Cardboard Box Engineering: Cool, Inventive Projects for Tinkerers, Makers & Future Scientists

by Jonathan Adolph

Overview

This illuminating guidebook will help young tinkerers and makers find creative ways to use cardboard boxes, sheets, and tubes in easily-engineered projects, including awesome gadgets, toys, games, inventions, and sculptures.

Cardboard is everywhere! For creative kids aged 9 to 14, it’s the perfect eco-friendly building material, and Cardboard Box Engineering is the perfect guide to get them started on inventive tinkering. A working kaleidoscope, a marble roller coaster, a robotic hand, and a wind-powered tractor with cardboard gears are just some of the ingenious projects developed by Jonathan Adolph, author of the best-selling Mason Jar Science. Working with simple household tools, kids can follow the step-by-step photographic instructions to exercise their design smarts, expand their 3-D thinking, and learn the basics of physics and engineering with activities that have real-life applications.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781635862140
Publisher:	Storey Publishing, LLC
Publication date:	10/27/2020
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	9 - 14 Years

About the Author

Jonathan Adolph is the author of Cardboard Box Engineering and the best-selling Mason Jar Science. As the former editor of the award-winning FamilyFun magazine, he developed hundreds of “stealth learning” games and kitchen-science activities during his 20-year career. He specializes in making technical information fun for kids and is an adjunct professor of journalism at the University of Massachusetts. He lives with his family in Amherst, Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

1  The Science of Engineering
2  Mechanical Marvels: Robotics & Animatronics
  Extending Grabber
  Robotic Hand
  Flying Pterodactyl
  Swinging Monkey
3  Sights & Sounds: Audio & Optical Engineering
  Cup Amplifier
  Hollering Horn Amplifier
  Box Periscope
  Kaleidoscope
4  Built to Move: Aeronautics & Nautical Engineering
  Simple Spinner: Twisted Propeller
  Three-Wing Boomerang
  Rocket Blaster
  Missile Helicopter
  Soaring Sailplane
  Paddlewheel Boat
5  Elegant Design: Mechanical Engineering
  Floating Hummingbird
  Rolling Roller Coaster
  Air Cannon
  Hand-Made Spin Art
  Chain Reaction Station
6  We've Got the Power: Harnessing Energy
  Big Wheel
  Solar Cooker
  Wind-Powered Tractor
7  Serious Fun: Game Design
  Tabletop Straw Soccer
  Shoebox Hockey
  Bouncy Skee Ball
  Personalized Pinball
 
 
 
 

Editorial Reviews

12/01/2020

Gr 4–8—This title offers a terrific assortment of projects to make using household materials. The inventive projects will excite any budding builder. The text features detailed instructions, diagrams, and background information on inventors and engineering areas. The introduction provides material suggestions, such as types of glue and the pros and cons of the various types of cardboard. Six chapters highlight projects that include robotics and animatronics, audio and optical engineering, aeronautics and nautical engineering, mechanical engineering, and harnessing energy. Each chapter contains three to six different activities. The "Test and Tinker" text encourages redesign and emphasizes that the first time making a project might not be successful, but youngsters should reassess and try to problem-solve. STEAM activities, such as the ones featured throughout the text, foster creativity, problem-solving, and teach the value of repurposing items. The sample projects include a rocket blaster (DIY stomp rocket), cardboard roller coaster, periscope, robotic hand, and handmade spin art. VERDICT An engaging addition to any "How To" section. This book could be an exciting resource for students and teachers.—Erin Olsen, Hunter Coll. Elem. Sch., NY

School Library Journal

I really wish I'd had a book like this when I was a kid, and I think any young person who gets their hands on this book is really lucky. Who knows what kind of awesomeness this will inspire? I can't think of a better way to get kids away from screens and working with their hands, thinking, and inventing. This book might even change the world!” — Christian Ristow, robotic sculpture artist

“STEAM activities, such as the ones featured throughout the text, foster creativity, problem-solving, and teach the value of repurposing items… An engaging addition to any “How To” section. This book could be an exciting resource for students and teachers.”
— School Library Journal

From the Publisher