Super Simple Aircraft Projects: Inspiring & Educational Science Activities

Gr 2–4—With more of an eye toward utility than aesthetics, the four to seven projects in each volume of this hands-on series look distinctly homemade but do demonstrate selected physical principles behind notable modern inventions. Each title opens with a boilerplate summation of the scientific method, very brief identifications of important associated inventors—Henry Ford for the automobile, for instance—a time line, and a comprehensive list of materials for the ensuing models. With some exceptions, such as a metal sheet and gel wax in Camera Projects and an LP record in Phonograph Projects, said materials are easily come by. The big, bright illustrations include views of partially and fully assembled models, historical photos of inventors and early devices, and extras (such as semaphore and Morse alphabets in Telegraph Projects). The projects vary in quality, from an ingenious party line string phone in Telephone Projects and a pizza box gramophone in Phonograph Projects to a standard assortment of paper airplanes and rubber band-driven cars. Young tinkerers may be disappointed that the author opts for electromagnetic spinners rather than a battery-driven car in Automobile Projects. More problematically, explanations are sometimes skimpy (For example, why does dipping a vibrating tuning fork in vinegar create a circuit?). Factual errors such as puzzling claims that car motors are like giant batteries slip in.