Toys that teach

There are a lot of educational and engineering toys on the shelves. Here are some that caught the attention of our editors. One of the sneakiest ways to get kids interested in a topic, whether it’s engineering or astronomy, is to give them an educational toy or tool that helps them explore that subject. Just don’t tell them it’s educational. Here are some toys and kits that might kickstart a youngster’s interest in engineering and science. Ready, aim, fire that trebuchet Many readers have probably found themselves killing a few minutes with an online trebuchet game devised by the engineering catalog site Globalspec. But why diddle with a simulation when you can build and operate a real trebuchet, or at least a scaleddown version of a 13th Century design? That’s the opportunity you have with this wooden kit. The trebuchet is all wood and goes together with dowel pegs and glue. It takes about two evenings to assemble because of glue drying time. The resulting model stands about a foot high in the ready-to-fire position. You add weight to the counterweight box to vary the trajectory of the load hurled in the sling then fire away. (We found that socket wrench heads worked well as weights.) The manufacturer thoughtfully provides a lump of modeling clay for hurling purposes. In experiments here, Machine Design editors were able to get the trebuchet to lob a clay ball about 6 to 8 ft. Our only problem was with a swing-arm linkage that the manufacturer had drilled slightly cockeyed. It didn’t affect the trebuchet’s hurling, but it was visibly off-kilter. The kit, along with other siege engines, is available from Pathfinders Design and Technology of British Columbia ( Power to the (little) people. Reportedly a favorite with the National Renewable Energy Lab, ScienceWiz – Energy