3-D Engineering: Design and Build Your Own Prototypes - Hardcover

May, Vicki V.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1619303116 ISBN 13: 9781619303119

Publisher: Nomad Press, 2015

Synopsis

How did somebody come up with the idea for bridges, skyscrapers, helicopters, and nightlights? How did people figure out how to build them?

In 3D Engineering: Design and Build Your Own Prototypes, young readers tackle real-life engineering problems by figuring out real-life solutions. Kids apply science and math skills to create prototypes for bridges, instruments, alarms, and more. Prototypes are preliminary models used by engineers—and kids—to evaluate ideas and to better understand how things work.

Engineering design starts with an idea. How do we get to the other side of the river? How do we travel long distances in short periods of time? Using a structured engineering design process, kids learn how to brainstorm, build a prototype, test a prototype, evaluate, and re-design. Projects include designing a cardboard chair to understand the stiffness of structural systems and designing and building a set of pan pipes to experiment with pitch and volume.

Creating prototypes is a key step in the engineering design process and prototyping early in the design process generally results in better processes and products. 3D Engineering gives kids a chance to figure out many different prototypes, empowering them to discover the mechanics of the world we know.

About this title

About the Author

Vicki V. May holds a BS in engineering from the University of Minnesota and MS and PhD degrees in engineering from Stanford University. She is a professor at the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College and is also involved in various outreach projects that bring the challenge of engineering to middle and high school students. Vicki was named Teacher of the Year for Dartmouth and Thayer in 2012 and Professor of the Year for the State of New Hampshire in 2013.

Andrew Christensen is the illustrator of Canals and Dams: Investigate Feats of Engineering andSkyscrapers: Investigate Feats of Engineering for Nomad Press and is an art director at a hobby game company. He lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Review

· School Library Connection
"Author Vicky V. May has produced a procedural book for the 21st century. Its guided inquiry approach makes this a useful tool for students seeking science fair ideas, teachers selecting creative outcomes to lessons, and learners who thrive on hands-on projects. Cartoon-like illustrations supplement the “how-to” aspect of the book nicely. Recommended
· Booklist Online Exclusive
“Engineers design solutions for common or sophisticated needs, and here kids are challenged to consider, brainstorm, experiment, and create prototypes for 25 projects. Part of the Build It Yourself series, this book will prove useful to middle-school science teachers.”
· Praise for other books in the series:

· Cities: Discover How They Work with 25 Projects
Winner of a 2014 Silver Moonbeam Award

· School Library Journal
“According to the 2010 Census, 80% of Americans live in urban areas. But do they know what it takes to make a city run? From this well-organized and engaging text, readers will learn how cities developed and grew. . . this is a worthy title for any library collection”

· Booklist
“Propounding the emerging interdisciplinary paradigm of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and design, and mathematics), this hands-on informational book discusses how cities, complex structures and systems function together in an interdependent way. Through appealing illustrations, reader-friendly text, and fun hands-on experiments suitable for home and classroom, Reilly helps foster an appreciation for the way that cities function almost as organisms with vibrant systems and interdependent structures.”

· Bridges and Tunnels: Investigate Feats of Engineering with 25 Projects
Winner of a 2012 Gold Moonbeam Award

· National Science Teachers Association Recommends
"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."
· Science Books and Films

++: Highly Recommended

3-D Engineering, written by Vicki V. May, contains 25 challenging and fun projects for students to design and build their own prototypes. This book uses an engineering design process that focuses on identifying goals, asking questions, brainstorming ideas, testing prototypes, and identifying problems. Students are encouraged to keep a design journal of their work and to share their ideas with others in the classroom. The activities become more complex as they cover topics such as spinning, buoyancy, chemical reactions, sound, and electrical engineering. Each chapter contains scan codes that may be accessed by a smartphone or tablet app for additional information. Words 2 Know and an essential question to help guide the exploration of engineering are included in each chapter. Every activity has pictures and diagrams to follow and the materials needed for each challenge are easy to obtain. Students will enjoy building a bridge and designing a cardboard chair or a race car. They can explore sound by making their own didgeridoo or a dance pad, and study the pros and cons of energy sources while building a solar cooker or create a water powered hammer. This book is a wonderful resource for teachers and parents to use in the classroom and at home. It gets back to the basics with exciting activities that are hands-on that support the STEM program. When kids use their hands and work together to create a prototype, the outcomes are much higher when they are actively engaged in this type of learning. It gives students confidence in math while building problem-solving and critical-thinking skills. This is a book that teachers, parents, boys, and girls will enjoy as they learn about the many facets of the engineering world.

Edition details

• Publisher: Nomad Press
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1619303116
• ISBN 13: 9781619303119
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 128
• Illustrator: Christensen Andrew