“From the dawn of time…we have learned primarily by tinkering.” These are wise words from this life-long tinkerer and author of Tinkering: Kids Learn By Making Stuff. For Curt, tinkering is a mix of creativity, inspiration, and a primordial need to understand the world. It’s a way for our little ones, “To become fully human. To become useful. To understand the universe apart from any given expert’s interpretation.”
It’s fair to say that Curt is one of the most famous tinkerers around, but of course, he sees his two little rascals, 12 and 10, as his “primary ongoing tinkering project. Incidentally, they view my partner and I as THEIR primary tinkering project as well.”
So if you’re looking to inspire the next generation, take it from the Yoda of tinkering, and embrace the stuff. To make the most of your experience, “you can’t be afraid of stuff. Piles and piles of stuff. To tinker with science, engineering, design, construction, electronics, crafts, or food, you’ll need stuff and lots of it,” Curt says. If you want to try one of his favorite projects and you’ve got a future musician in the fam, you can take a shot at making your very own bag pipes.
Online: curtgabrielson.com
