Amazing Rubber Band Cars: Easy-to-Build Wind-Up Racers, Models, and Toys
Acknowledgments would like to thank my wife Annelle for tolerat ing cardboard cars zipping around the house Thanks to our daughters Tia and Ember for drawing assistance and encouragement I can't omit the tireless efforts of my agent Renee Zuckerbrot as well as the assistance of my editor Jerome Pohlen Last I won't forget the ladies at work who smiled and patiently nodded affirmation every time I showed off my latest and most fantastic card board
Introduction he cars and toys in this book are designed to be easily assembled from common household materials Construction of a car requires only cardboard glue pencils and rubber bands My hope is that parents will build these cardboard cars with their kids You can work together build memories and share a book Whether you plant the seeds for a future engineer or retain a lifetime memory of card board glued to the carpet something significant will happen By spending time with their children parents can open the lines of communication If you ask a child how things went at school the answer will probably be Fine But if you're working through this book together the stories about friends bullies and teach ers will emerge Engineering is the application of scientific princi ples knowledge to practical things that people use Applying knowledge from this book to household materials will produce practical things toys for kids to use Although there is no mention of Newton's third law or translation of linear motion to rota tional motion the child who is fascinated by this book has interests that may lead to a future career in the sciences Parents should support their child's
interests by exposing them to different ideas This book is appropriate for the child who is interested in moving objects and building things It is also appro priate for the child who has never been exposed to engineering concepts For the child who isn't interested in books Amaz ing Rubber Band Cars has plenty of pictures not too many words and a practical spin read it and learn how to build toys It will spark a child's interest in reading Building toys from scratch may inspire a future engineer It may help the future pastry chef to make gingerbread houses But the most important outcome may just be a memory such as Remember when we made those rubber band cars
Note to Builders ll of the cars in this book are built with corru gated cardboard Corrugated cardboard is a thick board made of an arched layer between two smooth sheets You can tell if cardboard is corru gated by looking at its edge Corrugated cardboard is a good construction material for several reasons It is stiff enough to make parts that will resist bending Parts can be cut easily using scissors and holes can be punched using a push pin or pencil point Corrugated cardboard works well with white glue and it makes for solid assemblies And if you rescue old boxes from the trash the cardboard costs nothing and you are recy cling which is good for the environment Flat cardboard the kind you find used for a cereal box will work for the basic car but you will spend quite a bit of time holding flat pieces together wait ing for glue to dry Thick or solid cardboard makes nice parts but is difficult to cut with scissors That
