The Color of Nature: An Exploratorium Book

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0811813576 ISBN 13: 9780811813570

Publisher: Chronicle Books, 1996

Why is the sky blue and the grass green? What are the colorful secrets of the enigmatic aurora borealis or the ethereal shimmer of a soap bubble? From San Francisco's Exploratorium, the acclaimed hands-on museum behind the best-selling Explorabook, comes The Color of Nature, which delves into these and other intriguing questions. Extraordinary photographs and an engaging text illustrate the fascinating phenomena behind the myriad colors that make up our world -- from moon bows to mandrills, chameleons to hydrangeas. This remarkable volume will fire the imagination of anyone with a passion for nature, science, or photography.

Review:

If we would only stop and smell the roses once in a blue moon, we'd discover some amazing things on this planet. Why are wildflowers so brightly colored? To attract the attention of honeybees, of course. Why are flamingos pink? Because of the pigments in the crustaceans they eat. Perhaps only a physics professor would know that you can tell the age of a desert by the color of its sand--perhaps only a physics professor would care--but it doesn't take a rocket scientist to appreciate the photographic skills Neill employs in illustrating the authors' concepts.

About the Author:

Pat Murphy -- senior writer and editor of the Exploratorium Quarterly for over a decade -- is also an award-winning science fiction and fantasy author. She lives in San Francisco.