Scott Sherman, age 8, of Des Moines, Iowa, for his question:

HOW ARE BRICKS MADE?

Bricks are made from one of the earth's most plentiful building materials  clay. After the clay is dug, it is crushed to make its particles a uniform size. Water is added and a large machine chops and mixes it until it becomes a gooey mass. Some bricks are made using a lot of water, and some are made using not quite so much water. Regardless of the method used, the gooey clay is formed into brick sized slabs and air dried. These are then put into a special oven, called a kiln, and heated to as much as 2,000 degrees F. The heat causes the clay particles to melt and fuse together to form a handsome and durable building material  brick.

At one time bricks were a common and inexpensive building material. As prices climb, however, even cheap building materials become expensive, and so the price of bricks has gone up and up. Regardless of their cost, bricks are superb building blocks, producing a structure that is both  pleasing to look at and sturdy. A house made of bricks can be expected to last a long time, and in the bargain will keep cool in the summer and warm in the cold winter.