Suggested reading from Chicago Review Press
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Build a Hovercraft, Airboat, and More with a Hobby Motor
By Curt Gabrielson
JUVENILE NONFICTION
192 Pages, 7 x 10
Formats: Trade Paper, PDF, EPUB, Mobipocket
Trade Paper, $18.99 (US $18.99) (CA $25.99)
ISBN 9781556529573
Rights: WOR
Chicago Review Press (Jan 2010)
Overview
Hobby motors—every workbench warrior has a few that have been pulled out of broken toys or rescued from old electronics kits. They’re cheap, available, and with Kinetic Contraptions, essential to build some ingenious moving creations. The two dozen contraptions found in this handy resource are assembled primarily from low-cost or recycled materials, batteries, and a single motor. You’ll learn how to build vehicles that move across the land, over the sea, and through the air. Construct a hovercraft out of a Styrofoam plate, two corks, and binder clips. Build a double paddle-wheeler out of paint stirrers, plastic bottles, and disposable knives. Kinetic Contraptions even has “bizarro” devices, such as a waterless snow globe, a tornado in a bottle, and a mechanical bubble maker—no blowing required! Each project is clearly explained through materials and tools lists, stepby- step instructions with photographs, and scientific background on the concepts being explored. Budding engineers will get experience working with tools, testing simple circuits, modifying and improving their designs, and building unique contraptions of their own with the skills they’ve developed.Reviews
"Reminiscent of Popular Science magazine . . . . a book for dedicated enthusiasts." —School Library JournalAuthor Biography