The Animal Challenge
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“At this point I think I know more about manufacturing than anyone currently alive on earth.”
-Elon Musk, 2022
While Musk’s comment may be right for now, MAKE is here to educate, inspire, and equip the next world leader in manufacturing. Through the pillars of Read, Build, and Experience we hope your children learn to enjoy manufacturing at an early age. We are honored to have your family onboard, let’s dive in!
READ
We receive a lot of questions about the book, one being “How did you come up with the name Blake?” Blake, the 6-year-old manufacturing enthusiast and main character in Blake Explores Manufacturing, is a fictional character. Blake is not named after anyone in particular but instead was the first name we could identify in which we did not (yet) know a child.
BUILD
The MAKE building activity in July: Animal Home Challenge was designed to show the breadth of manufacturing - manufacturing a home for their toy animals. Following our simple steps throughout each activity (1) Imagine and Plan (2) Create (3) Test (4) Improve, each child is provided enough structure to get started but the freedom to imagine and innovate their end product.
The Animal Home Challenge is hands-on learning with concepts like balance, structure, and spatial awareness. Below are a few key advantages and things to consider while completing The Animal Home Challenge. If you missed the newsletter, subscribe HERE and we’ll send you a copy!
Practical Approach: Encourage your child to think about balance, stability, and gravity while utilizing a range of different items to build like; stacking blocks or using craft materials.
Problem-Solving and Decision-Making: Challenges such as the roof not staying on, and walls aren’t tall enough are all common problems that will teach your child to be resourceful and flexible. When your child pivots to a new approach and idea due to the first not working is an incredible life skill to learn and develop.
Engagement and Focus: The act of creating something from start to finish gives your child a sense of accomplishment and encourages a sustained focus to complete it.
Visit our Parents + Educators page for more information on guiding your Future Maker through the activity.
EXPERIENCE
For this month’s experience, we invite you to travel back to October, 2023 at MAKE Publishing’s launch party. During the launch more than 50 kids completed the “Clean Up Challenge” and experienced manufacturing together. We invite anyone who missed the launch party to try out the activity - included in every book purchase!
Read | Build | Experience
Joe & Amanda