Perfect Toy

This article describing the stick being honored by the National Toy Hall of Fame made me think of what I have always considered the perfect toy. A cardboard box. When I first saw the article, I thought "How could they pick a stick over a box?". Then after further reading, found that the cardboard box had already been inducted in 2005.

One of my fondest memories from my childhood was when my best friend Ron and I dug an old water heater box out of a trash can. We cut the ends off and discovered that we could get inside and by crawling forward on our hands and knees create what we called a tank but in reality was more like a boy-sized hamster ball. We took great joy in running over our friends. Jumping out of the sides of our tank with our guns (which were probably sticks) and shooting down any unsuspecting enemy soldiers. We were playing in my landlords huge back yard which she never seemed to mind sharing with the neighborhood kids. Her sprinklers were the type that shoot big streams of water with that wonderful chhik-chhik sound and they were on a timer. We were in the middle of the yard when they came on and in our young minds we were under attack as our cardboard tank was hit from all sides. We ran that box around the yard screaming every time a jet of water blasted us until finally the cardboard dissolved around us and we had to make a run for safety where we found Mable and Clarence (my landlords) laughing hysterically. They fed us lemonade and cookies and told us that was the most entertaining thing they had seen in months.

I loved Mable and Clarence. I loved that box. I love that memory. Give your kid a big empty box and some markers and watch what happens.

Maybe something magical.

[Related Post: Mr. McGroovy's Box Rivets]

[via Make]
[Image: Captured from http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/11/stick_receives_high_honor.html?CMP=OTC-0D6B48984890]

Compact Nomadic Furniture

Saw this video on Make and immediately thought of a book I picked up years ago in a bargain bin called Nomadic Furniture. It had the schematics for all kinds of furniture that could be easily torn down and packed. At the time, we were moving a lot and the idea of being able to easily break down all my belongings into easily transportable components seemed like a great idea. My wife had silly notions about style, color schemes and comfort. I let myself get won over to her point of view by a huge, heavy couch that was ideal for napping.

This concept could be a fun for a classroom design project. Have your students design a piece of furniture on paper. Then mock up a scale model using construction paper. Then create a full size reproduction out of cardboard. Then have your parents come in so they can "ooo" and "ahhh".

I attended a workshop given by a woman who taught technology in the United Kingdom and she had a design unit built around the design and construction of a chair made out of cardboard and paper mache. (Sorry, I can't find her name in any of my notes.) I loved the idea but never pursued it as I had no place where I could work with wet paper mache and then store all the projects in their various stages. If you were working with collapsible cardboard models connected with something like McGroovys Box Rivets, it might be doable in a smaller space.

This brings to mind my two biggest complaints about technology labs. They never build them big enough and they never include an area where you can work with wet and dirty materials. Not all technology education takes place on a computer screen. Some of the best labs I've seen were stuck in old shops or extra storage areas with concrete floors, easy access to the outside and sinks with running water. The newer labs I've seen tend to be smaller and carpeted with the idea that the kids will be sitting at a computer and will never need to get out of their seats or build anything bigger than matchbox.

We work with what we are given but we can dream!



[Image: Captured from Amazon.com: http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2008/02/casulo_your_bedroom_in_a.html?CMP=OTC-0D6B48984890]

Mr. McGroovy's Box Rivets

I thought I had written about these fasteners before but I found a note to myself this morning reminding me to try them out before writing about them. I don't think I will get a chance to experiment with them until this summer and thought some of you might try them out in your classrooms now if you knew they existed.

They were reviewed on Cool Tools and I when I saw them I immediately thought of several projects I've done with kids where rivets would have been useful. In the past anytime my students built large structures with cardboard, they used either hot glue or duct tape. Usually, I preferred duct tape because it's easier to tear down a structure and rebuild it if there is a design flaw. And, there is always a design flaw.

The web site gives these five reasons to use their rivets.

1. Easier to Use - big projects go together in a snap
2. Stronger - projects stay together and last longer
3. Faster - more time for creativity and enjoying your project
4. More versatile - build with cardboard in new ways
5. Reusable - construct a new project every week

If they work as advertised, I'd have to agree. I had an activity where my students designed a temporary structure that could easily fit into a trunk and be dropped into disaster areas. They built their models to scale or just drew them on paper. It would have been cool to take it one step further and build a full-size structure out of cardboard?

If anyone has had any experience with these rivets, please comment.

[Image captured from website: Mr. McGroovy's Box Rivets: http://www.mrmcgroovys.com/]