Amazing Rubber Band Cars by Mike Rigsby

Amazing Rubber Band Cars by Mike Rigsby

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.

"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 toysMike 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"
"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
"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

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