Engineering projects to build on 4D an augmented reading experience

This engineering project volume, part of the Take Making to the Next Level 4D series (4 titles), focuses on architecture basics. The projects begin with masonry structures and progress to towers, geometric designs, and bridges. Each concept also becomes progressively more challenging through three different levels. For instance, students experimenting with towers first build a basic tower and later enhance it with x-bracing and cantilevers. And in another example, students experiment with the shape and strength of triangles before turning them into trusses and geodesic structures. These projects only require commonly found household items, such as pipe cleaners, drinking straws, and marshmallows, and a few basic tools, such as a screwdriver, an awl, and a hot-glue gun. They comprise step-by-step directions and accompanying color photographs set against a white, grid background. Additional features include fact boxes with related architectural information, Try This boxes with extension activities, helpful tips for successful creations, and bonus videos through the publisher's app. A sleek layout, clear directions, and engaging possibilities make this title a solid resource for STEM collections and makerspaces.--Angela Leeper Copyright 2019 Booklist

Gr 4-6-It's nice to have a little built-in flexibility for a club or classroom activity. The four projects in each of these books are presented in levels-if you've completed one level and still have time, you can try the next, or if a step took longer than expected, you can pause your project without having to backtrack to square one. Clean design with neatly laid out instructions helps ensure success, and readily available materials reduce planning time. Chemistry stands out, with reaction projects that work despite errors; yeast will eat sugar regardless of how your balloon is aligned. By contrast, many of the built objects in Motion and Electronics will fail if construction is fumbled. Engineering is particularly suited to the incremental nature of these books. Triangles can become a truss bridge and then a geodesic dome as materials are multiplied and combined. VERDICT Great for club or classroom use. © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.