The Tinkering Workshop: Explore, Invent & Build with Everyday Materials; 100 Hands-On STEAM Projects

by Ryan Jenkins

A makerspace educator inspires kids to be creative with 100 inventive tinkering projects that illustrate the principles of science, encourage experimentation and discovery, and sharpen STEAM skills.

Gather some basic tools and supplies from a hardware store, garage, basement, woodshop, or recycling bin. Now get ready to tinker, explore, and engineer with screws, bendy wire, metal washers, plastic pipes, dowels, electronics, LED lights, and more! Makerspace educator Ryan Jenkins inspires kids aged 8 to 12 to look at familiar supplies in new and unexpected ways, to think with their hands, troubleshoot tricky constructions, and sharpen their problem-solving skills. Kids are invited to imagine how to use the supplies on hand with projects, such as building Flexible Forts with cardboard and screws, making Art Robots with hobby motors, constructing a Water Factory with plastic pipes, balancing Sky Trams on strings, and engineering Surprising Switches with wire and foil. As they build, they'll learn about balance, center of gravity, comparative measuring, electricity, and more. Engaging photography jump-starts hours of curiosity and creativity. Start with a string, PVC pipe, cardboard ramp, or flexible tube—and see where it leads!

168 pages, Hardcover

Published October 15, 2024

Reviews

[Literary Redhead · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a terrific book for teaching STEM to kids 8-12 through 100 projects they will love to explore. Filled with great photos and fun activities, and perfect for keeping children engaged through hot summer months or cold winter days on holiday

[Bailey Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Tinkering Workshop: Explore, Invent, & Build With Everyday Materials is a fascinating, educational, engrossing, explanatory, fun, innovative, and creative story! This STEAM book includes 100 hands on STEAM projects. I am absolutely floored by the creativity of this book. There are so many fascinating science projects. I love that it doesn't just show projects it encourages the reader to create their own. This emphasis on individual innovation is accompanied by detailed explanations of how materials can be used. The science behind materials, flexibility, durability, magnetizim, etc. are all explained so the reader can choose the correct tools for their creation. These detailed explanations will help readers to self-correct as they innovate.

[Jasmine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an amazing tinkering and STEM resource! The photography is beautiful, and the projects are fun and inspiring, showcasing how you can use common household materials in any number of creative ways. What I especially love about the book is how open-ended it is — it encourages the reader to play and experiment, empowering the reader to get creative, while providing enough instructions and suggestions to get you started.

Definitely recommend this book for STEM educators as well as anyone who loves to tinker and play!

[Nicolas Villagra · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Tinkering Workshop is a treasure trove of clever, accessible ideas for kids’ DIY projects. I loved the beautiful photography and the fact that the ideas were open-ended and creative rather than just a step-by-step craft. This will be a fantastic resource for teachers and parents to help unleash children’s inner maker!

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s an amazing resource to inspire kids and adults to enjoy materials exploration while testing ideas, building and inventing stories

[Lisa Roppel · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Tinkering Workshop is a great way to get kids of all ages creating! It suggests a wide range of everyday items to use to build STEAM projects that they will probably find in most homes, classrooms, camps, etc. STEAM incorporates science, technology, engineering, art, and mathematics so it will appeal to most all children. The book is written in a child friendly format with lots of photos of children and their creations and uncluttered pages with less text. The book is organized into big ideas so that the child can quickly flip to the section that appeals to them.

I would recommend this book as a great addition to a child's personal library, school/classroom library, camp or public library shelf.
This book is expected to be released Oct. 15, 2024.

Thank you Net Galley, Ryan Jenkins, Storey Publishing for the opportunity to preview this text and my opinions are all my own,

#NetGalley #RyanJenkins #StoreyPublishing #TheTinkeringWorkshop #STEAM #Innovate #letscreate #kidsinnovating

[Brooke - TheBrookeList · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Trash is a failure of imagination." Wow, this book is my son's dream. All the things to tinker with, instructions on how to use the tools, ideas of what you might build or how it might work. It's a feast for creativity and imagination. My son's natural inclination is to make and break and mess with all the things. He has forts of wood, mud from the creek, and willows from the yard. He's got scraps of wood and wire everywhere and perhaps his best friend is a spring I keep threatening to throw away. What do to with it all? How to invent and play with all these magical parts? Look no further. The Tinkering Workshop has great ideas, great photographs, instructions and explanations, and just plain joy in childhood from all the stuff you already have around the house. It's the "I'm bored" solution most parents are looking for in a tech-heavy world.

Read as a nomination in the nonfiction book award category as a panelist for Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards (Cybils Awards).

[Lablover · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book. Some ideas involve items you might have lying around your house. Others, you might have to purchase materials. He even gives you a nice example of a tinkering work desk if your child is really into it. But many of the ideas could be done on in an afternoon. Some would be great to do when kids are home during the summer.