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Look up, up, up! How do skyscrapers get so tall? Skyscrapers are amazing feats of engineering that kids (and adults!) find fascinating. How do they get so high? How do they stay standing? Who is involved in designing and building these gravity-defying structures? In Skyscrapers! With 25 Science Projects for Kids,kids ages 7 to 10 learn about the principles of engineering that are used in building skyscrapers, as well as the history of skyscrapers themselves. To answer the burning question on every young engineer's mind--how do skyscrapers stay standing?--readers discover the important designs used to build tall buildings. Links to primary sources for kids offer a unique, interactive learning experience, while, while fun facts, engaging illustrations, timeline, glossary, and lots of resources keep kids wanting to learn more about the engineering design process. Skyscrapers! is part of a set of four Explore Engineering books, in which readers ages 7 to 10 develop foundational understanding of the physics that guides the building and maintenance of bridges, canals, dams, tunnels, and skyscrapers. Other titles in the Explore Engineering set include Bridges!, Canals and Dams!, and Tunnels! Try these hands-on STEAM activities! Experiments with earthquake-resistant materials Test the relative strength of different shapes Discover the effect of vibration on structures

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Look up, up, up! How do skyscrapers get so tall? Skyscrapers are amazing feats of engineering that kids (and adults!) find fascinating. How do they get so high? How do they stay standing? Who is involved in designing and building these gravity-defying structures? In Explore Skyscrapers! With 25 Great Projects, kids ages 7 to 10 learn about the principles of engineering that are used in building skyscrapers, as well as the history of skyscrapers themselves. To answer the burning question on every young engineer's mind--how do skyscrapers stay standing?--readers discover the important designs used to build tall buildings. Links to primary sources for kids offer a unique, interactive learning experience, while, while fun facts, engaging illustrations, timeline, glossary, and lots of resources keep kids wanting to learn more about the engineering design process. Explore Skyscrapers! is part of a set of four Explore Engineering books, in which readers ages 7 to 10 develop foundational understanding of the physics that guides the building and maintenance of bridges, canals, dams, tunnels, and skyscrapers. Other titles in the Explore Engineering set include Explore Bridges!, Explore Canals and Dams!, and Explore Tunnels! Try these hands-on STEAM activities! Experiments with earthquake-resistant materials Test the relative strength of different shapes Discover the effect of vibration on structures

Author Biography

Elizabeth Schmermund is a writer, editor, scholar, and teacher. She has written more than 15 books for students and young readers, including Architecture: Cool Women Who Build Structures for Nomad Press. She lives in the New York metro area with her family. Mike Crosier holds an MFA from the Center for Cartoon Studies. He is the illustrator of several books from Nomad Press, including Explore Greek Myths! With 25 Great Projects and Video Games: Design and Code Your Own Adventure. He lives in White River Junction, Vermont.

Table of Contents

Timeline
Introduction: Let's Explore Skyscrapers
Chapter One: Why Do We Need Skyscrapers?
Chapter Two: Engineering and Design
Chapter Three: Types of Skyscrapers
Chapter Four: Let the Building Begin!
Chapter Five: Famous Skyscrapers, Now and in the Future
Glossary
Resources
Index

Review

Explore Simple Machines! With 25 Great Projects Booklist ". . . Yasuda writes in particularly clear, simple language, and intersperses her explanations with historical notes, jokes that even the target audience will find laughably lame ('What did the apple say to the wedge? You split me up!') and 25 easy projects or demonstrations constructed from common materials. She also repeatedly urges readers to spot and classify the simple machines that are all around, encourages the use of a science notebook, and closes her discourse with descriptions of what inventors and engineers do. Illustrated with simple black-and-white cartoons and capped with well-considered lists of print and other resources, this makes a serviceable hands-on guide to the topic."
Skyscrapers: Investigate Feats of Engineering with 25 Project School Library Journal: "Large font and an open layout make this title accessible to reluctant readers. Kids will appreciate the boxed 'Words to Know' sections embedded on most pages that highlight new vocabulary. 'Did You Know?' sidebars also appear throughout and showcase interesting facts and anecdotes. Simple black-and-white illustrations enhance the narrative and break up the text. The scientific concepts are explained with easy-to-understand and kid-friendly examples. The 25 activities can be easily replicated at home, school, or in a library STEAM program, and require items that can be found at a grocery or hardware store. Projects include creating a step pyramid out of sugar cubes and engineering a skyscraper out of spaghetti noodles and mini marshmallows. Latham adheres to the scientific process and encourages young scientists to make predictions and assess their results along the way. This would be a useful title to supplement lessons on architecture, mathematics, or physics for classroom teachers or homeschoolers, and it's an appealing initiation to the subject."

Promotional

• $40,000 marketing and publicity budget (for series)
• Exhibiting at national and regional conferences including:
  American Library Association (ALA: 60,000 members)
  National Science Teacher Association/STEM (NSTA: 60,000 members)
  American Association of School Librarians (AASL: 10,000 members)
  Public Library Association (PLA: 11,000 members)
  Texas Library Association (TLA: 7,000 members)
  National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS: 25,000 members)
  International Literacy Association (ILA: 60,000 members)
  Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE: 40,000 members)
• Advertising in the following publications:
  SLJ display ads (3–4 times for series)
  Booklist/Booklinks display ads (3–4 times)
  Booklist/Booklinks online ads
  Follett Library
  Ingram (Children's Advance 2 times)
  Baker & Taylor (Growing Minds)
• Publicity and promotion in conjunction with the author's speaking engagements at bookstores, libraries, schools, museums, events, and conferences
• Extensive social media outreach via Facebook, author's website , Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads, LinkedIn

Long Description

Look up, up, up! How do skyscrapers get so tall? Skyscrapers are amazing feats of engineering that kids (and adults!) find fascinating. How do they get so high? How do they stay standing? Who is involved in designing and building these gravity-defying structures? In Skyscrapers! With 25 Science Projects for Kids, elementary-aged kids learn about the principles of engineering that are used in building skyscrapers, as well as the history of skyscrapers themselves. Readers also explore the kinds of professionals that contribute to the raising of a skyscraper, from engineers to architects to constructions teams. To answer the burning question on every young engineer's mind--how do skyscrapers stay standing?--readers discover the important designs used to build tall buildings, including the tube frame, the bundled tube frame, and x-bracing. And by following the evolution of skyscraper design, STEAM-focused students learn how structures have become more stable and more complex through the introduction of design elements and new materials. STEAM projects for kids, including experiments with earthquake-resistant materials, testing the relative strength of different shapes, and discovering the effect of vibration on structures, offer a unique, interactive learning experience, while links to primary sources offer ample opportunity for further student-led exploration. Fun facts, engaging illustrations, timeline, glossary, and resources keep kids wanting to learn more about engineering design. Skyscrapers! is part of a set of four Explore Engineering books. In the Explore Engineering series, readers ages 7 to 10 learn the physics behind the things they build: Why does a tower of blocks eventually fall? Why does a tunnel sometimes cave in? Through a series of focused, science-minded activities that require critical thinking paired with creative trial-and-error attempts at building, readers develop foundational understanding of the physics that guides the building and maintenance of bridges, canals, tunnels, and skyscrapers. Other titles in the Explore Engineering set include Bridges!, Canals and Dams!, and Tunnels!

Review Quote (previous edition)

Skyscrapers: Investigate Feats of Engineering with 25 Project School Library Journal: "Large font and an open layout make this title accessible to reluctant readers. Kids will appreciate the boxed 'Words to Know' sections embedded on most pages that highlight new vocabulary. 'Did You Know?' sidebars also appear throughout and showcase interesting facts and anecdotes. Simple black-and-white illustrations enhance the narrative and break up the text. The scientific concepts are explained with easy-to-understand and kid-friendly examples. The 25 activities can be easily replicated at home, school, or in a library STEAM program, and require items that can be found at a grocery or hardware store. Projects include creating a step pyramid out of sugar cubes and engineering a skyscraper out of spaghetti noodles and mini marshmallows. Latham adheres to the scientific process and encourages young scientists to make predictions and assess their results along the way. This would be a useful title to supplement lessons on architecture, mathematics, or physics for classroom teachers or homeschoolers, and it's an appealing initiation to the subject."

Review Quote

Skyscrapers: Investigate Feats of Engineering with 25 Project School Library Journal: "Large font and an open layout make this title accessible to reluctant readers. Kids will appreciate the boxed 'Words to Know' sections embedded on most pages that highlight new vocabulary. 'Did You Know?' sidebars also appear throughout and showcase interesting facts and anecdotes. Simple black-and-white illustrations enhance the narrative and break up the text. The scientific concepts are explained with easy-to-understand and kid-friendly examples. The 25 activities can be easily replicated at home, school, or in a library STEAM program, and require items that can be found at a grocery or hardware store. Projects include creating a step pyramid out of sugar cubes and engineering a skyscraper out of spaghetti noodles and mini marshmallows. Latham adheres to the scientific process and encourages young scientists to make predictions and assess their results along the way. This would be a useful title to supplement lessons on architecture, mathematics, or physics for classroom teachers or homeschoolers, and it's an appealing initiation to the subject."

Promotional "Headline"

$40,000 marketing and publicity budget (for series) Exhibiting at national and regional conferences including: American Library Association (ALA: 60,000 members) National Science Teacher Association/STEM (NSTA: 60,000 members) American Association of School Librarians (AASL: 10,000 members) Public Library Association (PLA: 11,000 members) Texas Library Association (TLA: 7,000 members) National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS: 25,000 members) International Literacy Association (ILA: 60,000 members) Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE: 40,000 members) Advertising in the following publications: SLJ display ads (3-4 times for series) Booklist/Booklinks display ads (3-4 times) Booklist/Booklinks online ads Follett Library Ingram (Children's Advance 2 times) Baker & Taylor (Growing Minds) Publicity and promotion in conjunction with the author's speaking engagements at bookstores, libraries, schools, museums, events, and conferences Extensive social media outreach via Facebook, author's website , Pinterest, Instagram, Goodreads, LinkedIn

Description for Sales People

This nonfiction title for ages 7 through 10 introduces students to engineering concepts using the history and construction of skyscrapers. Readers understand foundational physics concepts at an early age, developing a comfort level with science and mathematics. Through STEM activities, readers understand how physical forces are exerted on the natural world, and how these enable the construction of skyscrapers. Kids make discoveries mirroring the engineers in the past and present who developed the skyscrapers we know today. Skyscrapers are familiar and interesting structures to readers in this age group. The interactive nature of this book encourages children who may be reading below grade level to enjoy the content and offers enough science vocabulary to challenge those students who are above grade level. Readers learn about the history of skyscrapers, as well as what engineers do and how engineers, architects, and construction workers work together in teams to build skyscrapers. Kids learn the engineering concepts and designs that allow skyscrapers to be safely built. Meets the engineering design standards for NSTA's NGSS curriculum for K-5th grade. Uses an inquiry-based approach to encourage readers to ask questions, define problems, carry out investigations, and reach their own conclusions about skyscrapers and current construction ideas. Encourages the development of important skills, including problem solving and model testing. Uses an inquiry-based approach to encourage readers to experiment with engineering designs and reach their own conclusions about what works and what doesn't. Uses links to online primary sources to engage readers in further, independent study. Meets Common Core State Standards for reading informational text. Guided Reading Levels and Lexile measurements indicate grade level and text complexity.

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