Adventure, mystery, and science - the Sassafras Science Adventures series will deliver all three to your science book club! But exactly is a science book club, how do you create one, and what should you do when you actually meet?

We often get asked about what a science book club is, how to create one around the Sassafras Science Adventures Series, and what to do during your meetings. So today, we are sharing our answers to these questions to help you out!

How you can create an adventure-packed, science book club with Sassafras Science

What is a science book club?

A science book club is simply a book club with a science focus. Usually, you will read a living book with a science-bent or a scientist biography. Then, the participants will get together to discuss the book and what they learned about science. After that, you can do a related science activity together as a group.

The Sassafras Science Adventures series is a great option for a science book club or you can check out this list of living book for science. 

How to create a science book club

The first step to creating a science book club to figure out who will come. You can start by gathering a group of interested friends.

Once you know who, you need to figure out what. In other words, you need to pick out the book you will read together. 

Then discuss when and where you will meet. We typically suggest meeting once a week for an hour, but you can meet once a month or once a quarter for a longer period of time. You can meet at someone's home or you can see if your library has a meeting room to use for free.

After that, you need to decide who will lead the meetings. You can swap off leadership duties between the parents or have each family take responsibility for one portion of the book club time. However you handle the leadership duties, we recommend switching off who brings the snack if your venue allows food. 

What to do during your Sassafras Science book club meeting

1. Discuss the book.

The first thing you want to do in your science book club meeting is to chat about the book you read. You can ask questions like:

• What was your favorite part?
• What did you think about (character or scientist)?
• What did you learn about (an aspect of science that was in the book)?

You can wrap up your discussion time by sharing a few key bits of scientific information that you don't want the kids to miss. Plan to spend about a third of the time discussing the book.

2. Do science activity together.

After you finish your discussion time, you can do a hands-on science activity together. For example, if you read the chapter in The Sassafras Science Adventures Volume 1: Zoology that includes information about giraffes, you could do a demonstration about the thickness of giraffe saliva. Plan to spend about a third of the time doing a science activity together.

3. Have snacks or play a game. 

Finally, wrap up your science book club meeting with a snack or a game. If possible, you can relate these to the book you read. For example, if you read the chapter in The Sassafras Science Adventures Volume 1: Zoology that takes place in South Africa, you can have a snack from the region, like these puff puffs. Plan to spend about a third of the time having snacks or playing games.

Wrapping it Up

Having a science book club gives your kids the opportunity to discuss a book and learn about science. It's a fun way to learn together!