Review: Whoosh, Boom, Splat

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STEM is all the rage right now eh?   How can we encourage the learning of engineering, science, math and technology?   Whoosh, Boom, Splat takes the love of launchers of all different sorts, to encourage hands-on experimentation in your middle school and up youth.   11 different types of launchers, with variations for several of them.   It’s a rather neat book!

Whoosh, Boom, Splat is a revised and expanded second edition.  In it you can learn to build jam jar jets, elastic Zip Cannons, clothespin Snap Shooters and more.   These aren’t your average experiments.  Things CAN go wrong and you might get hurt IF you don’t pay attention and follow the instructions.   Lots of pictures and text accompany the instructions so if you take your time and follow the directions well, you can make a good variety of launchers to amaze and delight each other.   This book is meant to be done with adult supervision (often as a safety measure) but also because some of the builds are harder to do.

Each of the 11 chapters has a good introductory section where they give you a real life application.. for instance with the jam jar jet we learn about the V1, a Nazi built cruise missile, that used a pulse jet.  These jets are still used in cruise missiles today.  With the mechanical toe we learn a bit about football and talk about Newton’s Second Law of Motion.   We get to learn about a famous engineer Gianibelli with the clothespin snap shooter. 

A complete tools and a separate materials list, plus step by step instructions walk you through each build.   Numerous pictures accompany each set of instructions helping to make each step easy to follow.

I have to admit how much I appreciate the attention to safety and the clear instructions.  It makes this book easy to use.  We were able to build this explosive device!  I also want to make the vortex launcher and clothespin snap shooter. 

The lad had a lot of fun helping me make this, and if we could have gone longer we would have but what with having a new cat in the house whose a tad bit skittish, we thought this length worked and proved the lesson works.  It also gave us a chance to talk about chain reactions and the atomic bomb. 

My thoughts: 

The strong emphasis on safety, along with the troubleshooting tips, and the historical origins of each machine made this a fascinating book.   The experiments range in experience needed, but all can be accomplished by any teenager and up as long as they take their time to read and understand the instruction.   The good images just add great instruction. This DIY projects will help teach STEM to your students. 

Whoosh, Boom, Splat Build Jam Jar Jets, Elastic Cannons, Clothespins Snap Shooters, and more Legendary Launchers. Revised and Expanded Second Edition William Gurstelle Chicago Review Press, 154 pages, softcover STEM, engineering, technology, science, math, Middle school, high school Reviewed for: Chicago Review Press. Where to buy: Amazon Link.