"Simple Machines! introduces kids to the concept of mechanical advantage and harnesses kid-power by inviting them to build machines of their own design. This book also opens eyes and minds to the diversity of machines in their lives, and sparks the imagination with challenge, humor, and achievable projects"--Publisher.
A hands-on approach introduces young scientists to wheels and axles. Science theory and practical, fun projects teach the physics and the technology behind this simple machine. Important science curriculum is explained through historical and contemporary examples of wheels and axles. Step-by-step projects range from the simple to the more challenging.
Night 1 / My life is perfect. / I have a bowl full of seeds, a cozy pile of wood shavings, and room to run. / I'm never leaving here. / Question: Who's the luckiest hamster in the world? / Answer: ME! Seymour the hamster has the perfect life. He has a spacious cage, a constant food supply, and a FuzzyBoy 360 exercise wheel that lets him run to his heart's content. Life could not be better. Or could it? When Pearl the cat tells Seymour of the goodies beyond the safe confines of his cage, he starts to think he's missing out. And out is the new in! It's only after Seymour is out of his cage that he begins to fully appreciate his safe and cozy home.
This is a unique interactive guide to understanding simple machines and mechanisms. Each page introduces you to a key mechanical principle that you put into practice by building one or more working models. This hands-on approach makes it easy to understand how these principles work and how they can be applied to everyday objects, such as cars, bicycles cranes and seesaws.
Introduces simple machines, including screws, levers, wedges, and pulleys, describes how each makes everyday life easier, and provides activities demonstrating these machines in action.
Get Your Move On! In Making Things Move: DIY Mechanisms for Inventors, Hobbyists, and Artists, you'll learn how to successfully build moving mechanisms through non-technical explanations, examples, and do-it-yourself projects--from kinetic art installations to creative toys to energy-harvesting devices. Photographs, illustrations, screen shots, and images of 3D models are included for each project. This unique resource emphasizes using off-the-shelf components, readily available materials, and accessible fabrication techniques. Simple projects give you hands-on practice applying the skills covered in each chapter, and more complex projects at the end of the book incorporate topics from multiple chapters. Turn your imaginative ideas into reality with help from this practical, inventive guide. Discover how to: Find and select materials Fasten and join parts Measure force, friction, and torque Understand mechanical and electrical power, work, and energy Create and control motion Work with bearings, couplers, gears, screws, and springs Combine simple machines for work and fun Projects include: Rube Goldberg breakfast machine Mousetrap powered car DIY motor with magnet wire Motor direction and speed control Designing and fabricating spur gears Animated creations in paper An interactive rotating platform Small vertical axis wind turbine SADbot: the seasonally affected drawing robot Make Great Stuff! TAB, an imprint of McGraw-Hill Professional, is a leading publisher of DIY technology books for makers, hackers, and electronics hobbyists.