Temperature Action Man!!

This mysterious magical action figure will be the children's latest and greatest action hero or heroine. It will change it's pose or form with temperature changes. A pliable rubbery skin hides a rigid skeleton made up of tiny sheets of metal. Each small sheet is made up of two different types of metal pieces which expand and contract at different rates, much like the metal in thermostats. With careful assembly of this skeleton, visible deforming of the entire figure will occur with large temperature changes. Such deformations as eyebrow movement could possibly be achieved with this method, so that the Action Man changes expression from sad when cold to angry when hot. Another possible option for construction of this temperature-sensitive mechanism is a jointed skeleton with muscle wire doing the contracting and expanding. This would demonstrate to a child the effects of temperature on metal.

to toy home to project home

Kevin M Peterson

Last modified: Fri Feb 2 18:51:25 EST 2001