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Trash to Treasure

Pam Scheunemann

With easy step-by-step instructions, this book will help kids get creative and recycle and repurpose their trash into handmade treasures. All projects feature common everyday items to reuse in a fun new way. From bottle-top pop art to felted tin-can organizers, kids will love making useful crafts and helping the environment. Great tips and advice on reusing, garage sales, and spotting treasures are also provided. So start your upcycling with these fabric, paper, metal, glass & ceramics, and odds & ends projects. Book includes: visual supply & tool lists, step-by-step instructions and photos, fun advice & tips, and safety information.

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Smithsonian STEM Lab

Jack Challoner

From racing wind up cars to making music with a homemade guitar, STEM Lab will excite and inspire curious young minds.

STEM Lab is packed with 25 exciting STEM activities, perfect for firing up kids' imaginations. Explore and discover beautifully illustrated science activities with an easy to follow guide that will explain how science, technology, engineering and math shape the world around us.

A perfect balance between education and fun, STEM Lab teaches young readers through each experiment, describing the science behind it and providing engaging STEM facts. The richly illustrated activities promote further thinking by suggested "Test and Tweak" notes. Encourage young readers to take their projects to the next level, while furthering their understanding of the science behind it.

Each activity has its own 'How It Works" section covering STEM principles to help young minds understand answers to their science curiosity, exercising cognitive thinking and problem-solving skills.

Learn The Science Behind 25 Amazing Projects

Science activities for kids that can be done at home. Leap into the exciting world of STEM where Science, Technology, Engineering and Math combine in 25 fun and easy-to-do projects. STEM Lab teaches young readers how to make impressive insulating gloves, stunning spaghetti towers, amazing automations, and explores many more educational activities.

STEM subjects are a crucial part of a child's education. STEM Lab helps kids to practice STEM principles in a fun and engaging manner, while exercising motor skills and cognitive thinking. The four subject areas this book is based on are interrelated, and by combining them new insights, ideas and solutions to problems emerge. STEM Lab will teach you the principles of engineering and the science behind it.

This STEM filled activity book is organised into four sections:

- Forces and Motion
- Liquids and Reactions
- Shapes and Structures
- Light and Sound

STEM Lab combines fun and learning with hand-on activities that engages STEM principles.

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Mason Jar Crafts for Kids

Linda Z. Braden

Mason jars are no longer just for canning. Today we use them to drink from, to cook inside, and—with almost limitless possibilities—to craft with. In this fabulous new book, Linda Braden, author and owner of MasonJarCraftsLove.com and ItAllStartedWithPaint.com, offers up a collection of fun and creative Mason jar crafts for kids. Her ideas include everything from wild science experiments and delicious edible treats to holiday decor and gifts for the whole family. Kids won’t want to miss the fireworks in a jar or the lava lamp jar projects. And who could resist a Mason jar cupcake or a rainbow Jell-O jar? There are instructions for how to make your own lantern jars, snow globes, and even a Mason jar terrarium. This book will keep little hands busy all year round, with dozens of easy do-it-yourself projects.

Accompanied by photo tutorials and helpful step-by-step instructions, these projects are kid-friendly and offer a variety of options for both beginning and more advanced DIY fans. Each project is complete with age recommendations, a list of supplies you will need, and safety precautions. These projects are great for crafting with a big group or alone with your child, and perfect for long summer days, rainy weekends, and holiday preparation. Be inspired and discover the endless possibilities with the world’s most famous jar!

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Labcraft Wizards

John Austin

Being a wizard takes training, practice, and a few tips from an expert. Labcraft Wizards provides dozens of step-by-step projects to transform everyday objects into instruments of magic, such as a sculpted magic wand, gooey ogre snot, bouncy dragon eggs, edible brewed slugs, an enchanted hourglass, and more! Through its creative activities, Labcraft Wizards encourages scientific observation and helps eager minds explore basic concepts in chemistry and physics through experimentation.

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Karl's new beak : 3-D printing builds a bird a better life

Lela Nargi

Karl is an Abyssinian ground hornbill with a special challenge. His lower bill had broken off and made eating difficult. Karl did a great job of adapting and finding new ways to eat, but he wasn't getting all the food he needed. His zookeepers at the National Zoo and friends at the Smithsonian Institute wanted to help. Could an old bird skeleton and a 3-D printer give Karl a new beak? Karl's new adventure was about to begin! The Capstone Interactive edition comes with simultaneous access for every student in your school and includes read aloud audio recorded by professional voice over artists.

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Fun with Felt

Jane Yates

There are endless ways to get creative with felt! This book introduces readers to crafting with this affordable and versatile material. Readers will learn important techniques for making several projects, such as a felt pouch, bird ornament, and a monster stuffie. Easy and accessible instructions walk readers through each project, while photographs illustrate each step. Young crafters will have fun working on their very own felt masterpieces!

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Epic Cardboard Adventures

Leslie Manlapig

The creator behind the blog Pink Stripey Socks brings her crafting talent to cardboard! With these easy-to-make, imagination-growing cardboard crafts, kids can put on a show, travel back in time, and even rocket to outer space!

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Art Lab for Little Kids

Susan Schwake

Packed with 52 fun and colorful exercises geared toward 3- to 6-year-olds, this book offers parents and teachers an outstanding source of creative art activities to inspire and enrich this wide-eyed and open-hearted age group.

Activities are organized by medium and designed to encourage self-expression. Each Lab also features the work of a prominent artist for inspiration. Gorgeous photography shows different results from different people using the same lesson, exemplifying the way the lesson brings out each artist’s personal style.

Have fun:

  • drawing with food coloring–tinted ice cubes.
  • painting using a sponge bottle washer and tempera paints.
  • printmaking using balloons, lace, and potatoes to place ink.
  • sculpting with tinfoil, paper mache, and paper tubes.
  • creating mixed media art with fabric, wallpaper samples, and items from nature.

Targeting one of the most critical developmental periods for children, Art Lab for Little Kids is the perfect book for both parents and teachers who are seeking enriching and unique experiences to offer this age group. This inspirational book stands out as a unique reference for creating fine art with children through finding the student’s own voice, marks, and style and with playful lessons that result in significant skill building.

The popular Lab for Kids series features a growing list of books that share hands-on activities and projects on a wide host of topics, including art, astronomy, clay, geology, math, and even how to create your own circus—all authored by established experts in their fields. Each lab contains a complete materials list, clear step-by-step photographs of the process, as well as finished samples. The labs can be used as singular projects or as part of a yearlong curriculum of experiential learning. The activities are open-ended, designed to be explored over and over, often with different results. Geared toward being taught or guided by adults, they are enriching for a range of ages and skill levels. Gain firsthand knowledge on your favorite topic with Lab for Kids.

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3D Printing

Melissa Koch

3D printing was once only known through science fiction, such as Star Trek, the popular 1960s TV series. But inventors and engineers on Earth began experimenting in real life with 3D printing to find faster ways to develop and build prototypes, using computers, ultraviolet lasers, and printable materials. Now, there are many innovative uses for 3D printing. Yet 3D printing has drawbacks. Chemicals used in 3D printing can be toxic, and legal experts are not sure how to protect 3D printing inventions so that others do not steal ideas. Learn how 3D printing works and how we can keep up with the safety, health, and legal challenges that lie ahead.

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51 Things To Make With Cardboard Tubes

Fiona Hayes

51 Things to Make with Cardboard Tubes, transforms unwanted cardboard tubes into dinosaurs, monsters, ocean life and much more. Perfect activities for parents and children to create together, the 51 projects feature a well-balanced mix of techniques, materials, colors, and styles for a range of ages.

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TinkerLab Art Starts

Rachelle Doorley

Get inspired with hands-on creative prompts for children ages 3-8 featuring simple materials you can find at home from an experienced art teacher.

Open-ended art prompts that give children opportunities to think creatively rather than follow directions are essential to raising learners who are comfortable with the unknown and eager to tackle it with problem solving skills, self-efficacy, and critical thinking.

From drawing, painting, and paper cutting to making three-dimensional art with clay and recycled materials, these 52 fun and engaging ideas for creative art play use everyday household materials to get kids engaged in their own explorations. These activities are led primarily by the environment. The set up itself is the teacher and will encourage children to think of creative ways to use the provided materials. With foundational information at the start of the book, parents will understand the power of art prompts to foster children's creativity and will be given a variety of ideas for creating a makering space and encouraging self-directed play.

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Simply Felt

Margaret Docherty

The fundamentals of felting including choosing fibers and colors, making flat felt and boiling felt, and stitching felt are demonstrated in 20 beautiful projects in a range of contemporary colors in this beginner's guide. Projects include a cloche hat, a child's jacket, slippers, delicate scarves, square and inlayed throw pillows, and a long-lasting rug. Each project is presented with simple step-by-step instructions, illustrations, and alternative samples and suggestions that help felters to create their own designs. Felters can bring this highly handcrafted style into their wardrobes and home decor with these simple and beautiful pieces.

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Rubber Band Engineer

Lance Akiyama

You don't have to be a genius to create these ingenious contraptions, you just need rubber bands, glue, paperclips, and Rubber Band Engineer, of course.

Shooting far, flying high, and delivering way more exciting results than expected are the goals of the gadgets in Rubber Band Engineer. Discover unexpected ways to turn common materials into crafty contraptions that range from surprisingly simple to curiously complex. 

In vivid color photos, you'll be guided on how to create slingshot rockets, unique catapults, and even hydraulic-powered machines. Whether you build one or all 19 of these designs, you'll feel like an ingenious engineer when you're through. Best of all, you don't need to be an experienced tinkerer to make any of the projects! All you need are household tools and materials, such as paper clips, pencils, paint stirrers, and ice pop sticks.

Oh, and rubber bands. Lots of rubber bands.

Grab your glue gun, pull out your pliers, track down your tape and paper clips, and get started on the challenging, fun, and rewarding journey toward becoming a rubber band engineer.

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Mason Jar Nation

JoAnn Moser

Learn how to make more than 50 Mason jar projects, including luminaries, planters, and upcycled art, in this eagerly anticipated book for DIYers!

Mason Jar Nation begins by exploring the Mason jar's impact on America since its 1858 patent. Prior to the jar's invention, settlers had no reliable and safe way to store food for the winter, which required them to travel great lengths in difficult conditions and obtain expensive canned goods in order to survive. With its hermetically sealable two-piece lid and thick glass sides, the Mason jar changed the way mid-nineteenth century Americans fed their families.

Although the popularity of the jars ebbed significantly from the 1950s until the turn of the century, interest in them has exploded in the past few years. Ball, the biggest brand name in Mason jars today, has seen its sales double since 2001. Younger generations, including Millenials, have adopted the iconic jars as emblems of a more sustainable time. The humble Mason jar has been "discovered" as a versatile and beautiful material for creating craft items such as chandeliers, luminaries, planters, containers, and upcycled art.

The second half of Mason Jar Nation features over 50 of these adaptations, shown with clear photography, all designed and photographed by author JoAnn Moser, the "DIY Maven." Readers who appreciate American cultural history, making fun and affordable crafts, and Mason jars themselves will love this new book and its tall, narrow shape that's based on the proportions of the classic Mason jar.

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Hand Dyed

Anna Joyce

Hand Dyed is a modern introduction to indigo and fiber-reactive dye that every crafter should have. Exploring traditional techniques like shibori and using organic compounds, this comprehensive how-to guide offers everything you need know to create stylish, richly colored and patterned pieces. Classic techniques and natural materials make these projects beautiful and accessible, even for the beginner. Items such as an elegant robe, a duvet cover set, drum lampshades, and even a hammock will invite a new generation of design lovers and style mavens to fall in love with this traditional, magical, and surprisingly straightforward process. Anna Joyce is the perfect instructor to teach the skills needed to create more than 25 masterpieces for the home and wardrobe that readers will want to wear, live with, and most importantly, make by hand.

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