Explore Transportation!: 25 Great Projects, Activities, Experiments (Explore Your World series)

98 Pages·2009·7.82 MB·English

by  Marylou Morano Kjelle

Children’s ACtivity/eduCAtion resourCe Ages 6—9/grAdes 1—4 M
a
r
y
How long would it take focus on social studies lo
to get to the nearest u

K
town in the 1800s? j
e
l
How fast could the first le
train move?
“Nothing has defined our modern existence more effectively
How many miles do you
than our ability to travel on land, sea, and air, as well as to
walk in a year?
move into space. Explore Transportation! traces the history of
transportation and offers easy to understand and complete
activities that children of all ages will enjoy and learn from.”
—Roger D. Launius, Ph.D., Senior Curator, Division of Space
History, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution
Explore Transportation! 25 Great Projects, Activities,
Experiments travels on an adventure through time and “A fantastic introduction to the fascinating, ever-changing
around the globe to learn about the history and science world of transportation. The combination of hands-on activities
of transportation. From camels to jet engines and and interesting facts make it an ideal active learning tool. My
pigeons to submarines, young readers will explore the daughters would love it.”
unusual and exciting ways that civilizations old and —Brian L. Smith, Associate Professor, University Director—
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new have moved people, information, and objects Smart Travel Laboratory, University of Virginia X
from place to place. P
L
“Explore Transportation! is a delightful and engaging book
The 25 easy-to-follow projects require minimal adult O
for elementary school age children, helping them understand
supervision and use primarily common household how transportation plays a vital part in everyday life for them R
E
products and recycled supplies. Kids will have so much and millions of people around the world. Filled with facts,

fun with Explore Transportation! they won’t even pictures, and fun things to do, children will enjoy seeing how T
R
realize they’re learning about history, science, math, transportation has evolved over time and how important it is in
a
culture, and geography along the way. Projects range moving people and goods from one place to another, whether
n
from making a homemade compass and flying a mini- by horse, bicycle, auto, train, boat, plane, or spaceship.”
s
parachute, to deciphering Morse code and locating the —Robert S. Foyle, P.E., The Institute for Transportation Research P
North Star. Exploring the evolution of the simple wheel and Education, North Carolina State University O
all the way to the sophisticated and complex spaceship, R
T
kids will discover that imagination has the power to “Combining a sense of humor with valuable educational in-
a
create huge changes in our world. By combining a sights, Explore Transportation! introduces young children to
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hands-on element with riddles, jokes, fun facts, and the fascinating world of transportation. From an early age kids i
comic cartoons, kids Explore Transportation!, and have are naturally drawn to all modes of moving around. Explore O
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Transportation! promises to inspire a new generation of stu-
a great time discovering all the ways we get around.
dents for my classes in transportation policy and technology.” !
—Professor Daniel Sperling, Founding Director,
Institute of Transportation Studies, University of California, Davis
“Offers a concise exploration of transportation and how it has
affected the human race. The universal idea of travel gives
way to new inventions and Kjelle interprets them all.“
—James Vannurden, Director/Curator,
National Museum of Roller Skating
$12.95
ISBN: 978-1-934670-45-3
30% Postconsumer
Recycled

Nomad Press is committed to preserving ancient forests and natural resources.
We elected to print Explore Transportation! on 50% post consumer recycled
paper, processed chlorine free. As a result, for this printing, we have saved:
12 Trees (40’ tall and 6-8” diameter)
4,921 Gallons of Wastewater
1,979 Kilowatt Hours of Electricity
542 Pounds of Solid Waste
1,066 Pounds of Greenhouse Gases
Nomad Press made this paper choice because our printer, Thomson-Shore,
Inc., is a member of Green Press Initiative, a nonprofit program dedicated to
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Nomad Press
A division of Nomad Communications
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Copyright © 2009 by Nomad Press
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without permission in writing from
the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.
The trademark “Nomad Press” and the Nomad Press logo are trademarks of
Nomad Communications, Inc.
This book was manufactured by Thomson Shore,
Dexter, Michigan, USA
September 2009,
ISBN: 978-1-9346704-5-3
Illustrations by Bryan Stone
Questions regarding the ordering of this book should be addressed to
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Contents
1
introduction
Let's Explore Transportation!
5
chapter 1
Walk a Mile in Your Shoes
Transportation by Foot
17 chapter 2
Beasts of Burden
Using Animals for Transportation
26 chapter 3
Merrily We Roll Along . . . How the
Wheel Changed Transportation
36 chapter 4
By Land or By Sea: Boats
49 chapter 5
The Iron Rails: Trains
56
chapter 6
“The Wheels on the Bus”
Traveling by Automobile
70 chapter 7
Up, Up and Away
81 chapter 8
Transportation of the Future
Glossary Resources Index
 
Other titles from Nomad Press in the Explore Your World! Series
Moving People
& Things by
Land, Sea
and Sky
ave you ever stopped to think about what
H
life would be like without ways to move
people and things from one place to
another? What if the wheel hadn’t been invented?
How would we get around?
We would have to use our own two feet, or those
of an animal. There would be no cars, trains,
or airplanes to get us and our stuff where we
needed to go. No bikes, motorcycles, or roller
skates either. All of these ways of moving
rely on the wheel. No wonder people think
the wheel is the coolest thing ever invented.
1
Explore Transportation!
Transportation is part of our everyday
life. If you have ever received a package or taken
a vacation, then you have used transportation.
We transport cargo, food, people, and letters faster and
farther than our ancestors ever thought possible. At one
time it took a few weeks by ship to get from Europe to the United
States. Now it takes a few hours by plane. All of the advances we
have made in transportation have made our very
big world seem very, very small.
As you travel through this book, you’ll
learn about all types of transportation. You’ll
see how ancient people got around, and how
animals are still used for transportation today.
You’ll learn how a car engine works, and what
transportation might be like in the future. You’ll
detour through experiments that will help you understand things like
why an object sinks or floats. You’ll drop by to say hello to a few of
the people whose inventions led to transportation as we know it today.
You’ll even make a backpack and a compass for the journey.
Whether it’s across
the ocean, the country,
or just across the street,
Transportation: a way of
people have always
moving people and things.
been on the move. Are
Cargo: things being
you ready to learn transported.
about transportation? Ancestors: people who
Let’s get going! came before us.
2
Make a Draw
String Backpack
A backpack is a great way to carry around the things you need for a trip, whether
you're going just around the corner or all the way to China. Some good things
to carry in your backpack are a pen or pencil, a small pad of paper, tissues,
sunscreen, and a quick and easy snack.
1Cut the open 5 Glue the inch
end of the of hem you
pillowcase so left open to
that it measures insert the cord, and
about 24 inches let it dry. Tie the two
from top to bottom. ends of the cord together.
Trim the excess cord, if there is any.
2 Turn the pillowcase inside out.
You want to have a long enough
Then fold over a 3-inch hem
cord so that it creates a drawstring
all around
around the pillowcase hem, and
the part you cut.
can also hang over your shoulders.
3 Glue the
hem down, 6 Fill your backpack with things
you’ll need on an adventure.
all the way
Drawstring your knapsack
around, except for
closed, and sling it over your
1 inch. You’ll need this opening
shoulders.
for your drawstring. Let the glue
dry, and then turn the pillowcase
supplies
right side out.
4 Fasten the safety pin to the  pillowcase
cord and use it to help you scissors

thread the cord through the measuring tape

opening in the hem that you left
fabric glue

unglued. Keep working the cord
large safety pin

around until it has been threaded
approximately 4 feet of cord

through the entire hem.
(from a fabric or craft shop)
33
Transport Yourself
to Another Country
If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go? It may not
be possible for you to visit right now, but with the help of books and the
Internet (ask permission first) you can transport yourself anywhere. Choose
a place to visit and research the following questions. Write your ideas down
in a travel journal.
supplies
1.
Where would you like to go? What
notebook for
time of year would you travel?

travel journal
2. pencil
How many different types of 
book about another
transportation will it take to get

country
there?
internet access

3.
What city will you arrive in? When
you get there, where will you stay?
4.
What will the weather be like when
you arrive?
5.
What special sights or attractions
would you like to see during your
visit?
6.
How long will you stay? How will
you return home?
7.
How will you remember your visit?
4
Walk a Mile in Your Shoes
Transportation by Foot
eople have always needed to get themselves—
P
and their things—from one place to another.
Today, our advanced forms of transportation
make crossing an ocean or a country almost as easy as
going to the city.
Try explaining that to a kid who lived in prehistoric times. Back
then, people only had their feet to get from one place to another, so they
walked everywhere. And it was no walk in the park. Without sidewalks
or paved surfaces, getting somewhere was a giant pain in the foot. Our
very early ancestors walked over sharp rocks and burning hot sand,
through cold puddles and slippery pools of mud.
5