Reinvent the Wheel: Make Classic Inventions, Discover Your Problem-Solving Genius, and Take the Inventor's Challenge [Paperback]

Ruth Kassinger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 19, 2001 | Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

LEARN HOW To MAKE GREAT INVENTIONS!

Discover the history and the science behind classic inventions and experience your own "Eureka!" moments of inspiration with the projects in this unique book. Through the ages, resourceful humans have found ingenious ways to meet the need of the moment with inventions ranging from catapults to colorful dyes to batteries. With this fantastic collection of fun, hands-on projects, you will uncover the answers to intriguing questions like: Who created ink? Why did Archimedes invent the water screw? And how did cave artists come up with paint? Plus, you will learn how and why these inventors were inspired, and how to come up with your own inventions.

With easy-to-follow instructions on how to make some common things we often take for granted, from paper to compasses, Reinvent the Wheel is packed with exciting projects and challenges. There are still many problems to be solved and gadgets to be invented. Maybe you'll be the next great inventor to change the way we live.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

LEARN HOW To MAKE GREAT INVENTIONS!

Discover the history and the science behind classic inventions and experience your own "Eureka!" moments of inspiration with the projects in this unique book. Through the ages, resourceful humans have found ingenious ways to meet the need of the moment with inventions ranging from catapults to colorful dyes to batteries. With this fantastic collection of fun, hands-on projects, you will uncover the answers to intriguing questions like: Who created ink? Why did Archimedes invent the water screw? And how did cave artists come up with paint? Plus, you will learn how and why these inventors were inspired, and how to come up with your own inventions.

With easy-to-follow instructions on how to make some common things we often take for granted, from paper to compasses, Reinvent the Wheel is packed with exciting projects and challenges. There are still many problems to be solved and gadgets to be invented. Maybe you’ll be the next great inventor to change the way we live.

About the Author

RUTH KASSINGER is a writer, teacher, and consultant. She currently teaches a "Hands on Science" program in the Maryland public schools and writes many articles on science and technology for such publications as the Washington Post, Smithsonian, and Science Weekly.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (September 19, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471395390
• ISBN-13: 978-0471395393
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #871,874 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #33 in Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Inventions & Inventors

More About the Author

When I'm not writing about the history, science, and pleasures of gardening, I'm taking care of the dozens of plants -- citrus trees, figs, coffee bushes, pineapples, and lots of other tropicals -- in my home conservatory. In the background of my author photo is my living wall, an eight-foot tall vertical garden of tropicals that waters itself four times a day. (Instructions are in the appendix to Paradise Under Glass.) Contact me via my Facebook page or visit my website. Looking for a speaker for your gardening club or garden-related event? Look for me on GreatGardenSpeakers.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for Kids, January 7, 2010

By 

Cassie - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reinvent the Wheel: Make Classic Inventions, Discover Your Problem-Solving Genius, and Take the Inventor's Challenge (Paperback)

My sisters and I really loved this book. We thought the projects had simple enough directions that we could do them without getting frustrated--we especially liked making our own frisbee. It's a good combination of the history of the inventions and letting us build them ourselves!

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If you have to do a science project, this book is the best, December 2, 2002

By 

Stella Fiore (Manhasset Long Island) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reinvent the Wheel: Make Classic Inventions, Discover Your Problem-Solving Genius, and Take the Inventor's Challenge (Paperback)

This is not just a science book it is also a history book. You get to match your mind against the mind of the great inventors. You see how to make a thermometer, an igloo or a geodeisic dome. For some reason, science projects are supposed to be a sign that you are smart. Most of them are really dumb. This book has some cool ideas so that even if you have to wrap Play Dough around straws to show tectonic plates, at least it feels real because these are reconstructions of real inventions that people made and that changed the world.

5.0 out of 5 stars Genius book for (potential) genius kids, November 19, 2011

By 

Phil Starke - See all my reviews

This review is from: Reinvent the Wheel: Make Classic Inventions, Discover Your Problem-Solving Genius, and Take the Inventor's Challenge (Paperback)

The great inventions of the world were all born out of problems that needed solving. This book inspires budding inventor kids (the ones who hoard bits of string, cardboard and plastic) by telling the actual history of common inventions, and then giving kids simple instructions on how to duplicate them and, best of all, improve upon them. Combines history, science and problem-solving into one easy-to-read book for budding Edisons, Einsteins and Jobs-es. My ten year old daughter just spent the morning duplicating the Catapult experiment (using a plastic spoon, wooden skewers, a rubber band and a ball of paper (sitting in for the recommended marshmallow).