We’ve compiled a list of some new and forthcoming books featuring hands-on activities with a STEM/STEAM focus. Educators and families seeking ways to engage kids with science, technology, engineering, art, or math concepts in fun, screen-free ways will find a selection of accessible, step-by-step approaches here.

Discovery: Build the Shark

Silver Dolphin, June 22 $19.99 ISBN 978-1-68412-989-8. Ages 6–8.

Readers can learn about the shark’s body, how it interacts with its environment, where it lives in the ocean, and how it survives—and build their own cardstock model of a Great White.

Full STEAM Ahead! series

Various authors. Crabtree. Ages 4–7.

Each volume in this early reader series introduces a STEAM concept and features an activity that reinforces the information. Subject groupings are: Science Starters, Technology Time, Engineering Everywhere, Arts in Action, and Math Matters.

How to Build an Insect

Roberta Gibson, illus. by Anne Lambelet. Lerner/Millbrook, Apr. 6 ISBN 978-1-5415-7811-1. Ages 5–9.

Entomologist Gibson provides a fresh and fun look at insect anatomy set in a workshop stocked with everything (i.e., art supplies) that Kids will need to build a colorful 3-D insect model.

Kate the Chemist: The Awesome Book of Edible Experiments for Kids

Kate Biberdorf. Philomel, May 11 $17.99 ISBN 978-0-593-11619-7. Ages 8–12.

Twenty-five kid-friendly recipes function as experiments in science professor and author Biberdorf’s (the Kate the Chemist chapter-book series) latest round-up of hands-on activities.

Kids Create: Art and Craft Experiences for Kids

Laurie Carlson. Gibbs Smith, $12.99 ISBN 978-1-4236-5737-8. Ages 3–9.

Projects are arranged by season and range from beginner to advanced in this collection featuring a windsock recycling craft and a globe-making activity.

The Kitchen Pantry Scientist Biology for Kids

Liz Lee Heinecke. Quarto, Apr. 20 $19.99 ISBN 978-1-63159-832-6. Ages 7–10.

Alongside biographies of 25 leading biologists, past and present, a catalog of accessible, hands-on experiments and activities brings the history and principles of this branch of science alive.

Little Leonardo’s Fascinating World of Paleontology

Jeff Bond, illus. by Greg Paprocki. Gibbs Smith, $12.99 ISBN 978-1-4236-5715-6. Ages 4–8.

A paleontologist explains his work and provides activities kids can try at home, like preserving toy bugs in gummy amber.

Nature Cat: Backyard Explorer’s Guide

Spiffy Entertainment. Little Bee, May 18 $9.99 ISBN 978-1-4998-1141-4. Ages 6–9.

Readers join house cat Fred as he goes exploring the backyard when his family is away for the day. This tie-in to the PBS show of the same name contains such projects as making a DIY compost bin and an underwater pond viewer.

Prank Lab: Practical Science Pranks You and Your Victim Can Learn From

Chris Ferrie, Byrne LaGinestra, and Wade David Fairclough, illus. by Fairclough. Sourcebooks Explore, $16.99 Apr. 6, ISBN 978-1-72822-374-2. Ages 8–12.

Quantum physicist Ferrie and two fellow science teachers introduce the how and scientific why behind such pranks as Exploding Ketchup and Fountain Dew.

Recycle and Remake: Creative Projects for Eco Kids

DK, $14.99 ISBN 978-1-4654-8984-5 Ages 7–9.

In addition to making recycled paper from junk mail, readers can try their hand at making a food wrap from scrap cotton and beeswax or creating a simple solar oven.

Stanley Jr.: Gardening Is Awesome!

Chris Peterson. Quarto, $19.99 ISBN 978-0-7603-6842-8 Ages 8–12.

This introduction to the world of plants provides tips, advice, and instructions for STEM projects such as growing strawberries in a five-gallon bucket, and creating a square-foot garden.

The Wild World Handbook: Habitats

Andrea Debbink, illus.by Asia Orlando. Quirk, May 25 $17.99 978-1-68369-246-1 Ages 8–12.

Tackling the nine projects in this handbook containing real-life tales of adventure, readers can create a hiking stick, an edible time capsule, or a mini desert biome, among other things.