Made in Your Mind: Instructables and the Children's Museum of Houston

The Children's Museum of Houston is running an exhibit based entirely off of Instructables. The hands-on exhibits are from projects submitted by Instructables' authors, the physical exhibit itself is made up of furniture and display projects on the site, and the museum is encouraging visitors to sign up to share their own creations on Instructables. Pretty awesome stuff, and a field trip that will encourage even the most stoic chaperone to break down and make something with the kids. From their exhibit proposal:

Based on the concepts of the Instructables website (www.instructables.com) and similar websites, this exhibit will encourage families to build objects out of easily accessible and/or found materials. The overall appearance of the exhibit will be “rough-hewn,” consisting of nothing but items from Instructables.com (even if we have to post the Instructable) including furniture, frames, etc., each with a QR code that will link the visitor to the appropriate Instructable. Examples of projects line the walls while ideas for new projects (the “simple project” posters) are hanging on the walls along with posters that detail how to perform certain key skills.

The exhibit will run from May to November 2012. If you're in Houston with a child who might like to make some awesome stuff, you should stop by. Teachers, schedule those fall field trips immediately.

Main Goals and Objectives:

Children and their caregivers will utilize problem solving and critical thinking when working through and modifying their projects
Children and their caregivers will communicate about the projects and their reasoning for making changes to them
Children and their caregivers will explore the STEM-related content underlying their projects’ functionality
Children and their caregivers will describe what impact their modifications have to the functionality of the projects and the causes for the changes
Children and their caregivers will develop an appreciation for DIY projects and seek out additional DIY opportunities


Main Messages

Anyone can build and create
Creating your own projects is fun and informative
Math and science concepts explain why projects work (or don’t work)
Talking and working with others is a great way to solve problems
Applying reasoning when modifying projects may make them work even better


Each of these projects should work for children between the ages of 5 and 12. Some modification may be required, but I'm certain you can pull it off. You're on Instructables, after all.