SonshineLearner Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 Hi There, My son is 8, but my husband is sure there's some slide rule out there for kids. He thinks that Nathan would like to use it now, and so I'm asking, "Anyone use slide rules with their kids?" and if so... Are there ones specifically for kids? :bigear: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
regentrude Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 I explain the functioning of the slide rule when we study logarithms. It's really a cool tool, but I would not want to spend the time to teach how to actually work with it - been there, done that, it takes a lot of practice and is, to us, not worth the time. But my kids should understand WHY the thing works... and to do that, one has to wait until logarithms have been introduced. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMCassandra Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 My math-hating daughter was given one by a dear friend, and I printed out some instructions to go with it. Remember, she's a math-hater--but she LOVES her slide rule! She likes to play around with it in her spare time. I do not require its use. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Belacqua Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 MIT Splash (a weekend event during which MIT students offer classes of all sorts to high school kids) had a class in how to use a slide rule. My son was skeptical but came out of it saying it was one of the most interesting seminars he took all weekend. We don't have one, though. I couldn't even tell you what a slide rule looks like. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted January 30, 2012 Author Share Posted January 30, 2012 Thanks!! :) This is for sure a Dad/Kid thing.... He's an engineer and he knows how to use a slide rule.. He was hoping for a "kid friendly" one :) Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAR120C Posted January 30, 2012 Share Posted January 30, 2012 They have a book with instructions for making your own slide rule out of paper.... http://topscience.org/books/farout_math43.html :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.