To celebrate the release of Dr. E’s Super Stellar Solar System by Dr. Bethany Ehlmann with Jennifer Swanson on January 30th, blogs across the web are featuring exclusive content from Bethany and National Geographic Kids Books Senior Editor Shelby Alinsky, plus 5 chances to win a copy of Dr. E’s Super Stellar Solar System!
Try This Experiment
from Dr. E’s Super Stellar Solar System, page 48
Materials:
- A piece of waxed paper
- Frosting or peanut butter
- Two graham crackers
- Cut off a large sheet of waxed paper.
- Cover it with a layer of frosting or peanut butter.
- Take the two graham crackers and place them side by side. Do not leave a space in between.
- Slowly pull them apart. You should see the frosting or peanut butter come up slightly in the space. That is like seafloor spreading.
- Now remove one of the crackers and wet it slightly. Put it back on the layer of frosting or peanut butter.
- Push the two graham crackers together hard. Does one lift up and create a sort of mountain? That is similar to how mountains are formed from the collision of two plates.
– If you like these, check out NASA’s line of travel posters for solar system planets and exoplanets or for more on exploring Mars-like spots on Earth, check out Ehlmann’s National Geographic blog from Iceland or the Rhodes Project for more on the path to being a planetary scientist-For more on Curiosity’s exploration check out JPL’s mission website
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Take to the skies with planetary geologist Dr. E and her robot sidekick, Rover, to explore the solar system’s wildest, most astronomical geology–with comic book flair!
This stellar book introduces kids to outer space through in-depth info and comic book adventure. Along the way, kids follow explorer Bethany Ehlmann, a member of the NASA Mars Rover Curiosity mission, and her lovable robo-dog, Rover, as they study and protect our amazing solar system. Dr. E’s conversational and funny explanations of the solar system and planetary geology will pull kids in like gravity. The pairing of fun, graphic novel side stories with science facts makes big concepts accessible and interesting to boys and girls of all levels, from STEM science fans to reluctant readers alike.
About the Authors: Dr. Bethany Ehlmann is a 2013 National Geographic Emerging Explorer, a
participating scientist on the NASA Mars Rover Curiosity mission, a research scientist at JPL, and an assistant professor of planetary science at CalTech. She has studied compositional analysis of planetary surfaces, environmental change on Mars, chemical and physical weathering processes on planets, habitability, rock-microbe interactions, early Earth surface environments, and space policy. Ehlmann has a Ph.D. and M.S. in Geological Sciences from Brown University, an M.S. in both Geography and Environmental Change and Management from the University of Oxford (where she was a Rhodes Scholar), and a B.A. in both Earth and Planetary Sciences and Environmental Studies from Washington University in St. Louis. Before obtaining her current position at Caltech/JPL, she was a Marie Curie Fellow at the Institut d’Astrophysique Spatiale in Paris.
Jennifer Swanson is an award-winning author and science superfan. Her books for children and young adults have been selected for the National Science Teachers Association’s Best STEM Books and recommended reviews from School Librarians Workshop, Library Media Connection, and School Library Journal, among others.
About National Geographic Children’s Books: National Geographic Kids inspires young adventurers to explore the world through award-winning magazines, books, website, apps, games, toys, television series and events and is the only kids brand with a world-class scientific organization at its core. National Geographic Kids (10 issues per year) and Little Kids (6 issues per year) are photo-driven publications and are available on newsstands or by subscription in print and on tablets. The award-winning website kids.nationalgeographic.com excites kids about the planet through games, videos, contests, photos, quizzes, and blogs about cultures, animals and destinations. National Geographic Kids Books publishes as many as 100 nonfiction titles each year and teaches the youngest readers why the world is a weird, fascinating and fun place. National Geographic Kids Entertainment brings the renowned National Geographic brand to quality animated and live-action, entertainment-driven television, home video and online programming.