose.

tell me more

wire mesh staple gun caulk gun pole

pond form pond pump

71stain clothes on purpose

Coarsely chop red cabbage.

Simmer. Strain out the cabbage.

Add the garment. Simmer longer for darker coloring.

Refrigerate overnight. Hang outside to dry.

1 q (1 l) water

2 tbsp vinegar4 c (1 kg)  chopped cabbage

3 c (750 g) loose tea4 c (1 kg) beets or cranberries

4 c (1 kg) spinach

3 c (750 g) blueberries

2 c (500 g)  ground coffee beans

15 min

15min 18

hr

Your kitchen is full of natural fabric dyes. Substitute these ingredients for the cabbage in this recipe to get a rainbow of tasty earth tones!

vinegarenamel pot

power garden 80plant a veggie patch

Divide plot into 12-in-by-12-in (30-cm-by-30-cm) squares.

Variety is the spice of life! Plant and enjoy a wide range of nutritious

crops year-round.

Choose vegetables that grow tall to increase how many

plants you harvest.

Put shallow-rooted plants next to deep-rooted ones so they

don't compete for water.

Plant tall plants at plot's edge to keep their shadows

off nearby plants.

Replant as soon as you harvest.

Fertilize soil year-round.

A patch of dirt and a plan is all you need to grow your very own bounty of vegetables!

WELDON OWEN INC.

CEO, President Terry Newell

VP, Sales and New Business Development Amy Kaneko

VP, Publisher Roger Shaw

Creative Director Kelly Booth

Executive Editor Mariah Bear

Senior Editor Lucie Parker

Project Editor Frances Reade

Assistant Editors Emelie Griffin, Katharine Moore

Senior Designers Stephanie Tang, Meghan Hildebrand

Designer Delbarr Moradi

Illustration Coordinators Sheila Masson, Conor Buckley

Production Director Chris Hemesath

Production Manager Michelle Duggan

Illustration credits

Front cover

Britt Hanson: avocado pit Liberum Donum (Juan Calle,

Santiago Calle, Andres Penagos): potato clock Vincent

Perea: carnivorous plants Gabhor Utomo: volcano

Back cover

Britt Hanson: butterfly jar, lava lamp Joshua Kemble:

dye pot, robot Raymond Larrett: initial crystal Liberum

Donum (Juan Calle, Santiago Calle, Andres Penagos):

digging, fossilized footprints, glowing shadow Vincent

Perea: cat Gabhor Utomo: bag on tree branch, fake

Special thanks to:

Storyboarders

Esy Casey, Julumarie Joy Cornista, Sarah Lynn Duncan,

Chris Hall, Paula Rogers, Jamie Spinello, Brandi Valenza

Illustration specialists

Hayden Foell, Raymond Larrett, Ross Sublett

Editorial and research support team

Ian Cannon, Marc Caswell, Mollie Church, Elizabeth

Dougherty, Kat Engh, Alex Eros, Justin Goers, Sarah

Gurman, Susan Jonaitis, Peter Masiak, Grace Newell,

Jennifer Newens, Paul Ozzello, Ben Rosenberg, Hiya

Swanhuyser

Kid-reviewer panel

Emma Arlen, Leah Cohen, Sally Elton, Whitman Hall,

Tesserae Honor, Nami Kaneko, Emily Newell,

Eloise Shaw, Georgia Shaw

A Show Me Now Book.Show Me Now is a trademark of Weldon Owen Inc.

fingerprint, invisible ink, magnet, orange-carton periscope,

tadpoles Tina Cash Walsh: dried flowers, seed paper

Interiors

Key: bg = background; bd = border; fr = frames;

ex = extra art

Esy Casey: 19 bg Liberum Donum (Juan Calle, Santiago

Calle, Andres Penagos): 1, 7, 22, 30, 42 fr, 49–50, 66 fr, 81,

82 fr Hayden Foell: 31, 60, 80 Britt Hanson: 3–6, 13, 16,

23, 42 bg, 59, 72–75 Gary Henricks: 27 Joshua Kemble:

25, 71 Vic Kulihin: 24, 28 Raymond Larrett: 8–9, 21, 63

Vincent Perea: 17, 51, 53–54, 67 Paula Rogers: 61–62

Ross Sublett: 57 fr Bryon Thompson: 2, 34, 43, 55–58 Wil

Tirion: 35, 38 Taylor Tucek: 19–20 Gabhor Utomo: 10–12,

14–15, 18, 26, 33, 36–37, 44–48, 64–65, 66 bg Tina Cash

Walsh: 52, 68–70, 76–78, 82 bg Mary Zins: 32

415 Jackson Street, Suite 200 San Francisco, CA 94111 Telephone: 415 291 0100 Fax: 415 291 8841

www.weldonowen.com

A division of

Do It Now! Science: Wild Experiments & Outdoor Adventures

Copyright © 2012 by Weldon Owen Inc.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be

reproduced, transmitted, or stored in an information

retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic,

electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying,

taping, and recording, without prior written permission

from the publisher.

Excerpted from Show Off, first published by

Candlewick Press in 2009.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012932624

ISBN 13: 978-1-61628-392-6

ISBN 10: 1-61628-392-0

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 12016 2015 2014 2013 2012

Printed in China by SNP Leefung

Typeset in Vectora LH