what do we mean -
• there is special knowledge and understanding to be gained by making things
• childhood plays a vital part in this innovative process
a historical perspective
• observation, trial and error
• origins of maths
• patterns and geometry
facing the future
growing concerns
• Neil MacGregor
• Sherry Turkle
• Seymour Papert
what do we mean -
At our workshops for children parents have often commented on the difficulties of doing creative activities. They would say:
• "How do you get so many wonderful ideas? I can never think of what to do"
• "I couldn't possibly do this at home because it's much too messy”
• "It's too difficult to get it right"
• "I haven't really got the patience, and the results always disappoint"
At Thinking by Making we aim to show why it is important to do creative activities, helping people understand what children actually learn, and to offer a range of free, interesting projects as part of their child’s journey into ‘making ideas’ activities.
So, read on to find out what we mean when we say "making is thinking"…
There is special knowledge and understanding to be gained by making things
Many people see making things as a fun activity, of no real consequence, but creativity is actually an essential human activity, and there is more to it than just learning practical craft skills and developing hand/eye co-
these essential items evolve from the continual development and invention of new technology
developing the ability to make things is necessary for innovation and is very rewarding
In order to survive in the world we have always needed to make objects and to be productive, to make clothes, houses, growing and cooking food, rearing animals, protecting and defending ourselves, and make devices and machines that help us do all the things we do. This making and inventing will always be needed -
This is especially so now, with a greatly expanding human population, we need to be innovative to solve new and developing problems. These problems are not just global, they affect all our daily lives.
It is very rewarding
On a personal level making activities can provide an enhanced sense of achievement and of vitality. Making is a tactile experience which engages emotionally with many different feelings. Those of wellbeing and the satisfaction on the completion of a project; feelings of achievement; or the struggle and frustration of trying to master a skill; or just the simple joy of a great colour combination. These are emotional responses to the touch and texture of a material -
When we make things, we not only develop imaginative and innovative new ideas to 'solve problems', in doing so we also create change, variety, and unusual, surprising experiences.