This post is part of a sponsored campaign for Klutz. I received compensation for my participation, but my review and opinions are my own. Understanding the basics of circuitry is a key STEM skill. Makers should also be familiar with the basic elements of electronics, so I'm always on the lookout for new ways to introduce these things to kids. Therefore, I was eager to take a look at the new Klutz Circuit Games Lab, one of the items in their Maker ... [ Read More ]
Galaxy Girls Book Review
I'm thrilled to bring in an authentic voice to review Galaxy Girls: 50 Amazing Stories of Women in Space. Please welcome Miriam, a 10-year-old, book-obsessed writer, dancer, singer, actor, roller-blader, chef, and more. She lives with her parents, younger brother, and dog on the north side of Chicago. This review contains affiliate links. Galaxy Girls: 50 Amazing Stories of Women in Space Before I even turned to page one, the cover of Galaxy ... [ Read More ]
STEAM Lab for Kids by Liz Heinecke
The Maker Mom's favorite dad-daughter review team is back with their review of Liz Heinecke's latest book, STEAM Lab for Kids: 52 Creative Hands-On Projects for Exploring Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (affiliate link). Our readers are fans of Liz's earlier books, Outdoor Science Lab for Kids and Kitchen Science Lab for Kids, so we had a feeling this one would win us over as well. Let's see what they had to say. STEAM Lab for ... [ Read More ]
Cozmo Robot Review
As promised in my National Robotics Week post, I've got a review of Cozmo (affiliate link), an adorable AI- and personality-driven palm-sized robot. Anki's PR team sent me the product for review. Created by three roboticists from Carnegie Mellon and designed with the input of Pixar artists and animators, Cozmo is endearing, engaging, and a bit (okay, a lot) reminiscent of Wall-E. (If you haven't seen it yet, make plans to do so. You will make ... [ Read More ]
The Dangerous Book for Boys, Coming to a Screen Near You
I was just served up a Facebook ad for a most unexpected book-to-screen adaption: the Dangerous Book for Boys (affiliate link here and below) has been crafted into a series that will run on Amazon Prime. It might be interesting. It could inspire some exciting maker fun, but honestly, I'm still scratching my head over this odd news. The book is almost always better than the movie. I suspect that will be the case here, too. A thousand internet ... [ Read More ]
Amazing Bionic Animals and a Peek at Marine Science
In these dark times, I sometimes turn to cute animal videos and GIFs for a quick smile. Don't judge; it's actually a science-based approach! And of all of the cute, fluffy animal videos, nothing tugs at my heart like adorable animals with prosthetics. So when a publisher reached out to me with their fall titles (affiliate links ahead), I practically melted when I came across Unstoppable: True Stories of Amazing Bionic Animals. Stories of Bionic ... [ Read More ]
Museum Hack Tour in Chicago
We love to visit museums, so when the team at Museum Hack invited me to try out one of their "renegade" museum tours, my interest was piqued. Museum Hack's irreverent tours are currently available at a variety of museums in Chicago, New York City, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. That said, their only current Chicago option is the Art Institute of Chicago. Despite being a world-class museum and an international crowd-pleaser, it's ... [ Read More ]