Books in Build It Yourself series

Head to the fair to learn about physics with cool trivia facts, hands-on science activities, and lots of accessible science! Where can you experience the laws of motion, the fun of physics, and the chemistry of cotton candy? The fair! In Fairground Physics: Motion, Momentum, and Magnets with Hands-On Science Activities, readers ages 9 to 12 learn about the forces that rule our world and everything in it by examining the rides, games, and even food you might find at a county fair. Ride the carousel and discover centripetal force. Throw darts at a balloon and learn about projectile science. Hop on a roller coaster and name the types of energy involved in whizzing you around the track and upside down! Fun at the fair extends into real-life, hands-on learning that kids will keep front of mind even as they swing through the air and guzzle down some funnel cakes. This book is full of text-to-self and text-to-world connections! • Real world science is a great way to engage kids with learning about science, and it doesn’t get much more real than at a fairground. By using examples that most kids have experienced, Fairground Physics both captures the imagination and provides a foundation of reality on which to base explanations of complex scientific concepts.• Force, motion, and gravity affect everyone whether we take notice or not, and understanding how the laws of physics work is an essential part of understanding the physical underpinnings of our very existence. • Fairground Physics engages readers through hands-on activities, such as designing a roller coaster and making ice cream, along with interesting trivia, fascinating sidebars, and links to online material that supports and supplements learning. About the Build It Science set and Nomad Press Fairground Physics is part of a set of four Build It Science books that explore accessible science. The other titles in this set are Climate Change, Backyard Biology, and Kitchen Chemistry. Nomad Press books in the Build It series integrate content with participation. Combining content with inquiry-based projects stimulates learning and makes it active and alive. Nomad’s unique approach simultaneously grounds kids in factual knowledge while allowing them the space to be curious, creative, and critical thinkers. All books are leveled for Guided Reading level and Lexile and align with Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards. All titles are available in paperback, hardcover, and ebook formats.

While Africa is one continent it contains many diverse countries. Amazing Africa Projects You Can BuildYourself introduces readers ages 9 and up to the stunning landscapes, ancient civilizations and ethnic groups, unique traditions, and amazing wildlife of the vast African continent.With 25 fun projects that kids can complete using common household supplies and many recycled materials, kids learn about life in Africa. Step-by-step instructions show young readers how to make their own shields for an initiation ceremony, cook banana fritters and fufu cakes, and design animal masks to commemorate the seasons. Kids will celebrate Africa and its place in our world.

Great Ancient China Projects You Can Build Yourself explores the incredible ingenuity and history of ancient China with 25 hands-on projects for readers ages 9 and up. Great Ancient China Projects covers topics from porcelain pottery, paper, gunpowder, and dynasties, to martial arts, medicinal healers, jade carvers, and terracotta warriors. With step-by-step activities, kids will learn how to construct a house with proper feng shui and create a simple Chinese hanging compass. Historical facts and anecdotes, biographies, and fascinating trivia support the fun projects and teach kids about this innovative society and its continued influence on modern culture.

From the early days of traders and trappers to today’s global online marketplace, business is the glue that holds our world together. In Entrepreneurship: Create Your Own Business, children learn what it takes to transform a great idea into their own new business. Through plenty of hands-on activities, art and history meet economics and math while young readers gain a solid understanding of how a business works.Kids use familiar resources to develop a business idea of their own, create a presentation for potential investors, and utilize basic cost and price analysis worksheets. The skills they learn by writing a business plan, creating a prototype of an item to sell, designing packaging, and finding ways to advertise their products translate into language, math, and problem-solving skills that are relevant across all subjects. Cartoon illustrations, fun facts, and interviews with successful entrepreneurs make Entrepreneurship entertaining and informative. Supplemental materials include a glossary, list of resources, and an index.Entrepreneurship meets common core state standards in language arts for reading informational text and literary nonfiction; Guided Reading Levels and Lexile measurements indicate grade level and text complexity.

Bridges and tunnels are lifelines. People have tackled seemingly insurmountable obstacles, including vast canyons and mountain ranges, to design and construct these amazing passageways. Bridges and Tunnels: Investigate Feats of Engineering invites children ages 9 and up to explore the innovation and physical science behind structures our world depends on. Trivia and fun facts illustrate engineering ingenuity and achievements. Activities and projects encourage children to learn about the engineering process and to embrace trial and error.

How do we heat our homes, light our rooms, and power our cars? With energy! In 2014, the United States relied on fossil fuels for about 67 percent of its power. But as the fossil fuel supply dwindles and climate change becomes an increasingly urgent issue, individuals, businesses, and governments are expanding their sources of renewable energy, including solar, wind, biofuel, hydro, and geothermal.In Renewable Energy: Discover the Fuel of the Future, readers ages 9 to 12 learn about these renewable energy sources and discover how sunshine can be used to power light bulbs and how the earth's natural heat can be used to warm our houses. Young readers weigh the pros and cons of different energy sources and make their own informed opinions about which resources are the best choices for different uses.Renewable energy industries provide a booming field for future scientists and engineers. This book shows kids these future jobs and gets them excited about contributing to a world run on clean energy. Hands-on projects, essential questions, links to online primary sources, and science-minded prompts to think more about energy, the environment, and the repercussions of our choices make this book a key addition to classrooms and libraries.

Canals and Dams: Investigate Feats of Engineering invites children ages 9 and up to explore the innovation and physical science behind the amazing waterways and barriers our world depends on. Trivia and fun facts illustrate engineering ingenuity and achievements from ancient aqueducts to the Suez Canal and the Hoover Dam. Readers will discover that engineers and builders alike put their lives on the line to advance civilization, experiencing triumphs and tragedies in building big. Through dazzling success and heartbreaking failure, they developed increasingly sophisticated tools and building methods.Activities and projects encourage children to explore the engineering process and to try, try again through trial and error. They'll engage in hands-on explorations of buoyancy, Newton’s third law of motion, and forces that push and pull structures. They’ll create a paper-cup zip line, build an arch, and simulate a tsunami, while experimenting with gravity, hydroponics, and velocity. In Canals and Dams: Investigate Feats of Engineering, children will gain an appreciation for the important field of engineering as they develop their own building skills.

An action-packed book for middle schoolers that explores the roles robots play in our world, including the history, engineering, and key players in this STEAM field―plus loads of hands-on robotics activities so kids can learn design, engineering, and coding, and develop their own innovative ideas for future robots!Robots are everywhere! They vacuum our houses, work in our factories, help us learn at school, and play with us at home. They sample rocks from other planets, survey disaster zones from the air, and bring back images from the bottom of the ocean. The latest book by award-winning writer and educator Kathy Ceceri, Bots! Robotics Engineering with Hands-On Makerspace Activities shows kids 9 to 12 the how, why, and who behind the robots we have today.In this updated version of Ceceri's 2012 book Robotics: Discover the Science and Technology of the Future, you can: * Explore the history of robots and artificial intelligence and read short biographies of important innovators such as Ada Lovelace, Charles Babbage, Alan Turing, Leonardo da Vinci, Dean Kamen, and Nikola Tesla, and Cynthia Breazeal. * Engage in science-minded learning by constructing a hydraulic arm, formulating an edible inflatable soft robot, designing a motorized ArtBot, and testing your own gravity-powered mini-walker. Learn coding basics by writing pen-and-paper programs in Logo and creating virtual robots in the free online language Scratch. Discover how to build low-cost programmable cardboard robots using microcontrollers such as Micro:bit or Circuit Playground Express and Microsoft MakeCode. And find out how to train an "AI computer" to think by playing an unplugged Machine Learning version of the math game Nim. * Essential questions, links to online primary resources, fascinating facts and brief sidebars help readers learn the basics of robotics while exploring their creativity as they design and build their own robots and robotic components. About the Build It Engineering set and Nomad PressBots! is part of a set of two Build It Engineering books that explore the engineering technology behind our daily lives. The other title in this series is Crazy Contraptions: Build Rube Goldberg Machines that Swoop, Spin, Stack, and Swivel with Hands-On Engineering Activities. Nomad Press books in the Build It series integrate content with participation. Combining content with inquiry-based projects stimulates learning and makes it active and alive. Nomad's unique approach simultaneously grounds kids in factual knowledge while allowing them the space to be curious, creative, and critical thinkers. All books are leveled for Guided Reading level and Lexile and align with Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards. All titles are available in paperback, hardcover, and ebook formats.

When natural disasters happen they grab headlines around the world. People, creatures, and the environment are all impacted when nature gets out of control. Natural disasters can be upsetting to live through, but scientists today better understand their causes and how we can protect ourselves and others. Natural Disasters: Investigate Earth’s Most Destructive Forces with 25 Projects teaches readers about some of the natural disasters throughout history, what caused them, their impact on civilizations, and how people today cope with natural disasters. Readers of this book will make their own shake tables, create a cake batter lava flow, invent a wind tunnel, and experiment with avalanches. These hands-on activities engage readers and add depth to the text while ensuring that the learning is made lasting and fun.

From spy maps and victory banners to spotter planes and ration cakes, Great World War II Projects You Can Build Yourself brings one of the most defining periods of American and world history to life through hands-on building projects and activities. Detailed step-by-step instructions for creating each project combine with historical facts and anecdotes, biographies, and trivia about the real-life models. Together they give kids a first-hand look at daily life at home and on the front lines during America's war years.

In Amazing Kitchen Chemistry Projects You Can Build Yourself, kids ages 9 and up will experiment with kitchen materials to discover chemistry. Readers will learn about atoms, molecules, solids, liquids, gases, polymers, the periodic table, the important history of science, and much more. Along the way, they'll make goop, cause chemical reactions, and create delicious treats, and all of it will illustrate important chemistry concepts. Amazing Kitchen Chemistry Projects is a fun and exciting way for young readers to learn all about chemistry and become scientists right in the kitchen.

From periscopes to homemade paper, uniforms to telegraphs, Great Civil War Projects You Can Build Yourself explores the Civil War era through hands-on building projects and activities using common household and craft store items. Detailed step-by-step instructions, diagrams, and templates for creating 25 Civil War projects, combined with historical background, facts and anecdotes, and biographies and trivia, give kids a hands-on way to experience the fascinating history of one of the most important eras in American history.