Introduces six simple machines, describing how they work in more complex machinery and how they are used every day.

Renaissance Fun is about the technology of Renaissance entertainments in stage machinery and theatrical special effects; in gardens and fountains; and in the automata and self-playing musical instruments that were installed in garden grottoes. How did the machines behind these shows work? How exactly were chariots filled with singers let down onto the stage? How were flaming dragons made to fly across the sky? How were seas created on stage? How did mechanical birds imitate real birdsong? What was ‘artificial music’, three centuries before Edison and the phonograph? How could pipe organs be driven and made to play themselves by waterpower alone? And who were the architects, engineers, and craftsmen who created these wonders? All these questions are answered. At the end of the book we visit the lost ‘garden of marvels’ at Pratolino with its many grottoes, automata and water jokes; and we attend the performance of Mercury and Mars in Parma in 1628, with its spectacular stage effects and its music by Claudio Monteverdi – one of the places where opera was born. Renaissance Fun is offered as an entertainment in itself. But behind the show is a more serious scholarly argument, centred on the enormous influence of two ancient writers on these subjects, Vitruvius and Hero. Vitruvius’s Ten Books on Architecture were widely studied by Renaissance theatre designers. Hero of Alexandria wrote the Pneumatics, a collection of designs for surprising and entertaining devices that were the models for sixteenth and seventeenth century automata. A second book by Hero On Automata-Making – much less well known, then and now – describes two miniature theatres that presented plays without human intervention. One of these, it is argued, provided the model for the type of proscenium theatre introduced from the mid-sixteenth century, the generic design which is still built today. As the influence of Vitruvius waned, the influence of Hero grew.

A sticker and activity book packed with powerful machines and over 600 stickers! Bursting with big trucks, tall cranes, and powerful diggers, kids will love to imagine and play with this book. Full of over 600 stickers and tons of fun activities, games, and puzzles, this book is sure to engage and excite kids!

Ten favorite storybooks inside one fantastic truck! The bestselling Amazing Machines series of picture storybooks is available in a fabulous box set. With 10 mini storybooks inside, the Truckload of Fun collection is the perfect gift for every preschooler who loves vehicles. From airplanes and diggers to rockets and tractors, these critically acclaimed picture books are full of fun rhyming text, bright artwork, and wacky animal characters to engage and delight young children as they learn about machines. Each book includes a helpful illustrated glossary of technical words to help build vocabulary.

Learn about the sounds different vehicles make.

From luxury limousines to speedy sports cars, Amazing Machines: Cool Cars features a wide variety of automobiles-- all driven by kooky animal characters. Lively rhyming text by the award-winning poet Tony Mitton perfectly complements Ant Parker's bold, bright illustrations. A picture dictionary identifying car parts builds vocabulary and makes learning about cars even more fun.

With 35 projects that you'll love to make and a helpful techniques section, this book will teach you all about sewing machines. Start out with Clothes and Accessories, where you can make a felt collar and cosy scarf, as well as a pretty skirt.

This delightful introduction to the inventions of Leonardo da Vinci teaches young readers about the painstaking but rewarding art of design and discovery. George the sheep is happy living outside in his meadow except for one thing: when it rains, he shrinks to the size of a mouse; when the sun comes out he grows enormous. Befuddled, his owner Leon sets out to find a way to shelter George from the rain. A huge set of bat wings to dry his fur? A wheeled chariot to keep out the wet? Finally he alights on the perfect solution—a large umbrella. But when the wind plays havoc with this contraption Leon must put pencil to paper once again to come up with a solution. Through careful measuring, sketching, and a truly indefatigable spirit, Leon, like his fifteenth-century namesake, solves the kinds of problems that have challenged inventors throughout history. Cleverly invoking the mechanical genius of Leonardo da Vinci, this delightful children’s book explores the art of invention through illustrations and an entertaining story.

It's time to go to the amusement park! Giant rides loom around you, and countless parts are in motion. But many simple machines are at work too. See the Ferris wheel? That's a wheel and axle. Try your luck at skee-ball. You're using an inclined plane. Find out more about the simple machines behind the excitement.