What do tween builders build?
August 30, 2013 10:05 AM Subscribe
What did your Lego-loving builder move on to when he'd outgrown Lego?
We call our 12-year-old son the Lego Savant, and he has loved his Lego well. But there are no sets that challenge him anymore that cost less than $400, and he's a little bored with his MOCs as well (My Own Creations). He can build with just about anything, making interesting things out of whatever is at hand, like all the forks at the table in a restaurant. He is talented at imagining things in three dimensions, at mechanisms, and at structures. As he ages out of Lego, I'm wondering what would be good, creative things to move on to. He loves to build so much that he sometimes feels he "has to build" and gets restless if he doesn't have a project, but Lego just isn't doing it for him anymore.
We have Mindstorms, and he is interested in that. He recently really enjoyed building a self-supporting arch bridge, and we are working on a DaVinci ornithopter, and he has really enjoyed those. He is very interested in structures--bridges, towers, buildings--and studied them last year in homeschool. He enjoyed a clay class we took at a local art studio.
Ideas might include good kits, project books, how-to website, hobbies and crafts I'm not familiar with (assume I've heard of model airplanes and not much else). Almost anything hands-on and three-dimensional would be worth mentioning; if he can work on it independently or without having to take a class that would be great.
We call our 12-year-old son the Lego Savant, and he has loved his Lego well. But there are no sets that challenge him anymore that cost less than $400, and he's a little bored with his MOCs as well (My Own Creations). He can build with just about anything, making interesting things out of whatever is at hand, like all the forks at the table in a restaurant. He is talented at imagining things in three dimensions, at mechanisms, and at structures. As he ages out of Lego, I'm wondering what would be good, creative things to move on to. He loves to build so much that he sometimes feels he "has to build" and gets restless if he doesn't have a project, but Lego just isn't doing it for him anymore.
We have Mindstorms, and he is interested in that. He recently really enjoyed building a self-supporting arch bridge, and we are working on a DaVinci ornithopter, and he has really enjoyed those. He is very interested in structures--bridges, towers, buildings--and studied them last year in homeschool. He enjoyed a clay class we took at a local art studio.
Ideas might include good kits, project books, how-to website, hobbies and crafts I'm not familiar with (assume I've heard of model airplanes and not much else). Almost anything hands-on and three-dimensional would be worth mentioning; if he can work on it independently or without having to take a class that would be great.
Best answer: Model railroading is still a giant hobby. There are clubs and shows everywhere.
posted by beagle at 10:10 AM on August 30, 2013
posted by beagle at 10:10 AM on August 30, 2013
Best answer: "Ages out of Lego"? I'm not sure that's a definite thing that will happen.
In the case of my boy, he has transitioned into an aspiring filmmaker, using the Legos to mess around with stop-motion animation. Same blocks, similar set of skills, whole new set of challenges.
posted by jbickers at 10:10 AM on August 30, 2013 [4 favorites]
In the case of my boy, he has transitioned into an aspiring filmmaker, using the Legos to mess around with stop-motion animation. Same blocks, similar set of skills, whole new set of challenges.
posted by jbickers at 10:10 AM on August 30, 2013 [4 favorites]
Best answer: Electronics! (srsly that book is awesome...def click the 'look inside')
posted by sexyrobot at 10:12 AM on August 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by sexyrobot at 10:12 AM on August 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
Best answer: RC Aircraft? There's quite a bit of scratch-building of RC planes.
Quad-copters are huge now and there's a lot of modding and custom-building going on with them too.
posted by jquinby at 10:16 AM on August 30, 2013
Quad-copters are huge now and there's a lot of modding and custom-building going on with them too.
posted by jquinby at 10:16 AM on August 30, 2013
Best answer: Paper automata are fun and could teach him about gears, cams, and translating different types of motion. After assembling a couple, he could even design his own.
posted by tinymegalo at 10:17 AM on August 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by tinymegalo at 10:17 AM on August 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
I'll nth the recommendations for robotics and electronics and add my own: woodworking!
posted by thebigdeadwaltz at 10:19 AM on August 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by thebigdeadwaltz at 10:19 AM on August 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: not just automata, but 'papercraft' in general...Google it...there are about 8 trillion free paper models out there to print out and put together ranging in complexity from dollhouse furniture and cartoon characters to detailed rocket engines and real working clocks.
posted by sexyrobot at 10:24 AM on August 30, 2013
posted by sexyrobot at 10:24 AM on August 30, 2013
Best answer: I just passed along my 4H Junk Drawer Robotics curriculum books on to a friend's kids, after having run a semi-successful program for two years.
It's written as an introduction to engineering. I had trouble getting the kids to do all of the visualization exercises, but just viewed as a bunch of cool ideas for how to progress from building with pre-cut parts to building with paint sticks, tongue depressors, old syringes (pneumatic pistons), disassembled old FAX machines (gears!), and whatever else was lying around it really works nicely.
Beyond watching the kids build stuff, it got me from "I've got sheets of styrene and brass" to "yeah, let's build a gear train and turn some bottle lids into wheels and...".
Highly recommended.
posted by straw at 10:32 AM on August 30, 2013 [3 favorites]
It's written as an introduction to engineering. I had trouble getting the kids to do all of the visualization exercises, but just viewed as a bunch of cool ideas for how to progress from building with pre-cut parts to building with paint sticks, tongue depressors, old syringes (pneumatic pistons), disassembled old FAX machines (gears!), and whatever else was lying around it really works nicely.
Beyond watching the kids build stuff, it got me from "I've got sheets of styrene and brass" to "yeah, let's build a gear train and turn some bottle lids into wheels and...".
Highly recommended.
posted by straw at 10:32 AM on August 30, 2013 [3 favorites]
Best answer: I still built stuff we Lego well into my teens. The only reason I stopped was because I left the collection at home when I moved out. I'm 33 now and just keep forgetting to get them from my parent's house or I'd still be building away. I still lust after Technic set 8448
In my teens, I mostly built stuff with the technic sets. The primary model of the set would usually get built just once and then I worked on all kinds of stuff. My proudest creation was a Double A-arm front suspension with steering. It was still be years before Lego would put out a set with independent suspension on it and they created some specialized components just for them. I didn't have any of those so it was hella hard and it ended up being too big for any of the wheels that I had but it was still impressive.
posted by VTX at 10:34 AM on August 30, 2013
In my teens, I mostly built stuff with the technic sets. The primary model of the set would usually get built just once and then I worked on all kinds of stuff. My proudest creation was a Double A-arm front suspension with steering. It was still be years before Lego would put out a set with independent suspension on it and they created some specialized components just for them. I didn't have any of those so it was hella hard and it ended up being too big for any of the wheels that I had but it was still impressive.
posted by VTX at 10:34 AM on August 30, 2013
Best answer: Modular origami is great for assembly-minded folks; it can get arbitrarily difficult and makes really neat-looking shapes. Start with simple things like Sonobes or Card cube structures (the cube pieces don't _need_ to be business cards; any rectangle in approximately 1:1.5–2 proportions will do). A Staples memo cube is a nice cheap way to get paper close enough to square to have fun. If those seem too boring, well, there are wild polyhedral designs like the Five Intersecting Tetrahedra or Six Pentagonal Prisms. The sky's kind of the limit, and there are a lot of wild modulars out there (some of them designed by people not too much older than him).
posted by jackbishop at 10:34 AM on August 30, 2013
posted by jackbishop at 10:34 AM on August 30, 2013
Best answer: Has he tried Minecraft? I was a Lego kid through and through and even as an adult Minecraft pushes a lot of the same buttons for me; construction-based 3D spatial problem solving. If it had been around when I was a tween I would have been obsessed.
It's not great for structural engineering (it's fun to build elaborate and impressive structures, but that's basically a matter of stacking blocks), but people build crazy things with redstone electronics. Like Lego, it's a perfect sandbox platform where you can undertake a project, work on it until it's finished (or you get bored) then go explore some more or build something else.
posted by usonian at 10:48 AM on August 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
It's not great for structural engineering (it's fun to build elaborate and impressive structures, but that's basically a matter of stacking blocks), but people build crazy things with redstone electronics. Like Lego, it's a perfect sandbox platform where you can undertake a project, work on it until it's finished (or you get bored) then go explore some more or build something else.
posted by usonian at 10:48 AM on August 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
Minecraft.
posted by Conspire at 10:51 AM on August 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by Conspire at 10:51 AM on August 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Also, find out if there's a Maker Faire happening anywhere near you. He will definitely fall in love with multiple things he discovers there.
posted by jbickers at 11:04 AM on August 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by jbickers at 11:04 AM on August 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
Best answer: He might enjoy learning to solder and building basic kits. If he's willing to learn some basic stuff about electronics, he could make his own stuff, too.
The soldering is very fun, just make sure you both are aware of fire safety issues. I've had some luck with using a thick piece of glass on top of a table (won't burn or mar the wood).
Google for [solder kit]. I found a kit that was a very nice kitchen timer a while ago.
posted by amtho at 11:04 AM on August 30, 2013
The soldering is very fun, just make sure you both are aware of fire safety issues. I've had some luck with using a thick piece of glass on top of a table (won't burn or mar the wood).
Google for [solder kit]. I found a kit that was a very nice kitchen timer a while ago.
posted by amtho at 11:04 AM on August 30, 2013
Response by poster: Thanks so much for all the great ideas. I'd have best-answered Minecraft but he has already discovered it.
posted by not that girl at 12:29 PM on August 30, 2013
posted by not that girl at 12:29 PM on August 30, 2013
Best answer: RE: Origami, jackbishop's suggestion is a good one. Tomoko Fuse's book Unit Origami: Multidimensional Transformations is excellent. It's out of print but doesn't seem to be too scarce. There's also origamic architecture.
posted by usonian at 12:50 PM on August 30, 2013
posted by usonian at 12:50 PM on August 30, 2013
Best answer: I'm surprised that no one has mention K'Nex yet.
Although it may be too simple. It sounds like you've got quite a talent on your hands.
posted by SLC Mom at 1:35 PM on August 30, 2013
Although it may be too simple. It sounds like you've got quite a talent on your hands.
posted by SLC Mom at 1:35 PM on August 30, 2013
Best answer: LBP and LBP 2 (Little Big Planet) level building is all about mechanisms for me.Is there a community robotics club or stage crew that he can join and build cool things in the real world?
posted by edbles at 1:40 PM on August 30, 2013
posted by edbles at 1:40 PM on August 30, 2013
Best answer: Building a boat out of wood is about the most mind altering thing I think you can do. Making organic curves out of flat materials is pretty amazing and it links into a crazy long history. You could check out books by dynamite Payson or wooden boat magazine to start with.
posted by sully75 at 1:56 PM on August 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
posted by sully75 at 1:56 PM on August 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Seconding Snap Circuits.
But the Maker Faire is a great idea, and I would suggest a copy of Make Magazine to see what it unlocks. (Flip through it yourself and work out a budget for materials--and don't forget that forcing people to work on the cheap inspires resourcefulness.) Electronics projects are big-- also check out Instructables.com.
For another computer game (PC/Mac/Linux) there's Kerbal Space Program -- It's about $23 at current, but there's a free demo out there so he can get a taste of the game. It's in a beta form, so there's really no game there yet, it's pretty much all an aeronautical sandbox. In a sentence, you build, fly, orbit and land rockets and spaceplanes that are modeled on real world physics in a simplified form. It took me about 4 evenings with the demo to achieve Shut-Up-And-Take-My-Money, and last night I replicated the Apollo 11 moon mission following a tutorial. It... didn't go as well as when NASA did it.
posted by Sunburnt at 1:56 PM on August 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
But the Maker Faire is a great idea, and I would suggest a copy of Make Magazine to see what it unlocks. (Flip through it yourself and work out a budget for materials--and don't forget that forcing people to work on the cheap inspires resourcefulness.) Electronics projects are big-- also check out Instructables.com.
For another computer game (PC/Mac/Linux) there's Kerbal Space Program -- It's about $23 at current, but there's a free demo out there so he can get a taste of the game. It's in a beta form, so there's really no game there yet, it's pretty much all an aeronautical sandbox. In a sentence, you build, fly, orbit and land rockets and spaceplanes that are modeled on real world physics in a simplified form. It took me about 4 evenings with the demo to achieve Shut-Up-And-Take-My-Money, and last night I replicated the Apollo 11 moon mission following a tutorial. It... didn't go as well as when NASA did it.
posted by Sunburnt at 1:56 PM on August 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: Your son sounds like my dad and my brother, both of whom went on to become electrical engineers. The best thing about having an engineer dad was that we were actively encouraged to take stuff apart (though my mom wasn't nearly as enthusiastic about this!). My dad would buy us old radios and hand us a screwdriver, and we would spend hours taking them apart and learning to put them back together. We all loved it; my brother just never stopped!
Can you give him $20 to spend at a second-hand shop and a few simple tools?
posted by third word on a random page at 1:56 PM on August 30, 2013
Can you give him $20 to spend at a second-hand shop and a few simple tools?
posted by third word on a random page at 1:56 PM on August 30, 2013
Side note (and add'l comment to "third word") : Don't throw out that Lego - even if he would say one day, "I don't like Lego anymore. I'm tired of it." Your son sounds exactly like mine (now age 22)...right down to the the clay classes and homeschooling and the love of Lego. Today he's in the Air Force repairing jet engines and ready to take college classes for mechanical engineering, and when he comes home on leave he still builds with it. I'm so glad I kept the tubs of 'em! Best "toy" ever!
posted by emmylou at 2:38 PM on August 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
posted by emmylou at 2:38 PM on August 30, 2013 [2 favorites]
Response by poster: Oh, no, emmylou, we're keeping the Lego for sure! All ten million bricks.
posted by not that girl at 3:12 PM on August 30, 2013
posted by not that girl at 3:12 PM on August 30, 2013
Best answer: He might be into some Science Olympiad events. (You may be able to find a homeschool team or he might be allowed on your local school's team.) They change periodically, but when I did it ten years ago, there was an event where you had to build a rubber-band powered airplane, which was probably the most akin to Lego. But we also tried to build a violin (and failed) and a marimba (succeeded--percussion is easier). There's usually some kind of balsa-wood bridge event (junior high had bridges, high school had "boomilever" where you bolted your thing horizontally to a vertical surface and hung weight from the far end).
posted by hoyland at 3:56 PM on August 30, 2013
posted by hoyland at 3:56 PM on August 30, 2013
Best answer: If they like building stuff and are allowed to use power tools, furniture making is always good. The tools make good gifts, plus hand tools can teach a lot of good hand skills.
posted by Nackt at 6:44 PM on August 30, 2013
posted by Nackt at 6:44 PM on August 30, 2013
Best answer: I was a geeky girl (who grew into a geeky woman) and after my first Lego phase, I got into Capsela. It was discontinued, but some of the
sets are still available on Amazon, and tons are available on eBay.
I also recommend model rocketry. Kerbal Space Program is pretty amazing (I totally second that recommendation), but even KSP pales in comparison to seeing a rocket you physically built with your own hands flying into the sky, then running into a field to pick it up when it lands.
posted by jiawen at 8:58 PM on August 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
sets are still available on Amazon, and tons are available on eBay.
I also recommend model rocketry. Kerbal Space Program is pretty amazing (I totally second that recommendation), but even KSP pales in comparison to seeing a rocket you physically built with your own hands flying into the sky, then running into a field to pick it up when it lands.
posted by jiawen at 8:58 PM on August 30, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I will nth electronics with the note that Ham Radio can provide a good introduction to the analog side of things. For digital electronics and programming, if he has experience with the Lego Mindstorms sets they might provide a nice transition to working with Arduino or similar platforms.
When I ran out of things to do with Legos I got into programming (first on TI graphing calculators, then in Python and Perl) and web design for several years because I didn't have the tools, materials, or skills to work on physical projects. It isn't exactly hands-on, but involves the same kind of thinking.
Also consider bike repair? Some specialized tools are required, but there are several Community Bike Organizations (map) in mid- to southern Michigan which should have tools and staff/volunteers who can help him learn the basics. We had a few volunteers from that age group at the Bike Collective in Davis, CA when I was there. You may also be able to find a local shop that will offer tools/expertise.
posted by sibilatorix at 1:25 AM on August 31, 2013 [1 favorite]
When I ran out of things to do with Legos I got into programming (first on TI graphing calculators, then in Python and Perl) and web design for several years because I didn't have the tools, materials, or skills to work on physical projects. It isn't exactly hands-on, but involves the same kind of thinking.
Also consider bike repair? Some specialized tools are required, but there are several Community Bike Organizations (map) in mid- to southern Michigan which should have tools and staff/volunteers who can help him learn the basics. We had a few volunteers from that age group at the Bike Collective in Davis, CA when I was there. You may also be able to find a local shop that will offer tools/expertise.
posted by sibilatorix at 1:25 AM on August 31, 2013 [1 favorite]
Best answer: I did many of these things as a kid. Another fun one was collecting junk bikes from garage sales and such and assembling them back into working bicycles. Usually with two or three broken bikes of a similar type you can make one working one and still have some useful parts leftover. And people will usually give old broken ten speeds to kids for free. This relies on you having garage space or something to store bike parts.
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 11:11 AM on August 31, 2013
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 11:11 AM on August 31, 2013
Best answer: Arduino is tons of fun. It might be a bit difficult on his own, but there are lots of online webinars/videos to follow and many communities have drop-in workshops. There's an Arduino for Teens book coming out in October but many other resources online.
posted by barnone at 11:55 AM on August 31, 2013
posted by barnone at 11:55 AM on August 31, 2013
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posted by Metroid Baby at 10:07 AM on August 30, 2013 [1 favorite]