LEGO Chain Reactions

Teach your bricks new tricks! Deep in the Controlled Chaos Department of Klutz Labs, we asked a simple question: What could be more Klutzy than a machine that performs a simple task through an elaborate chain reaction? The answer, of course, is a wacky chain reaction built of LEGO bricks. With this in mind, our team of experts, educators, and 11-year-olds helped us invent 10 machines that swing, bounce, spring... and teach kids the skills (and the physics behind the fun) they need to create their own marvelous machines.

Our step-by-step instructions make it easy to build the Flag-Waving Marble Kicker, the Barbell Spinner, and more. Young builders set up these machines in any order they choose to form a custom chain reaction. One thing leads to another, and another, and another, as the machines perform an ordinary task (like pushing a button on a keyboard) in an extraordinary way. With this book in hand and a handful of basic bricks from their LEGO collections, the only other thing that LEGO fans will need is a little imagination.

Recommended for 1 player, ages 8+.

Contents include: 78-page book of instruction and inspiration, 33 LEGO elements, 6 LEGO balls, 2.2 yds (2 m) of string, 8 paper ramps, 2 paper pop-up signs, 1 paper funnel, 1 paper flag, 1 paper bucket, 1 platform