Canals and Dams: Investigate Feats of Engineering with 25 Projects

by Donna Latham, Andrew Christensen (Illustrator)

Overview

Canals and Dams: Investigate Feats of Engineering invites children ages 9 and up to explore the innovation and physical science behind the amazing waterways and barriers our world depends on. Trivia and fun facts illustrate engineering ingenuity and achievements from ancient aqueducts to the Suez Canal and the Hoover Dam. Readers will discover that engineers and builders alike put their lives on the line to advance civilization, experiencing triumphs and tragedies in building big. Through dazzling success and heartbreaking failure, they developed increasingly sophisticated tools and building methods.

Activities and projects encourage children to explore the engineering process and to try, try again through trial and error. They'll engage in hands-on explorations of buoyancy, Newton’s third law of motion, and forces that push and pull structures. They’ll create a paper-cup zip line, build an arch, and simulate a tsunami, while experimenting with gravity, hydroponics, and velocity. In Canals and Dams: Investigate Feats of Engineering, children will gain an appreciation for the important field of engineering as they develop their own building skills.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781619301658
Publisher:	Nomad Press
Publication date:	04/01/2013
Series:	Nomad Press Build It Yourself Series
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	551,918
Product dimensions:	7.90(w) x 9.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Donna Latham is an award-winning author and playwright. She is the author of Amazing Biome Projects You Can Build Yourself, Backyard Biology Investigate Habitats Outside Your Door With 25 Projects, Deciduous, Forests, Deserts, Garbage Investigate What Happens When You Throw It Out With 25 Projects, Norah Jones, Oceans, Respiration and Photosynthesis, Savannas and Grasslands, and Tundra. She is a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and the Society of Midland Authors. She lives in Batavia, Illinois.

Andrew Christensen is a graduate of the Center for Cartoon Studies and an art director at a hobby game company. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“This book is a treasure trove of information, experiments, and building challenges, and is an excellent, exciting, and easy way to incorporate STEM education into your classroom, science fair, or after-school engineering club.”  —NSTA.org on Bridges and Tunnels

Editorial Reviews

Gr 5–8—These massive feats of engineering are given a multifaceted but uneven treatment. The book opens with an explanation of engineering, introduces the different types of engineers, and describes the problem-solving process they use. Canals and dams are given center stage as their structures and the scientific principles behind them are explained, history and examples are given, and disasters caused by or resulting from their construction or aging are shared. Each section is accompanied by several activities, and that's where things begin to crumble. Many of the activities do a fine job of showcasing the information from the preceding section but explanations are often inadequate or directions and illustrations lack clarity. One example: buoyancy is described as a "force that allows an object to float in liquid." Volume and displacement are introduced and Archimedes's principle is mentioned but density is overlooked until the activities section when a foam and cardboard barge are compared and a Cartesian diver is made-all requiring density to help explain buoyancy. Other activities have tenuous connections to the preceding topic or sometimes seem random. A "Spinning Bucket Trick" mentions centrifugal force in relation to the canals in Venice but doesn't explain the science or make the connection to canals. And so it goes. Quotes, spot black-and-white illustrations, "Did You Know" boxes, and definitions for vocabulary used on the page fill out the spreads. The topic plus the hands-on emphasis is a nod to the growing popularity of STEM initiatives in education but unfortunately this title needs some shoring up.—Carol S. Surges, formerly at Longfellow Middle School, Wauwatosa, WI

School Library Journal

Canals and Dams: Investigate Feats of Engineering invites children ages 9 and up to explore the innovation and physical science behind the amazing waterways and barriers our world depends on. Trivia and fun facts illustrate engineering ingenuity and achievements from ancient aqueducts to the Suez Canal and the Hoover Dam. Readers will discover that engineers and builders alike put their lives on the line to advance civilization, experiencing triumphs and tragedies in building big. Through dazzling success and heartbreaking failure, they developed increasingly sophisticated tools and building methods.

Activities and projects encourage children to explore the engineering process and to try, try again through trial and error. They'll engage in hands-on explorations of buoyancy, Newton’s third law of motion, and forces that push and pull structures. They’ll create a paper-cup zip line, build an arch, and simulate a tsunami, while experimenting with gravity, hydroponics, and velocity. In Canals and Dams: Investigate Feats of Engineering, children will gain an appreciation for the important field of engineering as they develop their own building skills. Canals and Dams meets common core state standards in language arts for reading informational text and literary nonfiction and is aligned with Next Generation Science Standards. Guided Reading Levels and Lexile measurements indicate grade level and text complexity.

Leslie Brunell, PhD, PE, Associate Teaching Professor, Stevens Institute of Technology
“Canals and Dams introduces the young reader to engineering in a unique, creative and thorough manner. This book describes the origins of water supply systems, the evolution of canals, and the complexity associated with dams in a way that can be easily understood, introducing fundamental concepts such as gravity, forces, and the flow of water. Engineering is all about innovation and creativity. Supplementing a STEM classroom with this text will certainly encourage children to further explore engineering.”

Marla Conn, Educational Consultant
“This title is wonderful! Canals and Dams supports all of the Reading Informational Text ELA Common Core State Standards. The content is well organized and interesting. The illustrations are age appropriate, engaging, and support the text. The activities are fun, thought provoking, and reinforce the ideas and concepts taught. Right on!”

From the Publisher