Engineering for Kids
Discussion
My 8 (almost 9 year old) is a car nut. Knows all the makes, models, BHP and speed numbers, acceleration times etc. etc. His favourite car was the Veyron until he found out about the Hennessey Venom and Ariel Atom. He is also positive that when he grows up he is going to start his own car company and build a sports car. He already has a name and design in progress :-)
I want to encourage this drive he has even more but am struggling to find motivational things that will engage him and give him experiences that will help. I know he'll need excellent maths and science as part of the engineering.
Does anyone know of any places we can visit, books and TV programmes he can watch, games/computer programs etc. things that would also be great for a kid of his age with his interests? I spoke with Jaguar about a factory tour but no one under 12 is allowed on it, and I assume it's the same for the others. I'd love to build a Caterham at home but don't have a garage :-(
I want to encourage this drive he has even more but am struggling to find motivational things that will engage him and give him experiences that will help. I know he'll need excellent maths and science as part of the engineering.
Does anyone know of any places we can visit, books and TV programmes he can watch, games/computer programs etc. things that would also be great for a kid of his age with his interests? I spoke with Jaguar about a factory tour but no one under 12 is allowed on it, and I assume it's the same for the others. I'd love to build a Caterham at home but don't have a garage :-(
My daughter is also 8 and is currently building one of these:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Haynes-HM04-Internal-Combu...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Haynes-HM04-Internal-Combu...
I was the same at that age 
Loved the Science museums and all that good stuff. Spent a lot of time building model kits of tanks, planes, cars and sci fi stuff.
Although you can't build a real caterham there are model kits out there that go together the same way (not cheap mind).
My Dad spent a lot of evenings building a westfield which fasinated me (although I probably only understood 10% of it) I am sure I was very handy for getting into all those tight spaces with a screw driver!
Sadly I didn't follow my passion and somehow ended up in Finance...
Loved the Science museums and all that good stuff. Spent a lot of time building model kits of tanks, planes, cars and sci fi stuff. Although you can't build a real caterham there are model kits out there that go together the same way (not cheap mind).
My Dad spent a lot of evenings building a westfield which fasinated me (although I probably only understood 10% of it) I am sure I was very handy for getting into all those tight spaces with a screw driver!
Sadly I didn't follow my passion and somehow ended up in Finance...
Kerbal Space Program can get quite involved, so might be worth a go if only to encourage his ability to tackle problems in a logical fashion.
Get him into maths, but not just pure maths for the sake of maths but actual applied maths...maybe if you have some little problems you can get him to help you work a few things out
Get him using tools, maybe when he needs his bicycle fixed you can supervise him instead of doing it for him, for example
Get him into maths, but not just pure maths for the sake of maths but actual applied maths...maybe if you have some little problems you can get him to help you work a few things out
Get him using tools, maybe when he needs his bicycle fixed you can supervise him instead of doing it for him, for example
Mercedes-Benz World near Weybridge might be worth a look:
Young driving: Assuming he's not already, once he reaches 1.5m tall he can drive a Merc A-Class at Mercedes Benz world: http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/content/unitedking...
Passenger laps: He may be able to have a ride in a car, as you can pay for passenger laps in a variety of different cars; however, I'd check first with his height with regards to car seats etc. A friend of mine is an instructor there and both he and his colleagues are all very professional and I should imagine would be good with kids.
Museums: Mercedes have a small museum at MB-World, plus there's the Brooklands auto and aero museum next door at Brooklands. Both places have cafes so you could spend a day there.
Young driving: Assuming he's not already, once he reaches 1.5m tall he can drive a Merc A-Class at Mercedes Benz world: http://www2.mercedes-benz.co.uk/content/unitedking...
Passenger laps: He may be able to have a ride in a car, as you can pay for passenger laps in a variety of different cars; however, I'd check first with his height with regards to car seats etc. A friend of mine is an instructor there and both he and his colleagues are all very professional and I should imagine would be good with kids.
Museums: Mercedes have a small museum at MB-World, plus there's the Brooklands auto and aero museum next door at Brooklands. Both places have cafes so you could spend a day there.
furtive said:
My daughter is also 8 and is currently building one of these:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Haynes-HM04-Internal-Combu...
brilliant idea! Is it any good though...?!http://www.amazon.co.uk/Haynes-HM04-Internal-Combu...
He is still a bit young but bank this for 3 years time, http://www.under17-carclub.co.uk/
A Tamiya kit is a jolly good idea They've got a nice Integrale kit that a friend of mine's building at the moment. You may need to help him - my Dad did when I was 9, but I got to see how everything went together and then I maintained and repaired the car over the following years as it got battered by my clumsy attempts at driving it. I also built an RC glider, which was good, but ultimately frustrating as I wasn't very good at flying it! If you (the OP) has an interest in building a kit car that's another thing - a 9 year old won't be much real help, but he'll probably love to watch and help with small bits as best he can. Much of my interest in cars stems from the classic bikes and cars my Dad and Grandpa restored and ran when I was growing up.
They've got a nice Integrale kit that a friend of mine's building at the moment. You may need to help him - my Dad did when I was 9, but I got to see how everything went together and then I maintained and repaired the car over the following years as it got battered by my clumsy attempts at driving it. I also built an RC glider, which was good, but ultimately frustrating as I wasn't very good at flying it! If you (the OP) has an interest in building a kit car that's another thing - a 9 year old won't be much real help, but he'll probably love to watch and help with small bits as best he can. Much of my interest in cars stems from the classic bikes and cars my Dad and Grandpa restored and ran when I was growing up.CerberusRogue said:
furtive said:
My daughter is also 8 and is currently building one of these:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Haynes-HM04-Internal-Combu...
brilliant idea! Is it any good though...?!http://www.amazon.co.uk/Haynes-HM04-Internal-Combu...
Just make sure you file any rough edges off the kit.
Take your time with the build
A lot of fun.
RobM77 said:
A Tamiya kit is a jolly good idea They've got a nice Integrale kit that a friend of mine's building at the moment. You may need to help him - my Dad did when I was 9, but I got to see how everything went together and then I maintained and repaired the car over the following years as it got battered by my clumsy attempts at driving it. I also built an RC glider, which was good, but ultimately frustrating as I wasn't very good at flying it! If you (the OP) has an interest in building a kit car that's another thing - a 9 year old won't be much real help, but he'll probably love to watch and help with small bits as best he can. Much of my interest in cars stems from the classic bikes and cars my Dad and Grandpa restored and ran when I was growing up.
Got any more info on the Integrale kit? They've got a nice Integrale kit that a friend of mine's building at the moment. You may need to help him - my Dad did when I was 9, but I got to see how everything went together and then I maintained and repaired the car over the following years as it got battered by my clumsy attempts at driving it. I also built an RC glider, which was good, but ultimately frustrating as I wasn't very good at flying it! If you (the OP) has an interest in building a kit car that's another thing - a 9 year old won't be much real help, but he'll probably love to watch and help with small bits as best he can. Much of my interest in cars stems from the classic bikes and cars my Dad and Grandpa restored and ran when I was growing up.CerberusRogue said:
wemorgan said:
Visit all those science, space, motor museums around the country.
I should have mentioned, we are already doing that for all but the space one. I'll stick it on the list. thanks!Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff