Core: Science: Textbook: "Fantastic Voyages: Learning Science Through Science Fiction Films"

"Fantastic Voyages: Learning Science Through Science Fiction Films"

347 pages, 42 science fiction movies referenced

Today, I located a resource which is, freely available, if you are possessed of the technical library skills required to access it. The textbook, "Fantastic Voyages: Learning Science Through Science Fiction Films" can be found and borrowed from through the Saint Louis County Library's website. You'd have to navigate to eMedia > eBooks > EBSCOHost. I appear to have set up a user id for EBSCOHost at some point and my web browser kindly remembered the password.

Reading the textbook on the EBSCOhost website was a bit cumbersome. I was able to download it and read the pdf offline because I had also signed up for Adobe Digital Editions which as I recall also involved some getting of account steps. (Should all that seem too perplexing, you can buy it on Amazon in paperback format for $40.)

"Do you relish science fiction films but do not have quite the same feeling about science? If so, this book was written with you in mind. We, the authors, are college professors who also happen to love science fiction films. Because of our scientific expertise, we can get even more enjoyment from screening science fiction films than the average viewer because we understand what is possible or what is truly “out of this world” in the universes portrayed on film." ~~ Fantastic Voyages: Learning Science Through Science Fiction Films

The Book itself is 347 pages referencing 42 different science fiction movies along the way. As the movies are mentioned in the book, they seem to be appropriately watched as a study break in conjunction with the textbook itself. Essentially, the book allows your child to watch 42 movies and rationalize this as core science time as they read the text.

I have been reading the book and it seems appropriate for teenage children of 12-14 years of age or older. I have read the first 26 pages of the book and they seem to provide a familiar set of physics lessons from my junior high school experience. By referencing several movies which the student might be familiar with, it seems likely to be potentially more engaging to their imagination.

I have gone ahead and ordered a used paperback edition of the book, which I hope will be interesting as supplemental science material.

http://www.amazon.com/Fantastic-Voyages-Learning-Science-Through/dp/0387004408