The Book of Totally Irresponsible Science: 64 Daring Experiments for Young Scientists

I bought this for my nephew, though it was with reservation. I love books but he doesn't, and I've wasted a lot of money on books he's never bothered to open.

Saw him yesterday, and the first thing he and his father (also not a reader) wanted to tell me about was this book! I had even forgotten I'd sent it, and they didn't want to talk about all the other cool toys and gadgets I've sent since then, they wanted to talk about this. Apparently, they've been working their way through the book and have enjoyed it more than they thought they'd ever enjoy "just a book".

I did manage to sneak a look through it and it does a very good job of making science feel like fun and not a learning experience. They've certainly learned a lot without realizing it. A common problem with books like these is that the dramatic experiments tend to be too dangerous for a book like this and the experiments that get selected don't seem to do much. They've done a fantastic job of picking experiments with a high payoff. Either you feel like you accomplished something, you ended up with something very cool at the end of it, or it does something exciting. All this and none of the ingredients are terribly difficult to find even in a small town. I can remember books like this from my youth that had impossible experiments because you couldn't get the chemicals you needed.

Overall, it's just a complete win and in a very tough category to boot!

The experiments were simple and fun. It was also great in that the author tells you how long the experiment will take and whether there are any risks or danger. At the end of each experiment he describes the scientific reason for the results.

My cub scouts and my grandson are having fun with these experiments. They are short and use common household items so the cost is minimal.

Always at a loss what to give our nephew for a Christmas present, came across this book at a local hobby store and found a better price on Amazon. I thought it'd be really fun as the science experiments require stuff usually found around the house! I also thought it'd get a kid away from computer games,nurture some science exploration, and avoid the "gift card" commercialization of Christmas giving! Well...not. The kid sorta threw it to the side like..."another loser gift for Christmas" attitude. I don't know if it's because he's 11 and already passed this, or just a Playstation/Wii guy, but this was definitely not a good gift for him. (As a MOM I would buy this for MY kids if I was still at that stage in the game. I'm a Gram already though so would consider it for my own grandkids now and do the experiments with them myself). I WISH parents would nurture this kind of hands on learning more often versus letting kids sit at pc/tv games, but...oh well.

As for the book itself, I think it was nicely written, fun and silly drawings to keep kids interested and amused, short and sweet directions, easy to find materials, real science theories... and I pictured it being a real hit. Can't figure it out : /

I picked this up because I found the layout and design of the book enticing...and discovered that it's a really fun book for kids (and adults)! My 8 year old paged through the whole thing, earmarking experiments he wanted to try. Most can be done with things already around the house and if something does need to be purchased, can be picked up at the grocery store. I think it would make a great gift with a few of the required "ingredients."

My son, his cousins, his friends and his mom & I have all had a blast doing various experiments from this book, over the last few weeks. I love that all the kids are spending time away from electronics and have been very happy to see how much all the kids have enjoyed it too! Plus, they've learned some cool stuff and will have several options to choose from for their next school science project!

I have tried at least 5 of the experiments in this book and not one of them has worked. I followed the directions to the letter and still, no success. In fact, I had gone to different resources to try to salvage the experiments and found that the experiments did work after we followed those directions instead. I really wanted to love this book and my children have been so excited to get the chance to be "irresponsible" but what a let down. We've had awesome success with Steven Spangler's books though so I think we'll stick with those. I'll be donating this book to someone who might have more luck with it.

This is one book you can judge by its cover; it is campy and filled with easy home experiments for elementary and middle school aged kids or grown ups, like myself, that enjoy the retro bit of fun it can bring to an afternoon. The items needed to perform the experiments are readily attainable if you don't already have them in your home.

This was a big hit with my 8 year old son. Lots of science experiments you can do at home with things you have around the house (like baking soda, etc). Some require small extra purchases or have slightly unusual requirements, but nothing extraordinary. Has become a cool gift for his friends too.

SO disappointed that after trying 10 different experiments, not one was 100% successful. We have tried to follow every detail for every experiment, but finally my kids lost interest after seeing so many of our attempts fail. We are looking for a more "tried and true" science book to keep us busy over the summer.