Most larger cities have a “children’s museum” where kids (and grown ups) can experience “hands on” science. Anything that teaches kids that science is cool is worth supporting!
Our local children’s museum is called the “Discovery Center of Idaho.” For about ten years now, I have provided free patent searches to the winners of the Discovery Center’s annual “Invent Idaho” science fair contest for elementary and middle school students. It has been a blast working with young kids that are so excited about inventing.
Through that participation, I have come to be a big fan of the Discovery Center’s Education Director, Woody Sobey (@twsobey). A few weeks ago, Woody mentioned that he had a book on toys called “The Way Toys Work: The Science Behind the Magic 8 Ball, Etch A Sketch, Boomerang, and More.”
I immediately ordered it.
The book is amazing. In the book they take apart toys, deconstructing them for kids while explaining how they work. Additionally, most of the toys mentioned include figures from the actual patents for the toys. It is definitely something that most of my readers would enjoy reading, as well as giving away as a gift to their children/grandchildren/nieces/nephews.
by Marc Warnke (
