Review Detail

The Book of Terrifyingly Awesome Technology: 27 Experiments for Young Scientists (Irresponsible Science)

Middle Grade Non-Fiction 194

DO try this at home!

February 07, 2025 (Updated: June 07, 2026)

Overall rating

4.0

Writing Style

4.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

4.0

Learning Value

4.0

STEM Technology has gotten a lot of good press lately, for good reason! This book explores how existing and emerging technologies lead to inventions that change our lives in terrifyingly awesome ways! There are 26 different experiments in the book, and all of the chapters around these are formatted in the same way. There's a discussion of how the technology works and what its history was, how the technology is related to other technology, an exploration of why the technology can be terrifying, and an experiement using what has been discussed. That's a lot packed into each chapter, so the pages are a little crowded with sidebars, diagrams, and fun illustrations in green and gray tones.

Good Points

Some of the technology is not used at home, like rockets and laser surgery, but many technological applications are things that we use every day, audio technology, 3-D printing, smart glasses, test tube meat, and electric cars are all things that young readers might well have seen in their day-to-day lives.

I particularly liked the chapter on the World Wide Web, since I've been following its development since my professors were able to e mail only people at other universities! Young readers don't even think about the fact that the on ramp to the internet is a web browser, and probably have not heard the distinctive noise of a dial up modem. Each chapter has so many interesting facts that this is a great book to take on a car trip.