Illustrated Guide to Home Biology Experiments: All Lab, No Lecture (Diy Science)

Very informative book

I have been feeling rather bored with my current occupation and just felt I needed something to kick start my intellectual curiosity. Biology is a field I toyed with in college but never took the plunge. Well, college was a long, long time ago, and now I want to at least feel connected to the field without having to face going back to school with a room full of 19-year olds. I wanted to buy a microscope, but was completely confused by all the terms and features. Then I got this book. There is a whole chapter dedicated to microscopy, including what features and brands to look for. I hadn't realized there is a whole DIY Biology subculture out there- people just like me. I think it helps to have at least some science courses under your belt so you would get the most out of the labs. But even if you don't, the text is excellent, and worth having even if you never opened a petri dish. Make sure to heed their safety warnings, especially with regards to safe practices with live cultures. I am really looking forward to doing as many of the labs as possible. Also, as another reviewer noted, you will have some serious practical knowledge and lab skills by the end of the coursework.

The book seems excellent, but I wish they'd made it more obvious that you have to buy a kit that's more than $100 in order to do the experiments. If you click "show more" and scroll all the way down to the very bottom, you'll see that you need to buy an expensive kit for this. I don't think the kits are unreasonably priced for what's included, especially if you homeschool or have a serious bio student. But the book description should really mention that up near the top and not as an afterthought. I bought this to use with my advanced middle schooler who is loving the microscope unit at school and wanted to take it a little further. I was OK with paying twenty-something dollars for cool experiment ideas, and obviously buying SOME materials, but I wouldn't have made this purchase had I known the required kit would be so costly.

Excellent book for high school student and hobbyist

Very readable and demonstrates important information that is very relevant in today's world. If you're the type of person who needs to see something to believe it, this book is a great resource! The authors obviously put a lot of love into the writing of it, and go out of their way to make the experiments accessible to low budgets. Would recommend to anyone who is interested in biology!

All lab-- no lecture. They're not kidding! This book MUST be supplemented with an appropriate microbiology book or the student (such as myself) will only have an incomplete understanding of what's going on. There are suggestions inside the book. The illustrations and photos are top-notch and the instructions are relatively clear. (I still manage to confuse myself sometimes, but I can't in good conscience blame the instructions since they always make sense in retrospect.) If you want a preview of the book, the complete text is available as a PDF on the Home Scientist website. A simple Google search should find it. If you will actually be performing the experiments, a paper copy plus the supply kit from that same website makes the whole process go much smoother.

More complicated than I was anticipating, and very few illustrations. A lot of text and wordy instructions without actually being very clear on how to do things, or what is supposed to happen. Many of the experiments require expensive tools and equipment. I actually like getting some science supplies....but a centrifuge, really? Who has one of those at home? Over 30 pages just for how to equip your home lab. With such helpful tips as....you could spend 100s of dollars to buy an incubator, or you could make your own with a cooler and light bulb, but I'm not going to tell you how. ILLUSTRATED guide to HOME biology experiments is a very deceptive name.

After purchasing Thompson's Illustrated Guide to Home Chemistry, I decided to purchase this book for biology. As a home scientist (actually a real scientist with a PhD) and a potential educator, I had my eyes on this book for a while. This is a nice lab manual, and any serious home scientist/hobbyist interested in hands-on biology will enjoy this book. Anyone with a decent microscope (or two) could stand to gain a lot using this book, which addresses a number of diverse areas of the science, including environmental science. The chapter on how to set up a home lab will be particularly useful. Thompson's book would also be very well suited for home schooling at the high school level. Though I haven't gone through the book in detail, I've looked through it thoroughly, and am extremely happy with the content and the level of the material. Highly recommended for any budding biologist or student-- or home hobbyist.

I am just starting to work my way through this book and it seems perfect for a person like myself who wants to learn about biology but is too old and not going back to school to do it. It should be useful to other people interested in learning at home too. The book is not intended as a full biology textbook but as a lab manual to accompany almost any standard biology textbook. As a guide on how to set up an economical home lab for learning purposes and as a guide to safe procedures it seems good. At least I have found the chapter on obtaining microscopes illuminating so far.

Describe various experiments for biology

This goes into much more detail than most books aimed at home users. As a guide to using a microscope, it's brilliant; I feel like I've had a thorough course! As a UK user I'd say it's a bit less helpful than Thompson's accompanying Chemistry book, because where the Chemistry book is full of tips on how to get or improvise the equipment you need, this one tends to assume you've bought the equipment kit sold by the authors. If you're not in the USA, that's not very practical - but actually generally it's easier to buy scientific equipment and chemicals here. As with the chemistry book, it's not for the faint-hearted, not a light read, and you will probably feel more intelligent just by having it on your shelf!

Excellent!

great book. I bought it as I wanted to learn by myself how to use a microscope. I feel I'm following a very detailed course. very similar to a university course but easy to understand. I decently recommend. being in UK there are items they described which are present in USA only, but you can easily find same things from different brand in uk.