Albert Einstein for kids
The Man Who Asked Big Questions
- Say it
- AL-bert INE-stine
- Lived
- 1879–1955
Albert Einstein was a scientist who loved to wonder. By asking big questions about light, time, and space, he came up with ideas that changed how we understand the whole universe.
A curious boy
Albert was born in 1879 in Ulm, Germany. When he was about 5 years old, his father showed him a compass. No matter how Albert turned it, the needle pointed the same way. He wondered what invisible force was pushing it, and he never forgot that feeling of wonder. Albert also started violin lessons as a boy, and he played music his whole life.
Good at math, bored by rules
You may have heard that Albert failed math. That's a myth. He was very good at math and taught himself geometry. What he didn't like were schools where students only memorized and never asked why. As a young man, he could not find a teaching job, so he went to work checking new inventions at a patent office in Bern, Switzerland.
A miracle year
In 1905, while still working at the patent office, Albert wrote four science papers that changed physics. One explained how light can act like tiny packets of energy. Another showed that time can pass at different speeds depending on how fast you move. From that work came the most famous equation in the world: E = mc², which shows that a little matter holds a huge amount of energy.
Bending light
In 1915, Albert explained that gravity is really the bending of space and time. He predicted that the Sun's gravity would bend starlight. In 1919, scientists watched stars during a solar eclipse and saw that he was right. Overnight, Albert became famous around the world. In 1921, he won the Nobel Prize in Physics.
A new home in America
Albert was Jewish. When the Nazis took power in Germany in 1933, it was no longer safe for him there. He moved to Princeton, New Jersey, and became an American citizen in 1940. He kept working, kept playing his violin, and often walked to work with his white hair flying and no socks on his feet. He died in 1955.
Questions to talk about
- What invisible things around you make you curious?
- Albert said the important thing is to keep asking questions. What question would you ask?
- Why do you think people remember a myth like 'Einstein failed math'?
Common questions
Who was Albert Einstein?
Albert Einstein (1879–1955) was a German-born scientist who developed the theory of relativity and won the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics. He became an American citizen in 1940.
Did Albert Einstein fail math?
No. That's a popular myth. Einstein was excellent at math from a young age.
What age is this book for?
The Coloring History book about Albert Einstein is written for kids ages 6–10, with short pages a first grader can read alone.
Color Albert's whole story
The Coloring History book about Albert Einstein has 18 scenes to color, each with a short, easy page about what really happened. Ages 6–10, paperback.