Real Engineering Experiments
Anthony Tegtmeyer
Best Experiment:
Beam Me Up
This experiment is about testing different shapes of beams (such as on bridges) to understand why bridges are made the way they are.
Why we love it:
We have all seen bridge-building activities, but very few of them are experiments to help you understand WHY a certain beam shape works. This experiment is a perfect lead-up to a bridge-building activity.
Unique Experiment
Hip-Hop Chip
Combine electricity and magnets to create an electromagnet that generates sound.
Why we love it:
There are not a lot of electromagnetic experiments to start with. This is a high-level concept to understand, but very fascinating. It's really living up to the text on the cover of the book.
Don't Believe the Hype
25+ STEAM activitiesThere are 28, but like most books, STEAM is a gimmick here. The 'art' checks the box by saying anything someone creates is art, come on, there are actual engineering and art activities that could have been included if that were the goal.
Take Aways
This is an engineering book made by an engineer for budding engineers.Engineering is a blanket term for so many vastly different types of scientifically and mathematically inclined builders. This book does an excellent job of explaining the different types of engineering and breaks the book up by engineering type. What better way to understand the different types of engineering than by doing activities in each branch?
Willing to tackle advanced conceptsThis is a book designed for ages 8 to 12 and is willing to dive into concepts this age group can understand if pushed to try.
Explains the engineering design processMany people have become familiar with the design process, but this author takes the page space to explain how the engineering design process is different from the scientific method which I appreciate.