The Tinkering Workshop will get you started messing around with everyday materials, building personally meaningful projects and exploring ideas related to art, science and technology.
I’m excited to share this new book with the young and the young at heart. Whether your tinkering station is a kitchen table, a corner of the library or a high-tech school makerspace, I hope that you’ll find some new ideas and inspiration in the pages and have a lot of fun along the way.
The book is now available! If you are interested in getting a copy, you can pre-order The Tinkering Workshop now using one of these links or at the bookseller of your choice.
What’s Inside?
The Tinkering Workshop provides many starting points for helping learners develop a tinkering mindset. The book’s organization highlights three key parts of the tinkering process.
First, investigate hardware! Get familiar with twenty everyday parts like dowels, googly eyes, washers and motors that you can use in your tinkering explorations and learn about new ways to have conversations with materials.
Second, start tinkering! Pick a theme with low thresholds, wide walls and high ceilings. For each project in the book, there’s a simple way to get started as well as multiple ways to play and explore with the phenomenon. After constructing some prototypes, check out ways to go deeper in your tinkering with a wide range of extensions.
Third, be inspired by other artists and tinkerers! Throughout the book you will meet a wide variety of creative people who play with art, science and technology. These exciting makers and their projects will stimulate new ideas and directions for each of the themes and projects. Here are a few of the tinkering inspirations in the book:
Spread the Word
Follow us on social media! You can get the latest book updates on instagram, twitter or facebook! Join our newsletter for more information about the launch.
Share a photo of you with The Tinkering Workshop and your projects on social media. Tag us at #thetinkeringworkshop and #wonderfulideaco.
Chat with your local library, community museum or a favorite children’s bookstore about stocking the book. Share the link to the authorless event kit if you want to see a tinkering program happen near you.
Add The Tinkering Workshop to your goodreads profile (want to read). Go to the author page to ask a question to Ryan about the book
Book Tour
Look here for more in-person tour dates and online The Tinkering Workshop events to be announced soon!
Reviews
“The Tinkering Workshop is a new ‘must have’ addition to any school makerspace, community DIY space, or kitchen table ... ”
“The book is packed with project ideas and techniques that are brilliantly simple and accessible, but also enable endless play and exploration.”
“The projects in the book will spark the tinkerer in all of us.”
“Introducing children to tinkering and the open-ended exploration of physical materials could not be more urgent, as children are spending more and more time on screens. Ryan’s delightful book will capture their imagination and encourage them to create new things from simple materials.”
“Whether you’re an educator, parent, grandparent or simply curious, this book not only sparks a passion for tinkering with common materials, but also cultivates creative, innovative thinking to solve real-world challenges.”
Educator Guide
Meet the Author
Ryan Jenkins creates playful resources to support STEAM education and the development of 21st century skills. He's a leader in the field of making and tinkering education and has partnered with children's museums, schools, universities, professional organizations and companies around the world.
Ryan got his start as a workshop leader and exhibit builder at the Tinkering Studio at the Exploratorium, a well-known science center in San Francisco, California. He developed summer programs at Tinkering School that blend large scale construction with learner-centric investigations of electronics, robotics, and programming. He has contributed to MAKE magazine, Instructables, SparkFun Education and the Tinkering Studio blog. He lives with his wife and son and they split their time between Southern California and Germany’s Black Forest region.