THOUSAND OAKS : Science Author to Stage Experiments

Thomas R. Baker wants to teach you how to pop perfect popcorn in a microwave, a frying pan and an air popper--all in the name of science.

The tasty experiment is one of 25 that Baker, a science teacher at Westlake High in Thousand Oaks, serves up in his new book, “Weather in the Lab: Simulate Nature’s Phenomena,” published recently by TAB/McGraw Hill.

Baker will demonstrate a few experiments and sign copies of his book, which sells for $11.95 in paperback or $19.95 in hardback, at the B. Dalton bookstore in The Oaks Mall on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Those with an appetite for learning before Saturday can try his popcorn experiment, designed to demonstrate that different kinds of energy can be channeled to yield the same mouthwatering results.

And yes, you’re allowed to eat the scientific materials, but only after answering the post-lab questions--concerning such topics as the relationship between a piping-hot frying pan and a shimmering mirage, or how microwaves can penetrate a paper bag without burning it.

“The goal of all these experiments is for students to work together to make demonstrative models, so they don’t just read about something but they see it in front of them,” said Baker.

A teacher for seven years, Baker, 35, dashed off much of the book while sitting in his tent in Saudi Arabia during a five-month stint with the Coast Guard during Operation Desert Storm. He has also written parts of nine other science-related books, which he hopes to market this summer.

Tops on his list: completing a brain-teaser type of book that poses stumpers such as “How would the Earth’s cooling and heating systems work if the sky were green instead of blue?” Or “What would happen to the dew point if the Earth spun twice as fast?”

Baker’s goal, as in the first book, will be to challenge students in grades 8 to 10 in a way that he says traditional textbooks fail to do. All his experiments--from measuring a raindrop to charting air temperature--can be done at home or in school.

“Other science textbooks are well-written, but the experiments are terrible,” Baker said. “They don’t ask students, ‘What if?’ I try to challenge them to use their imagination.”