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Tinkerlab by Rachelle Doorley
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Tinkerlab

A Hands-On Guide for Little Inventors

A Hands-On Guide for Little Inventors

By Rachelle Doorley

By Rachelle Doorley

By Rachelle Doorley

By Rachelle Doorley

Best Seller

Category: Science

Category: Science

Paperback $21.95

Jun 10, 2014 | ISBN 9781611800654

Ebook $16.99

Jun 10, 2014 | ISBN 9780834829862

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    Tinkerlab by Rachelle Doorley
    Paperback $21.95
    Jun 10, 2014 | ISBN 9781611800654

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    Paperback
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    • Paperback $21.95

      Jun 10, 2014 | ISBN 9781611800654

      Buy from Other Retailers:

    Ebook
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    • Ebook

      Jun 10, 2014 | ISBN 9780834829862

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    About Tinkerlab

    Encourage tinkering, curiosity, and creative thinking in children of all ages with these 55 hands-on activities that explore art, science, and more

    The creator of the highly popular creativity site for kids, Tinkerlab.com, now delivers dozens of engaging, kid-tested, and easy-to-implement projects that will help parents and teachers bring out the natural tinkerer in every kid—even babies, toddlers, and preschoolers.  

    The creative experiments shared in this book foster curiosity, promote creative and critical thinking, and encourage tinkering—mindsets that are important to children growing up in a world that values independent thinking.

    In addition to offering a host of activities that parents and teachers can put to use right away, this book also includes a buffet of recipes (magic potions, different kinds of play dough, silly putty, and homemade butter) and a detailed list of materials to include in the art pantry.

    About Tinkerlab

    Encourage tinkering, curiosity, and creative thinking in children of all ages with these 55 hands-on activities that explore art, science, and more

    The creator of the highly popular creativity site for kids, Tinkerlab.com, now delivers dozens of engaging, kid-tested, and easy-to-implement projects that will help parents and teachers bring out the natural tinkerer in every kid—even babies, toddlers, and preschoolers.  

    The creative experiments shared in this book foster curiosity, promote creative and critical thinking, and encourage tinkering—mindsets that are important to children growing up in a world that values independent thinking.

    In addition to offering a host of activities that parents and teachers can put to use right away, this book also includes a buffet of recipes (magic potions, different kinds of play dough, silly putty, and homemade butter) and a detailed list of materials to include in the art pantry.

    Also by Rachelle Doorley

    TinkerLab Art Starts
    See all books by Rachelle Doorley

    Also by Rachelle Doorley

    TinkerLab Art Starts
    See all books by Rachelle Doorley

    Product Details

    Category: Science

    Paperback | $21.95
    Published by Roost Books
    Jun 10, 2014 | 224 Pages | 7 x 9-1/2 | ISBN 9781611800654

    Category: Science

    Ebook | $16.99
    Published by Roost Books
    Jun 10, 2014 | 224 Pages | ISBN 9780834829862
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    Praise

    “I highly recommend Tinkerlab to any parent with young children! I read the book in one sitting (it was that well written) but know I will be referring back to it for years as I encourage my own daughters’ tinkering, experimenting, and creative development.”—Jean V’ant Hul, author of The Artful Parent
     
    “I love Tinkerlab! This book is a glorious invitation for wonder and delight. The teacher in me respects the approach to creativity, process, and self-directed exploration. The mom in me is charmed by the easy-access of materials and projects. Fun! Fun! Fun!”—Lynn Brunelle, author of Pop Bottle Science

    “Being playful and creative is such a vital necessity in today’s world!  As an arts educator and parent of a curious four-year-old, I greatly value and embrace the ‘tinkering mindset’ at the core of Doorley’s Tinkerlab.  What an exceptional resource for all ages as we work to include more creative experiences and explorations in our lives.”—Michael Murawski, PhD, Director of Education & Public Programs at the Portland Art Museum and Founder and Editor at ArtMuseumTeaching.com

    Author Q&A

    1. Your new book chronicles how you, a self-proclaimed geek mom, get through the challenges of parenting by turning to the logic of science. What do you hope parents take away from your stories?
     
    That we’re all doing our best and things come up. Parenting is a great challenge. Laugh if you can and let it change you. Let it tweak the lens a little bit. But look into the hard stuff–the stuff that makes you squirm and look deep. There are goodies in the muck!
     
     
    2. The subjects of science and parenting seem really far apart. Do they really mix?
     
    To me they are enthusiastically yoked together. It’s such a lovely perspective to glance through and stare through. Parenting is all about science. Because honestly, science is about observing, asking questions, solving problems, making mistakes and trying again and again. How is that NOT being a parent?
     
     
    3. You describe a lot of ways you bring science into family traditions, from making quicksand for Halloween play to creating paper snowflakes every Christmas. Do you have a favorite science tradition?
     
    The game is always changing and one thing I learn over and over is be open and roll with it. So traditions meld over time. I do love the 6-sided paper snowflakes storm that my husband and I make every year for the boys on Christmas Eve so they’ll have snow when they wake up. My kids love the fire-and-ice play at camp-outs where they can melt the dickens out of a marshmallow and then turn around and make ice cream in a baggie. New traditions pop up-recently they’ve been loving exploding water balloons. The trick is to always be open to new ideas!
     
     
    4. You obviously LOVE science. What do you say to adults who don’t share your zeal? What do you say to kids?
     
    People who don’t like science probably don’t like how they were taught science when they were little. The world is such an amazing place and everything around us is dazzling if you really look at it. How a cut heals is magical! Optical illusions are amazing. When you add heat, why does chocolate melt and eggs harden? For anyone who has ever wondered “Why? and “How?” there is science zeal to be discovered!
     
     
    5. Has being a parent changed your relationship to science?
     
    Being a parent has changed everything! Anything that gets you out of your own head and your own perspective solely is life changing. Has it changed how I see science? Yes. I have leaned on science like you do an old friend who never lets you down. It astounds me and makes me wonder more and more.

    Table Of Contents

    Introduction                                                                                                         
     
    Prepare
    1. Creating Your Tinkerlab                                                        
    Tips for Clearing Children’s Clutter by Jillian Maxim                       
    What Nursery Schools Can Teach Us about Creative Invitations: An Interview with Nancy Howe                                                                           
    2. Tools for Tinkering                                                                              
    3. Ten Tinkerlab Habits of Mind                                                                          
     
    Experience
    4. Design                                                                                                    
    Oh No, That’s Not Creative! by Jessica Hoffmann Davis                      
    Experience #1: Circle Games                                           
    Experience #2: Peel and Stick                                                                  
    Experience #3: Glue, Glue, Glue                                                                        
    Experience #4: Mark Outside the Box                                                       
    Experience #5: Watercolor Exploration                                                         
    Experience #6: Yes, You Can Paint on That!                                                 
    Experience #7: Monoprints                                                                            
    Experience #8: Bubble Prints                                                                            
    Experience #9: Drawing Games                                                                
    Experience #10: Draw What You See                                                                 
    Experience #11: Art Dice                                                                        
    Experience #12: Paint Experiments                                                    
    Experience #13: Paste Paper                                                                              
    10 Lessons the Arts Teach by Elliot Eisner                                         
    Experience #14: Marbleized Paper with Paint and Oil                                              
    Experience #15: Plexiglas Painting                                                               
    Experience #16: Foam Plate Relief Prints                                                        
    Experience #17: Collage Painting                                                                     
    Finding Your Five-Year-Old Self in the Art Museum by Margie Maynard   
     
    5. Build
    The Value of Loose Parts: An Interview with Susan Harris MacKay           
    Project #1: Gumdrop Structures                                                                       
    Project #2: Hanging Structures                                                                            
    Project #3: Straw Rockets                                                         
    Project #4: Marble Runs: Ramps and Gravity                                               
    Project #5: Paper Houses                                                                                
    Project #6: Scrap Building
    Project #7: Ropes and Pulleys                                                                           
    Project #8: CD Spinner                                                  
    Project #9: Does It Float?
    Project #10: Pounding Nails                                                                            
    Project #11: Take Things Apart                                                                        
    Project #12: Drawing Machine                                                             
    Project #13: DIY Robot                                                                            
    DIY Kids: Building Tomorrow’s Innovators through Hands-on Making by Grace Hawthorne                                                                                                       
     
    6. Concoct
    Yes, and . . . How to Improvise with Children: An Interview with Dan Klein        
    Experiment #1: Potion Station                      
    Experiment #2: Goop                                                                            
    Experiment #3: Marker Explosions                                                   
    Experiment #4: Make Your Own (Semiedible) Paint                                                 
    Experiment #5: Slime                                                                              
    Experiment #6: Ice and Salt Exploration                                                            
    Experiment #7: Ice Cream in a Jar: An Edible Investigation                                     
    Experiment #8: Frozen Carbon Dioxide                                                               
    Experiment #9: Yeast and Sugar Expansion                                   
    Experiment #10: Naked Egg Experiment                                                           
    Experiment #11: G-Ma’s Butter: An Edible Investigation                                        
    Experiment #12: Lemon Invisible Ink                                                                   
    Experiment #13: Glittery Egg Geodes      
    Experiment #14: Natural Dyes                                                                      
    Experiment #15: Kitchen Challenge: An Edible Investigation                                  
    Concoctions in a Michelin-Starred Kitchen: An Interview with Bruno Chemel 
     
    7. Discover
    How to Set Up a Discovery Area that Honors the Child: An Interview with Parul Chandra                                                                                                           
    Exploration #1: Playdough Building 
    Exploration #2: Cloud Dough                                                              
    Exploration #3: Pounding Flowers                                                 
    Exploration #4: Scavenger Hunts                                                                  
    Exploration #5: DIY Light Box                                                                  
    Exploration #6: Photograms                                                                      
    Exploration #7: Ephemeral Installation                                          
    Exploration #8: Shadow Investigations                                                 
    Exploration #9: DIY Lava Lamp                                                             
    Exploration #10: Mystery Bag                                                                  
    The Benefits of Basic Materials by Jennifer Winters                                     
     
    Acknowledgments                                                                                                     
    The Busy Parent’s Planner                                                                                  
    References                                                                                                           
    About the Contributors                                                                                       About the Author                                                                                               

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