Kids & Teachers Tardigrade Science Project Book: How To Find Tardigrades and Observe Them Through a Microscope

Hobbyists and amateurs of all sorts - people who do things for fun or the simple love of it - are very fortunate to have friends like Michael Shaw. Mike is a professional biologist who studies tardigrades. But Mike is also a talented teacher and writer, judging from this new book. It is about 100 pages long, with lots of wonderful color pictures and the $2.99 price is very reasonable.Tardigrdes are microscopic invertebrate creatures called "water bears" because they like to live in water, and move on six stubby little legs that makes them look like lumbering bears. They are also among the first invertebrates to travel with astronauts outside the earth's atmosphere. In this book Mike tells us not only what tardigrades are, but where they live, what they eat and what eats them, and how to find, capture and view them under the microscope. He also has sections telling you how to use a microscope and set it up to take photographs and digital images with it. In this small book there is even information about doing tardigrade research, and how to find more information about them. The style of writing is simple, friendly, and humorous, and appeals to all reader age groups.Mike also has a tardigrade website [...]), which is as remarkable as the book. You can use a link there to watch a video of Mike talking about water bears and tardigrades in space. Besides being a bargain and full of useful information, this book is a visual and verbal delight. I highly recommend it!

This book is so much more than I thought it would be! I am an amateur microscope hobbyist, and I want to find Tardigrades. This book more than suits that purpose. Informative and fun, with a lot of helpful hints. This is a great book for kids, but I appreciate it as well!

Well written book, easy for me (as an adult) to read and my 10-year-old daughter did the project with me. Author has a great sense of humor as well. We had lots of fun finding the water bears but struggled to find our first one until we used the "Darkfield" method on an observation microscope. That was the key!

I downloaded this book to my phone and two of my computers so that I can read it anytime. It is well written and well illustrated, easy to understand. It explains how to catch and view one of the cutest and most interesting microscopic organisms. It also has instructions how to use a microscope and even take microphotographs with a simple camera.I recommend this book for anybody who wants to introduce their kids to the wonders of nature and the experience of delving live, into a strange and wonderful world, where you can see creatures, stranger than in science fiction. These creaturs are real and alive, moving about by various means.I am an experience microscopist and have not seen any tardigrades for over 40 years. Following this books advice, I was able to find some on my first try.

This is a fascinating book for anyone, not just teachers & kids. I've been curious about tardigrades ever since I saw a picture of one. They are pretty amazing animals that are as close as you can get to indestructible, withstanding temperatures that would kill most other creatures. The fact that they are so small makes them even more interesting. This book gives complete directions on locating and observing them with a microscope and taking pictures to share with others. Lots of helpful pictures and illustrations. If you have an interest in science and nature this is a great book to add to your collection.

Helpful, but illustrations could be better.

While the book appears to be about Tardigrades, it is really a how-to for anyone; covering a myriad of science skills, from basic to advanced. Shaw has employed a very interesting way of hooking the young (and not-so-young) reader, before delivering what could otherwise have been a pretty boring text on necessary information and instructions.

This is a great book for young and old! It is well written and the steps to find tardigrades are easy to follow. I especially like the bit of humor added as well as the safety notes aimed at children. I wish I had this book when I was growing up! I can't wait for my little one to get older so I can teach her how to find tardigrades.

This book is a great way to get started with Tardigrades. How and where to find them. How to view them . Many other snippets of information about what Microscopes to use and why.10 out of 10 from me.

Very good book for children and adults who are interested in the life-cycle of water bears. The book is clearly written for an American audience and gives the impression that tardigrades are present everywhere you look - that's not been my experience! Never the less, it's still an interesting and informative read.

Inspiration for kids!

Das einzige seiner Art und auf Englisch. Aber das stört uns nicht, andere vielleicht. Wir sind froh, dass wir es haben. Mein Sohn hat eine wissenschaftliche Seminararbeit in der 12. Klasse über Tardigrada geschrieben und präsentiert. Es gab interessante Anregungen. Einzig bei der Dehydrierung zur Tönnchenbildung muss man aufpassen und sehr langsam vorgehen (Zeit zur Tönnchenbildung brauchen die schon) und kein (!) destiliertes Wasser verwenden, da sich die "Bärchen" sonst durch Osmose (Konzentrationsgefälle: Ausgleichsbewegung des Wassers ins Innere) vollsaugen wie die Tante bei Harry Potter und allerdings daran sterben. Der Rest ist ok. Klar, man kann sich die Infos auch im Internet mit viel Mühe zusammensuchen, aber hier kommt bei aller sonstigen Wissenschaftlichkeit im detuschen Sprachraum ein erfrischend praxis- und schulbezogenes Projektbuch.

I can only assume that the Kindle edition is based on a printed version. The cover is shown in colour but the illustrations in the Kindle version are in black and white and difficult to see the relevant detail. Tardigrades may be common in the U.S. but I have yet to find one in the U.K. even with the help of this book. I also found it irritating that the writer wandered so often from the subject discussing setting up a microscope, choosing one and photographing down it, in a way that I, as a reasonably experienced microscope teacher had some difficulty in following.