Update: Now reviewed on my web site:

Review: Ecology for Kids

Looking for some fun and educational hands-on activities to teach ecology to your kids? Here’s a book that delivers it well.

The Kitchen Pantry Scientist Ecology for Kids: Science Experiments and Activities Inspired by Awesome Ecologists, Past and Present is one of a series of great books by Liz Lee Heinecke, also known as the Kitchen Pantry Scientist.

Like her other books, this one has all kinds of activities to help kids learn while having fun.

The book features 25 hands-on activities like creating a tide pool in a plastic tub, using quadrant sampling to study biodiversity, planting chia seeds to learn how trees protect soil, and building a rain forest terrarium.

Each one is accompanied by a rather in depth biography and a full page illustration of a famous ecologist like Rachel Carson, George Washington Carver, Akira Miyawaki and E.O. Wilson.

The activities are accompanied by lots of photos and step by step directions, and each one relates to the scientist who has been profiled.

I really appreciate that Heinecke always profiles a diverse group of scientists. There are always plenty of women and people of color that we learn about through her books, even from time periods when they were denied the opportunities and exposure that other scientists received.

I also appreciate that she features young scientists who are working in the field now, and scientists from all over the world.

The experiments are in depth, educational and fun. They don’t require a lot of specialty equipment, just a bit of advance preparation.

This would make a fantastic spine for a homeschool ecology unit, doing one each week for 6 months. It will work easily for multiple ages. Highly, highly recommended.

The book was released in March 2023. You can find the book on Amazon (affiliate link) or through your local bookseller or public library.

I read an advanced copy of this book for review, courtesy of the publisher. All opinions are my own."

Also on Goodreads:

Like other books in this series, this is just an excellent resource. It features 25 ecology heroes with a colorful full page illustration, an in depth profile, a related science project, and then an explanation of the science behind the fun. As always, the scientists are wonderfully diverse. The experiments are in depth, educational and fun. They don’t require a lot of specialty stuff, just a bit of advance preparation.

This would make a fantastic spine for a homeschool ecology unit, doing one each week for 6 months. It will work easily for multiple ages. Highly, highly recommended.

This book was chock full of fun science experiments. I especially enjoyed that a scientist was presented (with a short biography and beautiful illustration) followed by an experiment inspired by the scientist's work. The biographies reminded me a little bit of the types of biographies found in the Rebel Girls series, although these biographies went a little bit more in depth. It was nice to see the connection between the scientist and the experiments. Some of the experiments may be a bit difficult, depending on which setting one might be using this book for (school, at home, library programs) and in which area one lives. For example, some experiments require access to ponds, lakes, etc. But overall, I could see this being used in various situations. The layout of the photographs was occasionally hard to follow, but the photographs themselves were very helpful. I have not yet tested out any of these experiments, but I'm looking forward to in the future. I would recommend this for young scientists and their educators.

I accessed a digital review copy of this book from the publisher.
This book gives one-page bios on 25 different scientists. The information is divided by the scientist's early life, their early scientific exposure, their later scientific work, and for some how their work applies to today's world. After the biography is an experiment or activity that relates to the work of the scientist. All of the experiments are easy to do with easy-to-source supplies. All of the instructions are easy to follow and understand, though some take more time to complete.
This book works as a good addition at home to learn about ecology, either for students in traditional classes or for homeschool students.

The Kitchen Pantry Scientist Ecology for Kids is a fantastic edition to any school library, and indeed, any child’s bookshelves! It is filled with beautifully presented experiments that are not only interesting, but are both accessible resource and instruction-wise. Importantly, they are achievable with a little adult support, (depending on the young scientist - as they grow increasingly confident with the aid of this book, they may well be the one supporting you!). However, some experiments may need to be adapted according to any time constraints. It’ll be well worth your time to explore and learn alongside your reader. Each experiment is supported by great explanations. I can see this title helping to forge many happy memories.

In addition to this, the experiments are accompanied by well-written autobiographies of 25 diverse scientists. Hopefully many young ecologists can see something of themselves in these clever individuals. This book is sure to delight and inspire all ages!

This is a great book to teach children some science basics. I definitely intend to use some of these ideas with my children. This would be a great book to get for any breaks in school to keep your children having fun, entertained and still learning.

As a homeschooling mother, I was really excited to get my hands on this book! It’s engaging and easy to absorb as you flip through. My kids and I have moved through a few of the lessons and experiments. We had an excellent time and it felt fully intuitive to bring these lessons to life. I’m so grateful I found this book and look forward to getting my hands on a physical copy once published!
I feel this educational book will work for learning environments of all kinds: homeschooling, classrooms or even just exploring ecology with your kids!

Many thanks to Quarto publishing, Liz Lee Heinecke and NetGalley for the advance copy of The Kitchen Pantry Scientist Ecology for Kids in return for my unbiased opinion.

I loved the format of this book. Each experiment is prefaced by a mini biography of the scientist that inspired it. The scientists are a wide, diverse range of people. They are not your usual Boring, Old, White, Men. There are many women and people of colour included and the majority of people featured were completely new to me.

Following the biography is a well-described experiment, with clear, easy-to-follow directions and high quality photos. There are options for broadening the scope of the activity ('creative enrichment') and a full explanation of 'the science behind the fun', giving the breakdown of how the experiment works and obtains its results.

The photographs for the experiments are modern and have been shot expressly for the book, rather than appearing to be stock images. The illustrations for the biographies are colourful drawings and are vivid and beautifully done.

I would recommend this book for parents and educators and I will be recommending this to friends and also to our local Scout group leaders. The activities are suitable for a range of ages.

Highly recommend, 5/5 stars.

Awesome educational book with fantastic illustrations/pictures! Each section features a different scientist and concept giving a brief biography and related homemade experiment. The experiments all use household or easy to find items. A perfect introduction to ecology. I would definitely recommend this to budding scientists age 7/8 or older!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.

The Kitchen Pantry Scientist books are so cool! This Ecology-focused title has easily-digestible information about influential scientists and then a related activities for each one. The experiments are relatively simple to set up and lots of fun for kids to explore. I think these books are great for getting kids excited about science at home, whether it's part of a homeschool curriculum or just for the fun of exploration.

Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group – Quarry and NetGalley for gifting me with an ARC to review! My family enjoyed it.

We are a homeschool family and this book is a fantastic addition to our science curriculum.

The book is split into chapters, each one focusing on a scientist that is well-know in the field of ecology. First we can read about the scientist and their work, then there is a step-by-step guide for an experiment your kids can do at home around this.

I've just seen that this book is part of a series including chemistry and biology, so we'll be adding those to our bookshelves too.

Highly recommend

An interesting, educational, fun book for kids!

I like how the experiments are all using common household ingredients, so you shouldn't have to buy special items.

I also like how they talk about the history of each Scientist that the experiment is relating to.

Lots of brightly colored pictures, the book is engaging & fun for kids. A wonderful resource!

(I was able to preview this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.)

I am excited to purchase this book for our home schooled patrons. Each chapter highlights a specific scientist with coordinating experiments so children can have an immersive experience. It is filled with bright illustrations that describe each experiment. One of my favorite parts of this book are all of the female scientists that are featured. It will be great for girls that are interested in science and ecology. It is already on my list of books to purchase for my library.

I LOVE this book. It is organized by 25 famous historical ecologists and has a follow-on “lab” that is relevant to that particular ecological historical figure’s work. This book should be at the top of your list under both history and science. It is such a well-rounded addition to any homeschool curriculum of if you are just interested in some easy, fun, and academically deep activities to do during a rainy day or summer break. I would ABSOLUTELY recommend this book to anyone and everyone who has children or grandchildren or nieces or nephews or neighbor kids and on and on.

Thank you, NetGalley!

The Ecology part caught my eye because we are completing our Ecology unit rather late in the year, and many of my usual ideas are dependent on the time of year. I reviewed this for any experiment ideas I could use. Many are great and I love the scientist biographies and the "behind the science" sections. The only reason why I can't adapt this for my classroom is the time aspect. Many aren't time friendly to fit in an 80 minute block period. Otherwise, I love this.

This book gave me many mixed feelings. As an amateur naturalist, I am always interested in how we can observe and use the world around us carefully and respectfully. I also appreciated the science experiments that were doable with children at home without a lot of classroom equipment. My disappointment was the obvious political statements throughout the entire book. The theory of evolution is praised multiple times and the climate change topic comes up almost every chapter. For a book about ecology at home, it seems polarizing. Those statements could have been left out. Readers are fully capable of coming to those conclusions and learning in their own without adding it in to every page.