Remote-Control Machines: Animals

Construct a whole zoo’s worth of remote-controlled animals with mechanical insides covered by colorful plastic “skins.” The animals all move using different mechanisms, each one mimicking the movement of the real animal it represents. A two-button remote control unit moves the small, lightweight motor forward and in reverse, allowing the models to move forward or backward. Build an elephant that walks, a scorpion that crawls along, and a cute little penguin that waddles. Construct a rabbit that hops forward, a crab that scurries sideways, and an orangutan that climbs hand over hand along a string. You can even build a couple of dinosaurs: a Tyrannosaurus rex that walks on two legs and a Pterosaur that “flies” along a cord. Learn about animal locomotion and biomechanics as you build each model. When you are done, use the same 94 building pieces to dream up your own mechanical animal creations! You can even mix up the animal skins in funny ways to make outrageous hybrid animals. A full-color, 36-page step-by-step illustrated manual helps kids assemble all of the models, and teaches them about the animals they are modeling and the ways different animals move.

About Thames & Kosmos: Thames & Kosmos was founded in 2001 by a science museum director and her son, who saw the great need and demand for better science education materials — resources for parents and their children that are more engaging, more effective, more relevant, and more fun.