Boom! Crash! Crumble! A wrecking ball smashes into the side of a building, sending pieces flying. It’s an awe-inspiring sight. It’s also science!


This book explores how things break down, crack, explode, crumple, and shatter. This fun, unique take on a how-things-work book explores the world through the lens of what it takes for things to, well, not work. In these vibrantly illustrated pages, you’ll peer through the smoke and rubble of controlled demolitions to discover the properties of building materials. Then get a glimpse of the inner workings of a cracked cell phone screen, peek carefully at mega-avalanches and sinkholes, and hold on tight as wrecking balls swing and car crushers crunch metal. Buckle up with crash-test dummies and travel back in time to explore the world’s most famous failures (looking at you, Leaning Tower of Pisa).


Featuring hands-on activities that walk kids through their own experiments in destruction, Break Down! will change the way you look at the world.


Topics include:
* Demolition and controlled destruction
* Things that are built to break
* History’s famous failures
* Natural disasters
* And more!


Complete the collection with these other National Geographic Kids Titles:
How Things Work
How Things Work: Inside Out
How Things Work: Then and Now


Check out the How Things Work video series on the National Geographic Kids YouTube channel.

MARA GRUNBAUM is an award-winning science journalist, editor, and author based in Seattle, Washington. She uses humor, accessible writing, and solid science to inform audiences of all ages and interests. Brunbaum has covered all areas of science but has a particular penchant for the strange, slimy, and generally biological. Her work has appeared in outlets such as Slate, Popular Science, Live Science, Discover, Scholastic Science World, and the New York Times for Kids. She is also a senior editor for Natural History magazine and the former editor of Scholastic SuperScience, a classroom science magazine for students in grades 3 to 6. Brunbaum won the AAAS Kavli Science Journalism Award for Children’s Science News and has a master’s degree in science, health, and environmental reporting from New York University. You can find her online at https://www.maragrunbaum.com/ or on Twitter @maragrunbaum.

chapter 1ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUSTOut with a Bang: Building ImplosionsGot a Job to Do: Demolition EngineerCrushing It: Junk Car CrushersTimber!: Felling Giant TreesSmash it Up: Wrecking BallsLesson Learned: Demolition DisasterLook Out Below: Bridge RemovalTry This!: Make a Bridge out of Craft Sticks chapter 2BUILT TO BREAKCrash Compactor: Car Crumple ZonesGot a Job to Do: Crash-Test EngineerShock Absorber: Electrical FusesBig Bangs: FireworksLesson Learned: Fireworks FailHead Protector: Bike HelmetsBurn, Baby, Burn: Space Reentry CapsuleTry This!: Build a Package to Protect a Precious Treat chapter 3FAMOUS FAILURESThe Titanic: How the Ship SankSticky Situation: The Great Molasses FloodGot a Job to Do: Forensic EngineerUp in Flames: The HindenburgLesson Learned: Galloping Gerty BridgeLeaning Tower of Pisa: How and Why the Tower LeansSinking Stadium: The Minnesota Metrodome CollapseNot-So-Great Pyramids: The Meidum and Bent Pyramids of EgyptTry This!: Build a Strong Tower—Then Watch it Fall chapter 4DESTRUCTIVE BY NATURESwallowed Up: Sink HolesShake it Up: EarthquakesLesson Learned: California QuakeGone to Rot: DecompositionAvalaaaaanche!: What Causes AvalanchesGot a Job to Do: Storm ChaserPlague of Pests: Swarming LocustsTry This!: Keep Apples from Decomposing chapter 5EVERYDAY CHAOS 156The Big Burst: Popping a BalloonScreen Saver: Shattered Phone ScreensGot a Job to Do: Skateboard TesterSay Aaaaah!: Tooth Decay and CavitiesSuper Skeleton: How Broken Bones HealMetal Destroyer: RustAll Backed Up: Clogged ToiletsLesson Learned: The Great StinkTry This!: Discover How to Make Rust—And Stop it from Forming In the First Place back matterEVEN MOREGlossaryBibliographyFind Out More!IndexCredits