Engineering the City

February 15, 2001
Gr. 6-12. Future engineers, math enthusiasts, and students seeking ideas for science projects will all be fascinated by this book, which is filled with engineering "projects and principles for beginners." Facts about dams and bridges segue into information about water transportation and irrigation, and eventually into a chapter that answers the question, "What happens when I flush the toilet?" Other sections deal with highways, railroads, electrical circuitry, and garbage disposal. Simple line drawings unobtrusively enhance descriptions in the text, and there are specific, step-by-step ideas for engineering experiments that usually require only simple household objects. Each chapter ends with a brief list of suggested further activities that encompass geography, writing, geometry, and even history. A source of both general information and activities that can be used across the curriculum.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)