Get messy

Did you ever watch someone mash up an onion, add a drop of this and that, and
share the astonishment of seeing the stringy strands of real DNA appear? Adam
Hart-Davis and Paul Bader have taken kitchen science a step further in Local
Heroes Do-it-yourself Science. First, they’ve gone upmarket—a kiwi fruit
replaces that eye-watering onion—and secondly, they’ve put together the
most brilliant bunch of unlikely experiments. A home-made fax machine stars, but
make time for the Archimedes screw constructed from lolly sticks and a soda
bottle. Published by BBC Books, £9.99, ISBN 0563551658.