With an excess of cardboard and a bored 7-year-old, we were looking forward to reviewing the Maker Workshop from the Director of STEAM Works, Dr Alison Buxton, published by Welbeck Publishing. Packed full of amazing projects from walking robots to a manual hydraulic arm and remote-controlled vehicles, this book is certainly one for the whole family to get involved with.
Adult involvement or supervision is required on trickier projects but the instructions are supposed to simple enough for able children. As Seb is only 7, we helped with every step as the mechanics are somewhat advanced. I have to admit that even I found revisiting circuits, wires and batteries a challenge but we successfully created the aeroplane launcher though sadly the walking robot was a fail.
We received the book some weeks ago, just before lockdown, and we knew it would come in handy to tie in with design and technology homeschool lessons. We didn’t anticipate becoming so involved in helping with the PPE shortages though as we set about 3D printing face shields for local hospitals and care homes. So the book took a back seat for a moment.
With the 3D printers out though, we had a go at creating the walking robot but printing the parts in filament rather than the suggested cardboard. This, we discovered, was a mistake as the motor couldn’t handle the weight of the plastic. So, unfortunately, this one was a fail but it looks so fun to make we will be revisiting next rainy weekend.
We had more joy with the paper aeroplane launcher and found it a nice straight forward project with lots of different elements perfect for Seb’s age and ability.
Thankfully we’d had a few weeks to plan for this so we had all the tools required. The book states on the front ‘amazing projects you can make today’ though we don’t believe this to be strictly true unless you happen to have spare electric motors and battery packs at home. Even my other half, who is forever tinkering and building, didn’t have all the bits knocking around his toolbox so I would suggest having a good look through the book a few days before starting a project as it’s unlikely you’ll have everything you need.
The instructions were clear and easy to follow though we had to make some slight adjustments to the measurements to allow the paper plane to pass through the wheels. It states to leave a gap of 3mm but believe this could be 1-2mm as we had to thicken out the body of our plane for it to get enough traction to pass and propel.
Once we’d cracked that though we had lots of fun watching it whizz up the ramp and take off. Seb set about creating targets for it to fly at and tried to beat his flying record over and over again, so the engagement of the projects is spot on, I would just say adult supervision and proper planning is essential.
Our overall opinion: Fun and challenging book with lots of interesting projects for the whole family to get involved in.
About the Author: Dr Alison Buxton is a maker-educator based in the UK. She has more than 17 years’ experience in STEM/STEAM outreach and founded the non-profit organisation STEAM works in 2014. She is currently working as a consultant at MakerEd UK and as a part-time educational maker space developer at the University of Sheffield. Follow her on Twitter @MakerEdUK
How much is the book and where can I buy it?
You can pick up your copy of The Maker Workshop from Waterstones for £12.99.
About the Author
Dr Alison Buxton is Director at STEAMWORKS LEARNING, the non-profit organisation dedicated to bringing STEM activities to schoolchildren, and leads the MakerEd UK and Makerspace Developer programme for the University of Sheffield.
About The Book
Maker Workshop
Author – Dr Alison Buxton
Publisher: Welbeck Publishing Group
ISBN – 139781783125234
Format – Hardback
Pages -112
Interest Age – 7 to 9 years
Product dimensions -196 x 252 x 16mm
Review By: Libby Wilkinson
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* We were sent a copy of the book for free in return for a review. All opinions are our own.
19 comments
What a great book for getting young minds working, my boys would have loved a book like this when they were younger, Welbeck have some great books
Yes they do indeed, especially to keep little ones busy and entertained
Jack loves making things – I always catch him constructing something whether it is one of his construction related toys or simply making it up on the spot. This book sounds great.
This book would be perfect for him and to keep him busy for a few good hours
This looks an excellent book, something my son would really love to try, well worth looking into, especially with the kids being at home at the moment, great review and post.
Thank you so much, yes we had a fab time and my son really enjoyed it
Seb did a great job. A great book for getting parents and children to spend some quality time together. Ieuan is a bit old for it now but he would have loved tinkering away at a project or two – and I would have loved getting him away from the Xbox!
Thank you, he loves doing creative stuff like this and yes keeps him away from electronics too
This sounds like such a good book as with schools closed anything you can do to get the kids brains working but also practically is great x
Agree with you there Rhian, so important to keep them entertained and motivated and busy
This looks great for kids that love crafting. It is also great for STEM learning too
Yes it is and so important for us to keep encouraging STEM learning
This is something all my kids especially my only son would love. Crafting and making creative stuff is something all three of my kids enjoy doing together.
I am sure your son would love this for sure
It looks a great book, which can have positive effects on children’s imagination and creativity. It sounds a very good opportunity if a parent wants to buy something for his/her kids. This is a good choice.
I agree, sometimes we need ways to keep little ones occupied and busy
Absolutely agree Nick, it is a fantastic book indeed
Oh wow this looks great!! I hope my youngest enjoys doing stuff like this as he gets older
Hope he does, worth checking the book out