Category: Science

Wired.com has two great ideas for toys/projects to do with your kids.  I haven’t tried them, but they look like a lot of fun!

First, build a trebuchet.  A whut?  A trebuchet.  It’s a medieval-era projectile launcher.  Okay, so this is an outdoor toy.  And probably best for kids 8 and over.  There are no instructions here, but there’s a good picture and funny story about the misadventures (and the learning) they had while building it (Courtesy of Adam Savage–of MythBusters).

Second, how about a personal hovercraft?  For real.  Instructions are far more specific in this one–although be forewarned that it requires a leaf blower.  The article says that an electric one will do–but I have an electric, and I can almost guarantee that it requires a beefy gas-powered one.  And make it removable–you might want it back.  The picture includes a joystick, but you’ll have to figure that one out on your own.  But just imagine the fun of building it with your child, and the fun you’ll both have pushing them around the yard.  Until your back gives out 🙂

At first glance, it seems that spinning tops are back and the latest recycled trend with kids.  But take a closer look, and you’ll quickly see why they’re so popular.

Battles.  “Daddy (or Mommy), will you battle me?” has become the most frequently used sentence in our house.

Now, I’m no pacifist, but we made it 5+ years before Greg knew that guns existed.  And we’ve taught him fairly well about how fighting is not the way to resolve things, and we generally discourage anything that resembles violence (yes, we screen movies before he’s allowed to see them).  But you can’t keep kids from talking to other kids, especially at school.

So we caved, and a Beyblade Battle arena and two tops–excuse me, Beyblades–showed up for Christmas.  And some learning actually took place.

Example #1:  The faster you spin a top, the longer it will stay spinning (momentum, angular velocity).

Example #2:  The pointier the tip on the bottom, the longer it will stay spinning (overcoming friction).

Example #3:  The heavier the top, the more likely it is to prevail (mass, momentum).

It didn’t take but a couple of days for Greg to show me the different kinds of tips–and which was clearly prevailing.  Then he started “ripping” (pulling the rip cord) even harder–to the point where we had to make house rules–e.g. if the top bounces out of the arena, you lose.  And finally, he could tell which were the heaviest–and since you can mix and match parts, he would assembly the pointiest tip to the heaviest top–to create the ultimate Beyblade that no one could beat.

How about that for a 6 year old?  Physics in action–and he doesn’t even realize he’s learning it.