Amazing Rubber Band Cars: Easy-to-Build Wind-Up Racers, Models, and Toys [Paperback]

Mike Rigsby (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Combining fun and interactive activities, this guide will have kids captivated for hours constructing fantastic racing cars with the basics of only rubber bands, cardboard, and glue. These simple instructions with templates allow budding engineers to gain hands-on experience as they learn not only how to build a basic racer, but how to make modifications such as aluminum foil axle bearings, steering mechanisms, hinges, cam shafts, and wheels made out of old CDs. This helpful resource has step-by-step instructions for making a basic rubber-band model, a railroad push-car, and a high-speed racer. Other unique projects include Oscar the Laughing Clown, which has a jaw mechanism that opens and closes when it moves, and Spot the Dog, which has a moving tail. Children can even learn how to build a rubber band car big enough for a human. Exploring wheels, bearings, and friction, kids will learn not only how to make speedy racers but also the science that makes the process work.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A clever craft collection. . . . These projects are fun to construct, and inquisitive minds will be fascinated by the moving cars, whether done for a science project or strictly for leisuretime enjoyment."  —School Library Journal

"Filled with fun projects."  —Island Family Magazine

"Finally, an engineer writes a book for kids! Amazing Rubber Band Cars is much more than a throwback to the 1950s, when kids made their own toys. Mike Rigsby realizes that you learn more by building than by buying . . . and that home-brewing a cardboard car is just plain fun."  —Cliff Stoll, author, The Cuckoo's Egg

"These simple instructions with templates allow budding engineers to gain hands-on experience."  —Edmonton's Child

About the Author

Mike Rigsby is an electrical engineer who has contributed to several magazines, including Byte, Circuit Cellar, Modern Electronics, and Robotics Age.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press (November 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1556527365
• ISBN-13: 978-1556527364
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #677,370 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars More Than A Little Adult Assitance Required, February 10, 2009

By 

Craig Mazure (Taiwan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Amazing Rubber Band Cars: Easy-to-Build Wind-Up Racers, Models, and Toys (Paperback)

I'm an English/Science teacher in Asia, and thought that the projects in this book would be great for my students, aged 9-12. I took a look at the first few pages of the book on Amazon, and liked how it laid out instructions in a straight-forward manner, with plenty of pictures included. But I've got to say, when we put the instruction into practice, things got pretty difficult. Nearly every project in the book requires cardboard, which is easy enough to locate, but try cutting the assembly-pieces: you're going to need a box-cutter or heavy-duty scissors, and kids aren't going to have the strength to get through the cardboard, even if you trust them with such implements. You could use thinner cardboard, but you'll be forsaking structural integrity. Then it's time to break out the white glue, which takes a long time to dry; leave the project over-night for the glue to set properly. Precariously balance all the glued-together parts, and hope that they stay where they should. From there on in, it's smooth sailing, and you have a rickety cardboard car that travels about six feet of its own accord. Considering how if you push a regular toy car across the floor you'll end up with pretty much the same result, I wasn't surprised when my students were pretty underwhelmed.
So, in closing, parents & teachers should be prepared to foot nearly all of the effort required in the construction of something that will take you a couple of hours (spread over two days) to construct, and end with something that will leave a child not asking "How does it do that?", but "Why bother?" Then, the project will be stepped on and thrown away.
I'm sounding negative, so why the three-star review? Well, the book is laid out very well, the explanations of the simple mechanics are good for kids, and the projects DO work. For what they're worth.

2 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun for parents and kids together., January 22, 2008

By 

L. Haines (Chemainus, B.C. Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Amazing Rubber Band Cars: Easy-to-Build Wind-Up Racers, Models, and Toys (Paperback)

Though some of the projects require adult assistance for younger children, this is a big hit for parent-child projects and folks with a penchant for fun and unusual projects. Especially like the rubber band toys.