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Táta Geek: Úžasné geekovské projekty a aktivity pro tatínky s dětmi
Být tátou geekem je docela výzva. Musíte být geekem. A musíte být tátou… Ukázalo se, že zkřížením geekovských a rodičovských genů vzniká mimořádně úrodné podhoubí nápadů, které nadchnou vás i děti.
Pusťte se do projektů, ve kterých zapojíte své geekovské já a předejte dětem celoživotní lásku ke vzdělávání.
Pusťte se do projektů, ve kterých zapojíte své geekovské já a předejte dětem celoživotní lásku ke vzdělávání.
240 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
46 people are currently reading
737 people want to read
About the author
Ken Denmead
9 books7 followersKen spent most of his life as an ordinary geek, playing D&D, video games, watching and reading geeky movies and books. He was GuideBAT on AOL when it was cool (for geeks), and ran a play-by-email Star Trek RPG called Starbase Phoenix. He also succeeded in marrying the love of his life, and having two great kids.
Then, one day, everything changed.
He answered an open call for new writers for the GeekDad blog at Wired.com, put on by Chris Anderson. He made the cut, and started writing up a storm. Six months later, Chris asked him to take over the blog. In the following two years, Ken has secured a book deal, and GeekDads readership has exploded (not, you know, literally).
Its all been a crazy ride and doesnt look to end anytime soon, but he hasnt given up his day-job quite yet.
"
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews
May 7, 2018
I've been a fan of the website for quite some time, so to see these ideas (sort of a Best Of List) was a great surprise. Mr. Denmead does an excellent job giving us a broad range of Geekily awesome projects, from the absolutely free to somewhat pricey. Probably my favorite part of the whole book is actually the prologue, wherein he discusses the differences between a Dork, a Geek and a Nerd, complete with a Venn Diagram! Highly recommend this book for those, like me, who are proud to pass along their Geekiness to the next generation!
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April 20, 2016Ken Denmead points out in the introduction to Geek Dad that most parenting books are about things to do to your kids rather than things to do with your progeny. (And I believe he would approve the use of the word "progeny" to denote one's offspring, as well as this self-conscious explanation of word choice.) This book is of the latter variety—specifically, it is a manual for geeky fathers to bond with and engender geekiness in their kids by sharing the sublime experience of geeking out about stuff.
If you're already a geek, you'll love this book immediately. (Denmead uses Venn diagrams, for crying out loud!) From making cyborg Jack-o'-Lanterns and electronic origami to creating your own RPG and building your own movie theater outside, there's literally something for every species of Homo Geekus and his many variations.
If you aren't yet a geek, buy this book and you soon will be. Who could resist making their own cartoons....and storyboarding with Legos? Better yet, who could resist making their own cartoons with their adorable and impressionable children? Only a cold-hearted man (or possibly a jock, but do they even have kids?) out to kill happiness and destroy fun. For that man, this book is Kryptonite.
Each activity is assessed by cost, difficulty, time, reusability and requisite materials. Denmead walks readers through instructions carefully and thoroughly, though (atypically of most geeks) not pedantically or in too much detail. Also, he's funny. According to him it's nerds that are socially awkward, while geeks have managed to attain a measure of self-awareness. He certainly has.
The artist responsible for the black and white illustrations is no Will Eisner, but he's no slouch either. Mostly the drawings exist for entertainment purposes and not specifically for illumination. For the video game geek: be warned! The activities found here require physical activity, quite a bit of it in some cases. But if you are a video game geek you probably don't have kids, and this book is for kids and their dads.
Read more of this review (and more like it) on our website.
If you're already a geek, you'll love this book immediately. (Denmead uses Venn diagrams, for crying out loud!) From making cyborg Jack-o'-Lanterns and electronic origami to creating your own RPG and building your own movie theater outside, there's literally something for every species of Homo Geekus and his many variations.
If you aren't yet a geek, buy this book and you soon will be. Who could resist making their own cartoons....and storyboarding with Legos? Better yet, who could resist making their own cartoons with their adorable and impressionable children? Only a cold-hearted man (or possibly a jock, but do they even have kids?) out to kill happiness and destroy fun. For that man, this book is Kryptonite.
Each activity is assessed by cost, difficulty, time, reusability and requisite materials. Denmead walks readers through instructions carefully and thoroughly, though (atypically of most geeks) not pedantically or in too much detail. Also, he's funny. According to him it's nerds that are socially awkward, while geeks have managed to attain a measure of self-awareness. He certainly has.
The artist responsible for the black and white illustrations is no Will Eisner, but he's no slouch either. Mostly the drawings exist for entertainment purposes and not specifically for illumination. For the video game geek: be warned! The activities found here require physical activity, quite a bit of it in some cases. But if you are a video game geek you probably don't have kids, and this book is for kids and their dads.
Read more of this review (and more like it) on our website.
January 27, 2015
The author asserts that all parenting books only suggest things to do to your kids, not with your kids. To the contrary, such books do exist, they're just not usually called parenting books.
This book does fill a gap in the children's activity book genre that are mostly cutesy crafts and proto-manly projects that have not yet been updated to account for cheap and commonplace consumer electronics and the rising popularity of geek, hacker, and maker cultures. So some of the projects are quite cool, though the book is likely to outdate itself rather quickly due to its dependence on the availability of specific novelty products.
What turned me off beyond recovery is the author's inability to shut up about a narrowly-defined and Platonic ideal of what a geek is and should be. If this manifesto had been confined to the introduction, it would be bearable, but he keeps explaining it throughout, as though he's writing to non-geeks who aspire to be geeks who nevertheless need continual reminding what a geek is and why it's worth aspiring to. If the author had just gotten out of the way and said, "Hey, here's a bunch of products for parents and kids to do together that emphasize creative applications of math, science, and technical skills," it would have been pretty okay. The fifth time I read a variant of, 'You need to be obsessed with LEGO to exactly this extent and own a soldering gun to be a good parent,' I was out.
This is not really a book for dads who are geeks, unless they are still in desperate need of validation that geeks are cool now and that sharing your geek interests with your offspring is both acceptable and beneficial. Any geek parent worth his or her salt should be able to come up with enough similar projects to fill a dozen such books. This book is more for fans of The Big Bang Theory and other nerdsploitative media who want to raise geek children but are not geeks themselves.
This book does fill a gap in the children's activity book genre that are mostly cutesy crafts and proto-manly projects that have not yet been updated to account for cheap and commonplace consumer electronics and the rising popularity of geek, hacker, and maker cultures. So some of the projects are quite cool, though the book is likely to outdate itself rather quickly due to its dependence on the availability of specific novelty products.
What turned me off beyond recovery is the author's inability to shut up about a narrowly-defined and Platonic ideal of what a geek is and should be. If this manifesto had been confined to the introduction, it would be bearable, but he keeps explaining it throughout, as though he's writing to non-geeks who aspire to be geeks who nevertheless need continual reminding what a geek is and why it's worth aspiring to. If the author had just gotten out of the way and said, "Hey, here's a bunch of products for parents and kids to do together that emphasize creative applications of math, science, and technical skills," it would have been pretty okay. The fifth time I read a variant of, 'You need to be obsessed with LEGO to exactly this extent and own a soldering gun to be a good parent,' I was out.
This is not really a book for dads who are geeks, unless they are still in desperate need of validation that geeks are cool now and that sharing your geek interests with your offspring is both acceptable and beneficial. Any geek parent worth his or her salt should be able to come up with enough similar projects to fill a dozen such books. This book is more for fans of The Big Bang Theory and other nerdsploitative media who want to raise geek children but are not geeks themselves.
October 18, 2011
Ken Denmead is a crafty guy but, much like the geek stereotype, his talents don't really include writing.
The book, after an introduction that tries too hard to validate the "Geek Dad" concept, contains a number of activites and/or experiments for parent & child to work on together. They vary from simple glue/sticky tape to serious electrical/computer programming level activities.
The instructions are mostly accessible but Denmead enables that accessiblity by eliding details, providing citations for online references, in some of the more tech intensive activities. This simplification makes for a thankfully easier read, but means that the book does not exist as a standalone product. Any target reader will likely have the ability to review the references close at hand, but it's still disappointing.
There are also organizational issues as Denmead continually references forward in the book to other experiments. Maybe it seems extra geeky to do so but it just feels like his information is out of place.
Finally, Denmead's writing is over eager. He's pushing too hard to sell the concept. His entreaty to begin crocheting, "They're programs(!)", is particularly cloying, so is anything else that follows a delineated instruction pattern.
Regardless, though I've not had the opportunity to try them yet, the experiments look like they will be fun and I intend to try a number of them in the future. Much like the other parenting book I reviewed this year, using the experiments/activities, skip the rest.
The book, after an introduction that tries too hard to validate the "Geek Dad" concept, contains a number of activites and/or experiments for parent & child to work on together. They vary from simple glue/sticky tape to serious electrical/computer programming level activities.
The instructions are mostly accessible but Denmead enables that accessiblity by eliding details, providing citations for online references, in some of the more tech intensive activities. This simplification makes for a thankfully easier read, but means that the book does not exist as a standalone product. Any target reader will likely have the ability to review the references close at hand, but it's still disappointing.
There are also organizational issues as Denmead continually references forward in the book to other experiments. Maybe it seems extra geeky to do so but it just feels like his information is out of place.
Finally, Denmead's writing is over eager. He's pushing too hard to sell the concept. His entreaty to begin crocheting, "They're programs(!)", is particularly cloying, so is anything else that follows a delineated instruction pattern.
Regardless, though I've not had the opportunity to try them yet, the experiments look like they will be fun and I intend to try a number of them in the future. Much like the other parenting book I reviewed this year, using the experiments/activities, skip the rest.
July 29, 2012
It should be renamed "Lego presents Geek Dad." almost every single project involves Legos. This shows lack of creativity. There are so many other materials that can be used.
I also didn't like the nature of the projects. They're too simple. I'm all about simplicity, but when I read two or three in this book thati could have come up with on my own: I don't have too much respect. I looked to this book for ideas, not for things I could have thought of on my own. I also didn't like the chapter that dedicated 20 pages (10%of the book) to Dungeons and Dragons. It was basically a way of tricking your kids into doing chores by telling them it's an RPG. I don't know how stupid Denmead's kids are, but my kids would figure it out pretty quickly. It almost insults my intelligence.
I read Demead's other book ( the purple one) and I liked it a lot more because it actually had science projects and fundamental science explanations behind it. I felt the kids could learn more instead of being told what to do or being tricked into keeping busy.
I would recommend reading this book if you have exhausted every single activity with your kids, although you'll probably find that you've already done half of them or that your kids find them lame.
Nonetheless I respect the author's attempt to put out literature that gets parents involved with their kids. While reading some ideas I came up with much better ideas on my own. So at least this can be a source of inspiration for you.
January 10, 2017
OK, so this book says it's not designed to be read front-to-back, which is precisely what I did. Hey, it was nearly Christmas and I was out of book and didn't want to go buy anything when lovely presents were likely on their way.
So there are bunch of different projects in here of varying level difficulty, geekiness, and relevance to my life. I was a little disappointed at the assumptions of suburbanity - many projects assume access to a backyard/shed/porch that is lacking in my urban lifestyle. Other projects seemed to have been passed by technology - the digital fireflies are cool, but we'd already bought a bag of 100 or so a few years ago instead of assembling our own.
So there are bunch of different projects in here of varying level difficulty, geekiness, and relevance to my life. I was a little disappointed at the assumptions of suburbanity - many projects assume access to a backyard/shed/porch that is lacking in my urban lifestyle. Other projects seemed to have been passed by technology - the digital fireflies are cool, but we'd already bought a bag of 100 or so a few years ago instead of assembling our own.
June 18, 2010
Geek Dad? So Much Fun!
Is your dad or hubby into projects? Would he be considered a Geek? If you answered yes to these questions (or even if you didn't) I have the perfect Father's Day gift.
Geek Dad by Ken Denmead (a self-proclaimed Geek) is filled with 30 original, fun and fascinating projects Dads (and moms) can do with their kids. I was totally in awe of these cool ideas and found myself wishing my dad was still with us so we could try them out. I especially like the 'Light-up Duct Tape Wallet" - so cool.
Is your dad or hubby into projects? Would he be considered a Geek? If you answered yes to these questions (or even if you didn't) I have the perfect Father's Day gift.
Geek Dad by Ken Denmead (a self-proclaimed Geek) is filled with 30 original, fun and fascinating projects Dads (and moms) can do with their kids. I was totally in awe of these cool ideas and found myself wishing my dad was still with us so we could try them out. I especially like the 'Light-up Duct Tape Wallet" - so cool.
April 20, 2011
I bought this for my husband for Christmas, along with Handy Dad and he picked out some projects to do with my son right away. He definitly falls into the "Geek Dad" category - he loves to take things apart and attempts to "refurbish" way too many things around the house. This book focuses that energy! I've already pre-ordered the next Geek Dad book for Father's Day.
February 23, 2011
This is a decent book, but I guess I was looking for more interesting projects. It might be that I've done things like make my own boardgame with the kids so most of the projects didn't inspire me greatly, although the slip and slide has definite potential.
Personally, I'd have liked to see a wider variety of projects, maybe with a little science thrown in there to amaze the kids.
Personally, I'd have liked to see a wider variety of projects, maybe with a little science thrown in there to amaze the kids.
August 5, 2013
Disappointing.
The easy ideas are so old that everyone must have tried them before, while the rest are very strange or way too ambitious.
And let's not even talk about spending 15 pages explaining, in detail, a complex system to use Dungeons & Dragons concepts for a home reward scheme.
Who could this book conceivably be correctly targeted at???
The easy ideas are so old that everyone must have tried them before, while the rest are very strange or way too ambitious.
And let's not even talk about spending 15 pages explaining, in detail, a complex system to use Dungeons & Dragons concepts for a home reward scheme.
Who could this book conceivably be correctly targeted at???
December 15, 2015
This book would be great to try some of the projects with your own kids in a one-on-one setting, but not so great for a librarian looking for programming ideas to do with a roomful of teens. Most of the projects just sound too geeky, too involved, or require large items or need to be done outside. They're great projects. But just a little too much for me for right now.
March 23, 2015
I got this for my husband, but read it myself, too. There are some pretty cool projects here, although they're all a little too advanced for our toddler. I think my favorites are the idea of using a solder pen to draw circuitry on paper to make origami with electrical components and the idea of turning the chore chart into a roleplaying game. To be revisited in a couple years.
March 26, 2015
Meh! This book had great potential, but was not as detailed, in-depth, or sciencey as I'd hoped. Much of the book detailed how to invent board games, pretend play, or play with your legos. BUT - some projects using LED's or arduino boards were cool. If you want a more scientific build book - get a MAKE Magazine project book.
April 6, 2015
Ken Denmead might be a geek but needs he help on writing. Project books (not parenting book as claimed by the author) need lots of pictures and steps which is missing here. Also, the book has a lot of references to North American cultural aspects which I could not relate to like Dungeon & Dragons. Many of the projects are expensive. Yet the projects look wonderful to do.
January 22, 2016
Přečteno jedním dechem :) Ne teda slovo od slova, ale dost na to abych pochopil ideu/podstatu většiny projektů, aby mě napadlo pár dalších, a abych se těšil, až je budu všechny realizovat. Jediné co zamrzí, že na většinu z nich si budu muset ještě nejméně 5 let (spíš více) počkat, ale i tak. Dobrá práce :)
January 30, 2011
Interesting, but I did not rush out and start doing any of the projects with my grand kids. These projects generally take some planning (and buying of supplies). I will use it as a reference, such as planning an activity for the next holiday.
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February 15, 2015My mother bought this for my husband for Christmas, and I think I got more out of it than he did! We're definitely planning on using some of these amazing activities with Alice when she's old enough to enjoy them.
February 25, 2012
All it took was reading the weak chapter on "building a board game with your kids" to turn me completely off to this book. The template was an insipid roll'n'move design that was, just from reading the rules, guaranteed to drag on much too long. My 6 year old comes up with better game ideas.
October 28, 2015
This project book reads like a collection of blog posts... because it is! I found a few good project nuggets in there we will try. It has a wide range of genre projects, so you will probably find at least a few of interest to you.
December 27, 2010
pretty good. But you could probably just check out the blog and come up with a few of your own and be just as well off.
November 13, 2010
more like creepy social outcast dad
June 30, 2011
Heh heh heh. Some good ideas here.
November 19, 2012
Some hit-or-miss ideas in here, but at least half a dozen really solid ones.
November 18, 2012
Kind of lame?
January 2, 2014
Ready to get our geek on. So many fun projects.
August 20, 2014
A great group of fun geeky project ideas, that I can't wait to start (trying to) replicate with my boys!
April 17, 2014
Great ideas, but there aren't a lot of easy to do items in here.
September 21, 2014
My kids are too young for most of these... And I don't have most of the supplies for the ones that would otherwise interest me. But interesting to skim thru for free (from the library)
April 26, 2015
I love this book! we have several of the projects bookmarked for summer days & the ones we've tried have been big hits with my tweens and their friends.
August 3, 2015
While it has some cool projects for families to do, I was really turned off by the restrictive way the the book defines the concept of a geek.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 32 reviews