POP-POP STEAMBOAT
Build a toy steamer that runs only on heat and the water it’s floating in.
When you picture a steam engine, you likely imagine a giant cast-iron contraption festooned with knobs, valves, gauges, linkages, and wheels. This steam-powered toy boat has no moving parts and needs only a flame and the surrounding water to zip around and make its distinctively happy sound.
My interest in pop-pop boats began when I saw Hayao Miyazaki’s stunning children’s movie, Ponyo. In it, Ponyo and her friend Sosuke sail a scaled-up version of Sosuke’s pop-pop boat around a flooded city. The boat requires only a candle and some water to run.
Once commonplace, these toys have given way to battery-powered plastic. But the pop-pop ...
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