She Reads a Lot Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Hi, all, Someone on another board posted about this impressive-looking resource and I wanted to share: http://www.jamesdysonfoundation.com/resources/engineering-box/ It is a free four-week instructional engineering kit from the Dyson foundation (and no, I don't have a Dyson vacuum) where kids get to disassemble a Dyson vacuum. The site says they will send you the kit and return it for free, as long as you hit the four-week window. It does look fairly classroom oriented, but I don't see why we can't make this work for the homeschool environment. It is aimed at fifth through eighth graders. I've spent some time today trying to figure out how I can work this into our science for next year. As a four-week unit after physics maybe? I can't tell if it is completely different and just needs to be its own "engineering" thing we do for a month or if I can tilt it toward/use it as science. Anyway, just wanted to share, Christina Edited to fix the URL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nannyaunt Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 That looks really very cool. My kid is too young but I can certainly pass it along :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MelAR05 Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Thanks! I just ordered one. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandylubug Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 I put in a request, too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Me, too. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiMi 4under3 Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Interesting! Just ordered a kit... Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 bumping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
momto2Cs Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 Thanks for the link! I went ahead and requested one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lori D. Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Thanks! Forwarded the info to my old homeschool group, and it looks like a group is going to do it! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
She Reads a Lot Posted October 14, 2014 Author Share Posted October 14, 2014 I would love to hear from some of you about how long it takes for the kits to arrive (and whether they are as cool as they sound!). I couldn't tell if it was pretty quick or if there is a wait. Would help to know these things as I plan for next year. 'Cause you aren't completely busy educating your own children or anything . . . TIA, Christina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SweetMissMagnolia Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 looks awesome.....great idea!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoJosMom Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 Oh, wow! This looks awesome-just forwarded it to DH for a possible winter project with DD. Thanks, OP! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 Me too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paceofnature Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 I would love to hear from some of you about how long it takes for the kits to arrive (and whether they are as cool as they sound!). I couldn't tell if it was pretty quick or if there is a wait. Would help to know these things as I plan for next year. 'Cause you aren't completely busy educating your own children or anything . . . TIA, Christina I just got an email from them saying that they give priority to teachers in schools and that their inventories are allocated until Feb 2015. They are willing to put homeschoolers on waiting lists if we are interested. HTH with your planning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madteaparty Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 I received the same email. I wish they would put this info on their website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom2OandE Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Very cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Yep, I got the same e-mail. I too wish they'd just be upfront. I did ask to be put on the waiting list. Whatever..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soror Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Color me annoyed I was planning it for our co-op. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
She Reads a Lot Posted October 16, 2014 Author Share Posted October 16, 2014 I feel like the Grinch who stole Christmas!! Sorry, all, for the disappointment with this. I had no idea that they had a wait list or that they prioritized p.s. teachers over homeschoolers. Boo hiss. The only reason I hadn't put in for the kit is that our year of science is packed and we are already behind, plus it is human body science and my son is on the lowest end of the age range. Since he's a young fifth grader, I figured we would wait a year or two so we could get more out of the kit. I wasn't trying to make any of you the guinea pigs--promise! Christina Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Hmm. I didn't get the email and now I'm wondering if they got my registration. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 I understand why they prioritize classrooms. Sharing the kit with 30 is probably more in line with their goal than sharing it with one or two students. But they shouldn't even have that as an option or just be upfront. Maybe I'll tell them so. Luckily this is the first time I've ever had that kind of response when requesting educational materials. I once requested to borrow a model of a dissected cat and they were extremely awesome about dealing with a homeschooler. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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