Thames and Kosmos Power House - Green Essentials Edition
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| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Model | 626114 |
| MPN | 626114 |
| Height | 16.5 inches |
| Width | 6.4 inches |
| Weight | 3.1 pounds |
| Release Date | 2009-03-15 |
| Batteries Included | 0 |
| Brand | Thames & Kosmos |
| EAN | 0857853001827 |
| Length | 13 inches |
| Label | Thames & Kosmos |
| List Price | $89.95 |
| Manufacturer | Thames & Kosmos |
| Package Quantity | 1 |
| Publisher | Thames & Kosmos |
| Studio | Thames & Kosmos |
| UPC | 857853001827 |
| Manufacturer Maximum Age | 600 |
| Manufacturer Minimum Age | 120 |
| Batteries | 2 |
| Binding | Toy |
| Product Group | Toy |
| Product Type Name | TOYS_AND_GAMES |
| Title | Thames and Kosmos Power House - Green Essentials Edition |
| Feature | Great science project |
| Amazon Maximum Age | 1188 |
| Amazon Minimum Age | 120 |
| Hazardous Material Type | Unknown |
| Additional Features | |
| Age Range | |
| Type |
| Model Name/Type | MPN | EAN/UPC |
|---|
User Reviews: Thames and Kosmos Power House - Green Essentials Edition
All User Reviews
Featured Review
reviewed December 19, 2009 at 10:29 am The age suggested for this kit is 12+. My son is 8, almost 9, and so he's a little young for it, but I figured since he already helped when we built our passive solar house (a real house) and since he's a building and green freak, he'd be ok with this kit, even though he's a little young.
The pros:
- Helps kids (or adults) learn about all sorts of awesome green building and green living ideas, from passive solar heating and cooling, to growing plants, to how energy works, to solar cookers and so much more.
- Fun - all the experiments are small scale, not too complicated, and not at all boring. Cedar LOVED all the experiments in the book that was included.
- Story based learning. The manual is more than a manual for experiments. There's an actual back story that helps to involve your kids in why you're doing the experiments. The story was a little long winded for Cedar, my son, but for an older kid maybe not. I found it interesting.
The cons:
- The actual materials used for the kit, aren't entirely eco-friendly. But they're also not excessive, so that's a perk.
- The manual instructions could be a little better. For example, we thought we were following the instructions correctly when building the house for the first time, but some of the instructions were so unclear that it took us a while to figure it out. The images along with said instructions are also hard to follow.
- The house is a little flimsy. When trying to do experiments with the house, you have to be hyper careful, or the house will fall apart.
- The kit has almost everything included, but be aware you'll need some helpful extras. Playdough, for example, and that's not included. This isn't really a pro, but more a be aware issue.
Overall: for the cost, you get a house kit full of enough experiments to keep you busy all year long. Literally. There's plenty of neat stuff you can try with this house, and you can redo experiments to see new results. My son loved it, and although the age recommended is 12+ if you've got a younger child who likes science, building, or green issues, he or she could easily have fun with and learn from this kit with adult help. I wouldn't think that this is appropriate for a child under the age of 8 years though.
Visit the Green Power House page for more details or pick it up at the Discovery Store.
Wiki: Thames and Kosmos Power House - Green Essentials Edition
Power House provides an introduction for kids and /or adults to sustainable energy sources and teaches basic concepts and principles in physical science. Using the kit will teach you about how to use heat and light energy from the sun, wind power, and electrochemical and plant energy.
The Power House kit allows you to build a model house complete with solar panels, windmill, greenhouse, and desalination system. The experiments were developed by physicist Uwe Wandrey so they’re actual working projects and experiments.
There are plenty of easy-to-follow activities included in a 96-page full color manual that highlights 70 experiments and 20 building projects, organized into the following nine chapters:
- The Heat Trap: Construct and experiment with a greenhouse.
- The Sun Collector: Collect the sun’s rays to heat water.
- The Sun Burners: Make a solar cooker while learning about the principles of light before you cook rice and bake bread.
- The Water Vampire: Desalinate water, plant watercress, produce sauerkraut and make chewing gum.
- The Heat Absorbers: Learn how heat of evaporation provides cooling, conduct experiments about air humidity, build a hygrometer and test a refrigerator.
- Power Plants: Grow beans, make a potted plant feed a candle, harvest sunflower energy, build an oil press, and assemble an oil lamp.
- The Energy Converters: Extract electric current from sunlight and metals in acid, build a light telephone, galvanize a nail and split water into hydrogen and oxygen.
- The Forces of Magnetism: Generate electric current with magnetic fields. Build a current indicator, electric and solar motors, a transfer switch, and a crane. Lift pencils with the sun and learn about levers. Build an electric car.
- Wings in the Wind: Build a sail car and learn how wings and sails transform energy. Learn to sail with the wind, by the wind, and against the wind and examine a mixed energy vehicle.
The kit contains: foam house and plastic greenhouse parts • frame • base • wood glue • solar panel • compass • wire • LED (light emitting diode) • battery holder • small light bulb and holder • solar motor • magnifying glass • propellers, iron core • ring magnet • thermometer • test tube holder • measuring beaker • sand paper • copper foil • zinc plate • wire mesh • many small parts such as paper clips • screws • clips • lead sinker • washers • wing nuts • iron powder • wires • tubing • rubber bands • yarn • wooden components • cutouts for devices • and full-color, illustrated 96 page Experiment Manual with 70 experiments and 20 building activities.




