The only thing Aisha loves more than potato chips is spending time with her big brother Malcolm, an industrial engineering intern at a local potato chip factory. Aisha and her cousin want very much to visit Malcom's work site, but he has other ideas instead. Taking them on a fun-filled trek through the U.S. city of Boston, Massachusetts, Malcolm makes up a game for the girls--a simple machines scavenger hunt. While exploring favorite tourist attractions and significant landmarks of African American history, the girls demonstrate their sharp eye for levers, inclined planes, and pulleys. They "win" the game--and the prize: a trip to the potato chip factory. Once there, Malcolm shows the girls how simple machines and the design of industrial systems make work easier and safer for laborers. The trip inspires another game at home, a delicious design challenge in which the girls build their own large-scale model of a potato chip factory. Using their designs, they transport potatoes from the floor to the counter. Readers are encouraged to design systems and processes for moving objects around, taking mechanical advantage of simple machines. Available as: Spiral-bound storybook- $6.99 Set of 8 spiral-bound storybooks- $35.99 |