It Don’t Mean a Thing If It Ain’t Got That Swing (Arm)

The term “Renaissance Man” might as well have been coined specially for Leonardo da Vinci — he was an artist, engineer, inventor, mathematician, sculptor, architect, and more.  Part of da Vinci’s genius lay in the way that he could analyze and improve upon existing technology, thus producing stronger bridges, more effective siege engines, and catapults that were deadlier at longer range. (Not to mention more beautiful buildings and paintings!)

Da Vinci redesigned the medieval catapult around 1485, producing a war machine that used the spring-like energy stored in the bent wood in order to give power to the swing arm.  Now, thanks to Pathfinders Design and Technology, your little warrior can have his or her very own catapult!

The da Vinci Catapult kit allows kids (and adults) to construct a working model of the 15th century catapult, using natural untreated wood (from sustainable forests, naturally).  All pieces are pre-cut, and ready to go.  Parts that are stressed are pegged together for extra strength.  The catapult takes about an hour to construct, and will fire the included “cannonball” about 4 metres (we haven’t tested it with spitballs, which seemed to me to be the more natural ammunition — I’m betting they’d go further.)

The da Vinci Catapult  $18.99.  In stock now.

 

Why a Groupon is Not Always a Deal

* Or not a deal for the consumer, at least.

I was amused to receive an email link this morning to the Groupon Daily Deal for my local city, which breathlessly touted a 51% discount on a science toy that we carry (the 6-in-1 Solar Kit, left).  The Groupon allows consumers to buy the item at a mere $19, plus $4 shipping, from a company that apparently sells only this one thing (there are no other items listed on their website).  The “regular” price is listed as a staggering $39.

The interesting thing here is that the manufacturer’s suggested retail price for the science kit in question is, in fact, $19.99.  Twenty bucks.  We sell it for that price all year round, every day.

So how much of deal is that for the consumer, when he or she can buy a Groupon that essentially enables him to buy an item at the regular price?  (Plus shipping, of course.)  More than 40 people bought in to this “deal” — I wonder if they’ll be sore when they find out that their coupon was no deal at all?

Oil From Plastic

The amount of plastic that we use and sell in the store has been an increasing worry to us, both from the standpoint of our carbon footprint (with regard to climate change) and with regard to the phenomenon of Peak Oil and decreasing world energy supplies.

Here’s a video from United Nations University that shows a Japanese inventor and CEO named Akinori Ito, whose table-top-sized machinery might not only be the answer to overflowing landfills, but also might help us eke out our energy supplies a little longer.  Brilliant!

Families, Go Play Outside!

It's the Truth

We have a dirty little secret in our family:  dirty, and dusty, and leaf-mold-y.  We are geocachers.  Other people may spend their free time throwing a football around, or sailing, or even watching television; but we like to go out into the woods — or the fields, or even the parking lots of the world — and find things that other geocachers have hidden.

Geocaching is essentially a high-tech game of hide-and-seek treasure hunting, in which participants use GPS devices to find their way to hidden items called “caches”.  Often the only reward is the thrill of success (the “Aha!” moment) but often there are little trinkets in the container to be traded.

And that is — in part, at least — what makes this such a great family activity.  Children love the whole concept of adventure and hiking in the outdoors, and they especially love the idea of finding hidden treasure.  Geocaching is essentially an outing that has an additional purpose, a game that children are often especially good at (in part because they are naturally curious, but also — let’s face it — because they tend to be shorter and have better vision than adults and can more easily see close to the ground.)

For the child who is interested in the natural sciences, the hobby of geocaching offers a welcome opportunity to hone his observational skills.  There are plenty of birds, beasts, and crawly things to be observed along the way, and the practice of close inspection (which is, after all, necessary to find hidden items) serves the budding biologist well.  A field guide to identify plants, bugs, or birds, a small pair of binoculars, and a child’s field microscope (see photo below) are great accessories to bring along on geocaching expeditions.  A small hand-held compass would also be a great addition (though GPS systems do have a compass function) so that kids can learn about navigation and bushwhacking.

Two Way Field Microscope for Junior Cachers

The only truly necessary equipment for geocaching, though, is a GPS (global positioning system).  Experienced geocachers don’t recommend using automotive GPS systems, as the caches may be a considerable distance from car parking, and the search radius would therefore be uncomfortably large.  There are a great many hand-held GPS systems available, starting at under $100, which will do a great job (we have a Garmin, which we like a lot), and you can also download GPS apps for smartphones such as the iPhone and the Blackberry which will essentially turn them into GPS systems (and they seem to work just fine).

Geocaching has encouraged us to get out into the world and see things we might never have noticed had we not been trying to find a cache:  lovely parks, beautiful vistas, historic buildings, quiet trails.  We usually bring our dog along (though she’s proven herself quite useless as a treasure-finding-dog) and she loves the outings too.

For a complete introduction to this engrossing hobby, visit Geocaching – The Official GPS Cache Hunt Site.  Basic membership is free, and allows you to seek (and hide!) caches in your area or wherever you may travel around the world.  They have a good little video on the page that explains all the basics.

Now get out there, and have fun!