The Geek Dad's Guide to Weekend Fun

The Geek Dad's Guide to Weekend Fun
Author: Ken Denmead
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2011-05-03
Genre: Family & Relationships
ISBN: 1101528605

The wildly popular DIY dad follows up his instant New York Times bestseller with a fresh batch of geeky weekend science projects for the whole family to enjoy. Ken Denmead struck a chord with parents and kids across America with his GeekDad blog on Wired.com, which receives more than one million page views per month. His debut book, Geek Dad, was on bestseller lists and in its seventh printing just two months after hitting store shelves. With The Geek Dad's Guide to Weekend Fun, he keeps the nerdtastic novelties coming, with projects that teach readers how to: •Build homemade robots from scratch •Write and direct simple stop-motion movies •Hack into mechanical toys to add cool electronic twists, and more United by the premise that to really understand science and how something works you must design and build it yourself or remake it better, Geek Parents everywhere will celebrate this latest installment of weekend workshop wonders. Watch a Video

The Geek Dad Book for Aspiring Mad Scientists

The Geek Dad Book for Aspiring Mad Scientists
Author: Ken Denmead
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 242
Release: 2011-11-01
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1101558849

Fans of the New York Times bestselling Geek Dad and The Geek Dad's Guide to Weekend Fun will flock to the 3.0 version, The Geek Dad Book for Aspiring Mad Scientists. As Ken Denmead explains, most kids lack an understanding of science and an awareness of how it influences our everyday lives. What kids today need is a fun way to learn scientific concepts. This book will help scientists-in-the- making discover how our world works with creative project ideas, including how to: Grow crystals to power your Stargate and set your room aglow Extract your own DNA and decode your genes Build a MacGyver radio from nothing but cast-off electrical and office supplies Chock-full of instructional illustrations throughout, The Geek Dad Book for Aspiring Mad Scientists puts the fun back in science.

Geek Dad

Geek Dad
Author: Ken Denmead
Publisher: Penguin UK
Total Pages: 184
Release: 2012
Genre: Crafts & Hobbies
ISBN: 0670921378

Calling all Geek Dads! What would it take to tear your kids away from their computers? How about if they could launch a camera into orbit, make their own cartoon film, or even build a rope swing?This hands-on manual is packed with fun-filled projects for dads and kids to enjoy together. Water slides, electronic origami, illuminated wallets, exploding drinks... There are activities for all ages, from five to 15 years old. With easy to follow step-by-step instructions you can choose a perfect project to fill a few minutes or to make a long afternoon fly past.It's time to get geeky.

Made by Dad

Made by Dad
Author: Scott Bedford
Publisher: Workman Publishing
Total Pages: 337
Release: 2013-05-07
Genre: Crafts & Hobbies
ISBN: 0761171479

The Snail Soup Can Decoy to keep the candy stash safe. The Customizable “Keep Out” Sign to deter meddlesome siblings and parents. A Bunk Bed Communicator made from cardboard tubes (“Psst! Can you keep the snoring down?”). Clever, whimsical, and kind of genius, here are 67 unique projects that will turn any dad with DIY leanings into a mad scientist hero that his kid(s) will adore. No screens, no hi-tech gadgetry. Made by Dad combines the rough-edged, handmade ethos of a Boy Scout manual or The Dangerous Book for Boys with a sly sense of humor that kids love. Scott Bedford, a creative director by day and Webby Award–winning blogger by nights and weekends, wields an X-ACTO knife, magic marker, and prodigious imagination to create endlessly delightful projects for his two sons. He knows that kids like contraptions and gadgets, things that are surprising—a chair that appears to be balanced on eggshells. Things that are complex—a multilevel city, with buildings, tunnels, and roads, built from old boxes around the legs of a table. And especially things with humor—the Snappy Toast Rack, made to resemble a crocodile’s gaping mouth. The projects are shown in full-color photographs, and the instructions are illustrated in detailed line drawings that exude personality. Some are quick and simple enough to be done in a coffee shop; others are more of an afternoon project— yielding hours and hours of rich, imaginative playtime.

Best STEM Resources for NextGen Scientists

Best STEM Resources for NextGen Scientists
Author: Jennifer L. Hopwood
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 291
Release: 2015-06-30
Genre: Language Arts & Disciplines
ISBN: 1610697227

Intended to support the national initiative to strengthen learning in areas of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, this book helps librarians who work with youth in school and public libraries to build better collections and more effectively use these collections through readers' advisory and programming. A versatile and multi-faceted guide, Best STEM Resources for NextGen Scientists: The Essential Selection and User's Guide serves as a readers' advisory and collection development resource for youth services and school librarians seeking to bring STEM-related titles into their collections and introduce teachers and young readers to them. This book not only guides readers to hundreds of the best STEM-related titles—fiction and non-fiction printed materials as well as apps, DVDs, websites, and games—it also includes related activities or programming ideas to help promote the use of the collection to patrons or students in storytime, afterschool programs, or passive library programs. After a detailed discussion of the importance of STEM and the opportunities librarians have for involvement, the book lists and describes best STEM resources for young learners. Resources are organized according to the reading audiences for which they are intended, from toddlers through teens, and the book includes annotated lists of both fiction and nonfiction STEM titles as well as graphic novels, digital products, and online resources. In addition, the author offers a selection of professional readings for librarians and media specialists who wish to further expand their knowledge.

UNBORED Adventure

UNBORED Adventure
Author: Joshua Glenn
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 178
Release: 2015-10-06
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 1632860961

"It's a book! It's a guide! It's a way of life!"* The exciting new book in the acclaimed, bestselling, award-winning UNBORED series: Here comes "UNBORED Adventure."

Dad, How Do I?

Dad, How Do I?
Author: Rob Kenney
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 230
Release: 2021-05-18
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 0063075032

“Like the YouTube channel, this is a touching yet informative guide for those seeking fatherly advice, or even a few good dad jokes.” — Library Journal

UNBORED Games

UNBORED Games
Author: Joshua Glenn
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Total Pages: 176
Release: 2014-10-14
Genre: Family & Relationships
ISBN: 1632860465

UNBORED Games has all the smarts, creativity, and DIY spirit of the original UNBORED (“It's a book! It's a guide! It's a way of life!” -Los Angeles Magazine), but with a laser-like focus on the activities we do for pure fun: to while away a rainy day, to test our skills and stretch our imaginations-games. There are more than seventy games here, 50 of them all new, plus many more recommendations, and they cover the full gambit, from old-fashioned favorites to today's high-tech games. The book offers a gold mine of creative, constructive fun: intricate clapping games, bike rodeo, Google Earth challenges, croquet golf, capture the flag, and the best ever apps to play with Grandma, to name only a handful. Gaming is a whole culture for kids to explore, and the book will be complete with gaming history and interviews with awesome game designers. The lessons here: all games can be self-customized, or hacked. You can even make up your own games. Some could even change the world. The original UNBORED has taken its place as a much beloved, distinctly contemporary family brand. UNBORED Games extends the franchise -- also including UNBORED Adventure -- in a new handy flexibound format, illustrated in full color throughout. This is a whole shelf of serious fun the whole family can enjoy indoors, outdoors, online and offline.

Mazes for Programmers

Mazes for Programmers
Author: Jamis Buck
Publisher: Pragmatic Bookshelf
Total Pages: 385
Release: 2015-07-15
Genre: Computers
ISBN: 1680503960

Unlock the secrets to creating random mazes! Whether you're a game developer, an algorithm connoisseur, or simply in search of a new puzzle, you're about to level up. Learn algorithms to randomly generate mazes in a variety of shapes, sizes, and dimensions. Bend them into Moebius strips, fold them into cubes, and wrap them around spheres. Stretch them into other dimensions, squeeze them into arbitrary outlines, and tile them in a dizzying variety of ways. From twelve little algorithms, you'll discover a vast reservoir of ideas and inspiration. From video games to movies, mazes are ubiquitous. Explore a dozen algorithms for generating these puzzles randomly, from Binary Tree to Eller's, each copiously illustrated and accompanied by working implementations in Ruby. You'll learn their pros and cons, and how to choose the right one for the job. You'll start by learning six maze algorithms and transition from making mazes on paper to writing programs that generate and draw them. You'll be introduced to Dijkstra's algorithm and see how it can help solve, analyze, and visualize mazes. Part 2 shows you how to constrain your mazes to different shapes and outlines, such as text, circles, hex and triangle grids, and more. You'll learn techniques for culling dead-ends, and for making your passages weave over and under each other. Part 3 looks at six more algorithms, taking it all to the next level. You'll learn how to build your mazes in multiple dimensions, and even on curved surfaces. Through it all, you'll discover yourself brimming with ideas, the best medicine for programmer's block, burn-out, and the grayest of days. By the time you're done, you'll be energized and full of maze-related possibilities! What You Need: The example code requires version 2 of the Ruby programming language. Some examples depend on the ChunkyPNG library to generate PNG images, and one chapter uses POV-Ray version 3.7 to render 3D graphics.