Explore Simple Machines! With 25 Great Projects

Investigating the common contraptions that make so much possible--from zippers and rolling pins to catapults and the pyramids--this book encourages kids to look differently at the numerous objects in everyday life. Each chapter is dedicated to one of the six straightforward implements that are at the core of daily activity: levers, inclined planes, pulleys, screws, wedges, and wheels and axles. Using only discarded items from the recycling bin, this guide harnesses kid-power by inviting young readers to build gadgets of their own design, including a working crane, a drawbridge, a car made of fruit peels, and an actual whirligig. Short biographies are also featured throughout, illustrating the influential personalities behind the breakthroughs.

Anita Yasuda is a teacher and the author of Explore the Solar System!, Explore Water!, Green Ideas, and Lady Bird Johnson. Her work has been featured in Edmonton’s Child, Faces, Highlights, Homeschooler’s Guide, Kahani-A South Asian Literary Magazine, and New Jersey Parent. She lives in Orangeville, Ontario.