Once, robots were only found in science fiction books and movies. Today, robots are everywhere They assemble massive cars and tiny computer chips. They help doctors do delicate surgery. They vacuum our houses and mow our lawns. Robot toys play with us, follow our commands, and respond to our moods. We even send robots to explore the depths of the ocean and the expanse of space. In "Robotics," children ages 9 and up learn how robots affect both the future and the present. Hands-on activities make learning both fun and lasting.

Making Simple Robots is based on the idea that anybody can build a robot! That includes kids, educators, parents, and anyone who didn't make it to engineering school. If you can cut, fold, and tape a piece of paper to make a tube or a box, you can build a no-tech robotic part. In fact, many of the models in this book are based upon real-life prototypes -- working models created in research labs and companies. What's more, if you can use the apps on your smartphone, you can quickly learn to tell robots what to do using free, online, beginner-level software like MIT's Scratch and Microsoft MakeCode. The projects in this book which teach you about electric circuits by making jumping origami frogs with eyes that light up when you get them ready to hop. You'll practice designing all-terrain robot wheel-legs with free, online Tinkercad software, and you'll create files ready for 3D printing. You'll also learn to sew -- and code -- a cyborg rag doll with a blinking electronic "eye." Each project includes step-by-step directions and clear illustrations and photographs. Along the way, you'll learn about the real research behind the DIY version, find shortcuts for making projects easier when needed, and get suggestions for adding to the challenge as your skill set grows.

Catch a glimpse inside a school bus and you'll see lots of kids looking down. What are they doing? They're deciding on strategy, building cities, setting traps for monsters, sharing resources, and nurturing critical relationships. Over 90 percent of kids ages 2-17 play video games. In Video Games: Design and Code Your Own Adventure, young readers learn why games are so compelling and what ancient games such as mancala have in common with modern games like Minecraft. Kids will even create their very own video games using software such as MIT's Scratch! Using a familiar, high-interest subject, Video Games introduces foundation subjects such as geometry, physics, probability, and psychology in a practical framework. Building Tetris pieces out of Rice Crispie Treats and designing board games are some of the hands-on projects that engage readers' building skills, while writing actual game code opens digital doors readers may not have known existed.

All societies have their own myths and legends, but they're much more than just stories. Myths and legends tell us about a people's history, science, and cultural values--the things they knew, the things they believed, and the things they felt were important.
"World Myths and Legends" retells tales from the Middle East, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and the Americas. From the Greek myths to ancient epics like Gilgamesh and the trickster tales of Anansi the Spider, it helps readers think about why the same themes, characters, and events may show up in different parts of the globe.
Along the way kids will also find lots of fun and interesting projects that let them experience the stories first-hand. "World Myths and Legends" unveils wonders of the ancient world as it takes readers on a fascinating adventure of mystery and imagination.

Believe it or not, there's a lot of inventing going on in the kitchen. Unless you only eat fruits and veggies right off the plant, you are using tools and techniques invented by humans to make food more tasty and easier to digest. When you cook food, you start to break it down into a form your body can absorb. When you add chemicals to make it thicker, gooey-er, or puffy-er, you turn a bunch of boring ingredients into a mouth-watering snack. Edible Inventions: Cooking Hacks and Yummy Recipes You Can Build, Mix, Bake, and Grow will show you some unusual ways to create a meal, and help you invent some of your own. Projects include: 3D printing with food Chemical cuisine and molecular gastronomy Prepared foods like jellies and pickles at home Growing your own ingredients Cooking off the grid

Making Simple Robots is based on one idea: Anybody can build a robot! That includes kids, English majors, school teachers, and grandparents. If you can knit, sew, or fold a flat piece of paper into a box, you can build a no-tech robotic part. If you can use a hot glue gun, you can learn to solder basic electronics into a low-tech robot that reacts to its environment. And if you can figure out how to use the apps on your smart phone, you can learn enough programming to communicate with a simple robot. Written in language that non-engineers can understand, Making Simple Robots helps beginners move beyond basic craft skills and materials to the latest products and tools being used by artists and inventors. Find out how to animate folded paper origami, design a versatile robot wheel-leg for 3D printing, or program a rag doll to blink its cyborg eye. Each project includes step-by-step directions as well as clear diagrams and photographs. And every chapter offers suggestions for modifying and expanding the projects, so that you can return to the projects again and again as your skill set grows.

From Roman times until the Age of Exploration, the Silk Road carried goods and ideas across Central Asia between two major centers of civilization, the Mediterranean Sea and China. In "The Silk Road: Explore the World's Most Famous Trade Route," readers ages 9-12 will learn about the history, geography, culture, and people of the Silk Road region.
Marco Polo was just one of many who set out on the Silk Road in search of wealth, power, or knowledge. These adventurers braved vast deserts, towering mountain peaks, warring tribes, and marauding bandits. Silk garments, wool rugs, and fine glass were the prizes for those who survived the trip. Activities using everyday materials bring the Silk Road to life. Young readers will see how ideas in math, science, religion, and art were spread by travelers along with the treasures they found.
"The Silk Road" takes readers on an exciting, interactive adventure to a faraway place and celebrates its important role in human history and development.
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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. In Bots! Robotics Engineering with Hands-On Makerspace Activities, kids 9 to 12 learn the how, why, and who behind the robots we have today. * 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 Press Bots! 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.

Paper is amazing stuff. It's cheap, easy to use, and easy to recycle. It's lightweight and easy to cut or tear--but incredibly strong when folded, layered, or rolled. It can stand stiff as a board, pop up like a spring, or hang softly like a silk scarf. It's disposable, but it can last for centuries. Its surface can be rough, or creamy smooth, or shiny. Sometimes it's so thin you can see through it; other times, it's thick enough to hold globs of paint. But it can also be beautiful, all on its own. The projects in Paper Inventions were inspired by the many different varieties of paper, from fancy artists' watercolor paper to recycled copy paper, and the many different ways it is used. Whether you like to make crafts or play with electronics, there's a project that will challenge you and unleash your creativity. Projects in this book include: DIY flavored edible paper and ink Paper sensors and switches Paper windmill and paper machines 3D designs with paper Origami and other fold and cut designs

More than 30 hands-on projects for ages 7 and up that teach history, science and art by the author of the popular activity books Robotics and Geek Mom. Easy to follow step-by-step photos show you how to make realistic-looking crafts, suitable for gifts or school presentations. Includes interesting background information, along with related activities and print and Internet resources. Kids and adults can learn how to add on an abacus, design a Medieval gargoyle, compare different solar cookers, and find out why boomerangs fly and try an Early American paper craft. Crafts include a working electrical telegraph, African and Scandinavian baskets, flipbook animation, prehistoric cave drawings, and Mexican-style yarn paintings. Great for home, school, scouts, 4-H -- and anyone who loves making crafts

For anyone who's ever dreamed of ruling over their own empire, here's your chance Micronations are imaginary countries that have a lot of the same things as real ones: laws, customs, history, and their own flags, coins, and postage stamps. "Micronations: Invent Your Own Country and Culture" takes readers step-by-step to create their own unique realm, using examples from real nations, micronations, and fictional lands. What makes a country a country? What symbols and systems define a country and help it function? Learn about geography and government, technology and the environment, art and culture, and the literary device of "world-building" used in works like "The Hobbit" and "Harry Potter."
Activities show readers how to create authentic-looking artifacts and documents such as maps, currency, passports, a declaration of independence, and a constitution. Kids get to invent their own language, music, games, clothing, food, and holidays to fit their micronation's tradition. Whether they create a land of time travel where every city exists in a different epoch or an underwater monarchy (motto: "Bubbles, bubbles and more bubbles") whose chief export is fish, "Micronations: Invent Your Own Country and Culture" will engage kids' imagination and teach make-believe rulers how the real world works.