Makerspace Nonfiction

Computer hacking takes on a whole new meaning when you're going at it with a screwdriver and hammer: announcing the most wildly inventive, eco-friendly craft book on repurposing everyday objects since Generation T. Except in this case the raw material isn't a T-shirt, but the stuff we all have lying around and have no idea what to do with, or even how to get rid of properly—your old cell phone, a broken printer, irredeemable iPod, busted digital camera, mysterious thatches of cables and wires, orphaned keyboards, and of course, those dead PCs and laptops.

Most of Leonardo's inventions were never made in his lifetime—they remained sketches in his famous notebooks. Amazing Leonardo da Vinci Inventions You Can Build Yourself shows you how to bring these ideas to life using common household supplies. Detailed step-by-step instructions, diagrams, and templates for creating each project combine with historical facts and anecdotes, biographies and trivia about the real-life models for each project. Together they give kids a first-hand look intothe amazing mind of one the world’s greatest inventors.

Combining fun and interactive activities, this guide will have kids captivated for hours constructing fantastic racing cars with the basics of only rubber bands, cardboard, and glue. These simple instructions with templates allow budding engineers to gain hands-on experience as they learn not only how to build a basic racer, but how to make modifications such as aluminum foil axle bearings, steering mechanisms, hinges, cam shafts, and wheels made out of old CDs.

Creativity knows no bounds! LEGO artist Sean Kenney reuses the same thirty-five LEGO bricks to create a variety of images in all categories: vehicles, spaceships, home accessories, animals, nature, robots, and many other subjects. This new LEGO offering is sure to spark imagination and encourage kids to think outside the box, which is the message that Sean strongly promotes about creativity, imagination, and building with LEGO.

Whether you're looking for something to do on a rainy day or making a personalized gift for a friend, crafts are a great way to pass the time. They also provide an opportunity to learn how to draw meaning from technical texts. The activities in this book push readers to read for comprehension, use information gained from the text and illustrations to follow step-by-step directions, determine relationships among steps in a technical process, and build the skills they need to make amazing crafts with duct tape.

Whether you're looking for something to do on a rainy day or making a personalized gift for a friend, crafts are a great way to pass the time. They also provide an opportunity to learn how to draw meaning from technical texts. The activities in this book push readers to read for comprehension, use information gained from the text and illustrations to follow step-by-step directions, determine relationships among steps in a technical process, and build the skills they need to make crafts using recyclable materials.

DIY Box Creations includes a variety of out-of-the-box cardboard creations for families to build together, transforming leftover boxes into an assortment of step-by-step projects. From planes, trains, forts, lemonade stands, and puppet theaters, have fun building memories and creativity with each step.

This user-friendly family guide to 3-D printing is packed with exciting ideas for how to design and print your own toys, gadgets, models, and ornaments, and doesn't even require any specialist software.

Twenty-five interactive cardboard model projects that engage kids' creativity and "out of the box" thinking skills through hands-on learning and the application of science-based principles.

How do you land a rover on Mars, resolve a perpetual traffic jam or save a herd of caribou from potential extinction? Ask an engineer! Author Shannon Hunt presents nine real-life problems for which engineers designed inventive (and even crazy!) solutions. Each was solved using a different field of engineering --- from aerospace and mechanical to the new field of geomatics. A helpful seven-step flowchart of the engineering design process is also featured: define the problem, investigate the requirements, develop solutions, design a prototype, test it, improve it and share the idea.

What can you do with a cardboard tube? Simple, step by step instructions transform ordinary household items into fun DIY crafts and games.

Children love challenges, especially ones that involve hands-on experimentation and friendly competition. Can they build a sturdy bridge using only pasta and glue, one that a toy car can drive both under and over? Can they create a device to safely catch a freefalling egg? The projects in Junk Drawer Engineering demonstrate that you don’t need high-tech equipment to make learning fun—just what you can find in your recycling bin and around the house.

Around the world, makers come together to share their ideas and inventions at Maker Faires. Readers will integrate visual information with text and learn technical word meanings as they read what it is like to visit these incredible events and see some of the world's most innovative new projects. They will also find out how to volunteer at Maker Faires or event plan their own maker events.

Put on that lab coat and secure those safety glasses before testing over 30 kid-safe experiments that use common household items. Grow geodes in eggshells, make a bouncing ball out of slime, and build a rubber band solar system!

Game design requires many skills including imagination, problem solving, communication, and teamwork. These characteristics make it a natural fit for the Maker movement. From board games to video games, this exciting title introduces readers to the essential basics of game design including game components and systems, prototype design, play testing, and the steps in the iterative design process.

In this inspired title, readers will discover the elements graphic designers use, such as colors, shapes, fonts, and perspective, to convey their messages. Creative and engaging maker projects help readers use these same elements to create their own graphic design works. Makers and Shakers sidebars introduce readers to some of the most innovative graphic designers and their work.

Spaces have been designed to allow users t create, build, and learn new projects and technologies, makerspaces employ a variety of tools such as 3-D printers, AutoCAD design software, and even open-source hardware like Arduino Kits. Developing a community around shared use of space and equipment, a tenet of the makerspace movement, fits squarely into libraries' mission. Bagley examines nine makerspaces in public, academic, and school libraries, describing their design and technical decisions in depth and showing how each is doing something unique and different, under a wide range of budgets and project offerings.

Making Simple Robots is based on one idea: Anybody can build a robot! That includes kids, school teachers, parents, and non-engineers. If you can knit, sew, or fold a flat piece of paper into a box, you can build a no-tech robotic part. If you can use a hot glue gun, you can learn to solder basic electronics into a low-tech robot that reacts to its environment. And if you can figure out how to use the apps on your smart phone, you can learn enough programming to communicate with a simple robot.

Perfect for kids, parents, and educators,_ Paper Inventions_ is a project-based book with full color illustrations, step-by-step instructions, supply lists, and templates that allow you to follow along with the book or devise something entirely new. Each chapter features new projects that will challenge and intrigue everyone, from beginning to experienced Makers.

Written for educators, homeschoolers, parents--and kids!--this fully illustrated book provides a fun mix of projects, discussion materials, instructions, and subjects for deeper investigation around the basics of homemade flying objects. With the projects in this book, you can spend more time learning and experimenting, and less time planning and preparing. Complete with download links to PDF templates that expand your teaching, this is your one-stop manual for learning about, interacting with, and being curious about airflow, gravity, torque, power, ballistics, pressure, and force.

Start Making! is a program developed by the Clubhouse Network to engage young people all over the world in Maker-inspired activities. With this guide, you will discover how to plan and coordinate Start Making! projects in your home, school, library, community center, after-school club, or makerspace. You'll learn strategies for engaging young people in creative thinking, developing individual and team projects, and sharing and reflecting on their creations.

A book by a kid for kids of all ages! Super-Awesome Sylvia is a kid who loves making, tinkering, and art. Her Web video series, Super-Awesome Sylvia's Super-Awesome Maker Show, has millions of views. In this super fun book, Sylvia teaches you to understand Arduino microcontroller programming by inventing an adjustable strobe and two digital musical instruments you can play! Along the way, you'll learn a lot about electronics, coding, science, and engineering.

Makers, get ready: This is your ultimate, must-have, tip-packed guide for taking your DIY projects to the next level—from basic wood- and metalworking skills to 3D printing and laser-cutting wizardry, plus the entrepreneurial and crowd-sourcing tactics needed to transform your back-of-the-envelope idea into a gleaming finished product.

This easy-to-follow guide features dozens of DIY, low-cost projects that will arm you with the skills necessary to dream up and build your own creations. The Big Book of Makerspace Projects: Inspiring Makers to Experiment, Create, and Learn offers practical tips for beginners and open-ended challenges for advanced makers. Each project features non-technical, step-by-step instructions with photos and illustrations to ensure success and expand your imagination. You will learn recyclables hacks, smartphone tweaks, paper circuits, e-textiles, musical instruments, coding and programming, 3-D printing, and much, much more!

This fascinating picture-book biography of Philo Farnsworth covers his early interest in machines and electricity, leading up to how he put it all together in one of the greatest inventions of the 20th century.