This is a review copy that I loved so much I bought it as soon as it came out! The tutorials for Minecraft projects are well done and clearly explained, as well as just pretty cool. Each Minecraft project is paired with an IRL lab project, mostly using common household items to illustrate a science concept explored through Minecraft play. The book has 6 Quests, or sections, that each approach a different scientific theme, and the book need not be approached in order. The book is geared at adults and kids working together to learn, so it's an ideal way for parents and educators to get a look at how kids use Minecraft, as well as a nice excuse to spend some time making a mess in the kitchen.

In Unofficial Minecraft STEM Lab for Kids readers will find forty eight projects that can help make learning science, technology, engineering, and math more fun or exciting. There are six Quests, each with four unique Labs that pair a hands-on activity with an in-game project. Readers start with the basics of terminology and gameplay, and how to keep track of their activities. Information from five Minecraft experts share the challenges and experiences, and how the game has helped with their overall success. Some of the real world activities include making glow in the dark slime, the classic volcano, pipe cleaner snowflakes, electromagnets, and more. In game challenges include carving a crystal ice castle, making and using a teleporter, building a dam, and building labs and field stations.

Unofficial Minecraft STEM Lab for Kids is a well organized and accessable book for young scientists. The six quests include; Pistons, Rails and Redstone, Construction Zone, The Sky is Not Your Limit, Rocks, Minerals and Gems, Cycles in Science, and Engineering Challenge. In the beginning of the book there is information for parents and teachers to help them engage young readers with the activities, understand why this book might help them interest and motivate their readers, understand the basics of the game and tools that will be mentioned and used through out the book, and information about the people involved in making the book. I highly suggest that both adults and the young readers at least browse this section, because the Minecraft tools and the Sketchnoting might be new or more complicated than either have fully explored in the past. At the end of the book there is also a helpful glossary, connections between the projects in the book and classroom standards, resources for further research and exploration, and information about the authors.

I really enjoy the fact that this book is not just for the kids, it is about tackling projects as a family or team. The directions are well done and understandable, and the photographs and screenshots were used well and labeled in a way that worked to enhance the instructions. I liked the secondary challenges and tidbits of information that were included in blocks within each challenge, as well as the notes of other things you can try or interesting things you can find online that relate to the projects at hand. While the missions and focus might not be a perfect fit for everyone, I think there is a large potental for finding the perfect (enthusiastic) audience for this book.
Unofficial Minecraft STEM Lab for Kids is a great resource for getting our minecraft fans more interested in real world science, and our more hands on readers to delve into coding and computers. I think this is the best of both, getting any young scientist with even the vaguest notion of Minecraft to try some new experiments and activities. I am going to have to get my own paper copy for my soon to be middle-schooler and I to tackle over summer vacation.

Sophie’s eight-year-old son also enjoyed working his way through Unofficial Minecraft STEM Lab for Kids by John Miller and Chris Fornell Scott. This activity book combines experiments to try out in real life and also in the game, allowing kids to compare real-world vs in-game physics and there is also an introduction for teachers and parents that discusses how Minecraft can be used to teach STEM and explains some basics of the game.

There are six quest areas inside the book that link similar scientific study areas together. These areas are: “Pistons, Rails, and Redstone”, “Construction Zone”, “The Sky Is Not Your Limit”, “Rocks, Minerals, and Gems”, “Cycles in Science”, and “Engineering Challenge” and each of the quest areas includes four labs. These labs cover a wide variety of scientific study including measuring gravity, creating a pocket solar system or egg farm, dipping into quantum physics, and building ziplines, batteries, and space stations,

The real-world experiments are slightly more low-key than building your very own space station but include things like building a pinhole telescope or a marble roller coaster, creating slime or a model of a Martian habitat, baking a soil layer cake, and growing crystals. Each of the real-world experiments and crafts is paired with a Minecraft activity on the same subject, and the book also includes extra information such as links to relevant websites or YouTube videos along with interesting historical or scientific facts.

Sophie’s son really liked the way the book allowed him to create and do things both in the game and in real life. He thought the instructions were easy to follow and required almost no help in building his in-game experiments, although parents will need to help with most of the real-life activities. This is a great book for encouraging Minecraft-obsessed kids to try something different in the game and getting them involved in STEM in the real-world too.

I really enjoyed this book. My children are big fans of Minecraft and this helped spark their interest and keep them learning! I can't wait to work through the entire book with them and buy copies of this for their friends and fellow teachers. Great way to engage children with stem activities!

This will be a popular book at my library! I like how it incorporated tasks in both the video game and real projects.

I received this as an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

What a neat way to teach science. Kids love games and gaming and this explains different way science or engineering can be applied using this game. It gives tips for parents and some activities to try as a family. This is a great way to encourage exploring science and promoting family togetherness.

Lots of fun ideas to incorporate Minecraft in to science and engineering lessons. Plus some basic primers for those of us who have never played. I can see kids and adults alike using this book for new projects and adventures.

This book pairs STEM minecraft based activities with standalone experiments that you might find in a conventional book of kids science activities. There are dozens of concepts organized by scientific theme with each concept having both one minecraft based activity and one experiment that you can perform without a computer.

I don't have any minecraft and found that the book highlighted the large potential of minecraft as a learning tool. Personally, I would rather put off computer based learning for my daughter for a few more years (she just turned 6) and was mostly interested in the other activities which weren't that special.

I recommend this for parents who are looking to use minecraft to teach their children STEM disciplines. The activities in this book seem like a fun way to learn and are sure to interest many children.

A very good large selection of laboratories to work with elementary and middle-school kids. Very well documented.

Unofficial Minecraft STEM Lab for Kids: Family-Friendly Projects for Exploring Concepts in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math, by John Miller and Chris Fornell Scott is an informative book that provides fun projects for children to learn STEM lab projects.

This book is divided into six action-packed quests, which are titled as Pistons, Rails, and Redstone; Construction Zone; The Sky Is Not Your Limit; Rock, Minerals, and Gems; Cycles in Science; and Engineering Challenge. Each quest contains four labs, and this books allows for hands-on activities and in-game projects. Also, there are sections titled as Introduction: Notes for Parents and Teachers and Extras, which includes Glossary, Lab Connections to STEM Classroom Standards, etc. Throughout 144 pages, kids will enjoy Minecraft and STEM projects.

Unofficial Minecraft STEM Lab for Kids is a geared toward various ages, particularly third to seventh graders. However, parents and educators will benefit from this book, too.


Note: I received this book from NetGalley, which is a program designed for bloggers to write book reviews in exchange for books, yet the opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This is a fantastic resource for parents of kids who love Minecraft. Full color pages are engaging and offer a multitude of fun and educational activities, both in game and out. This would be an excellent addition to a homeschool curriculum, but I can see this being popular with all kids. I plan to spend this summer working through many of these labs with my daughter. I loved everything about this book and would highly recommend it to anyone with kids.

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the Publisher for this review copy given in exchange for an honest review.

My son loves Minecraft and so this book was perfect for him. Full to the brim of experiments that are Minecraft related, I'm sure it will appeal to most children. It's colourful and the experiments are clear and concise, although some may need an adult helper! Whilst we haven't actually tried out any of the experiments yet, they all look great fun, easy to do and educational - they are definitely on our list of 'things to do'!

A fun, educational book. Well recommended!

Minecraft isn't just a fad, it's here to stay.

I loved the visuals included with the step-by-step text. It makes the lab exercises but more coherent. As a parent with a child that loves to play, this will become a routine in my house.

I know many kids who love Minecraft, and many who love conducting experiments. This STEM focused book is the perfect combination of the two. The book is extremely visually appealing, and chock full of fun activities. My favorite thing about this book is the way the authors paired hands-on activities with the same activity within the world of Minecraft. Some of the activities will require parents willing to run to Home Depot and buy supplies, but some are pretty basic and kids can scrounge from the pantry. Even if a kid is interested in an activity and doesn't have the materials at home, he/she can go to Minecraft and "virtually" perform it. The directions are cleared laid out, step by step. I will be purchasing this book as a gift for my fifth grade nephew when it's out.

great for kids who love science and minecraft!
Mt son loved this one!