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Becky Parker
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| Posted: July 24 2009 at 10:57am | IP Logged
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My ds is only 8 but has recently become interested in being an architect. I know this can, and probably will change before he's an adult, but nevertheless, I would like to help him explore this new interest. The problem is, all my other kids were either interested in animals or bugs or trucks at this age. So, I'm clueless. Any suggestions for a budding architect?
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Becky
Wife to Wes, Mom to 6 wonderful kids on Earth and 4 in Heaven!
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lapazfarm
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| Posted: July 24 2009 at 9:08pm | IP Logged
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All of the David Macaulay books like
castle, pyramid, Mill, etc, are great architecture books for kids.
My son also liked Draw 50 Buildings
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Theresa
us-schooling in beautiful Fairbanks, Alaska.
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wamegomom
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Becky, my nephew is at UVA right now studying architecture and restoration. He became interested in this as a very young teen by becoming involved with a local project in his home city to save a landmark building which was in danger of being razed. He ended up getting appointed (the youngest ever member) to the historical preservation board of his city! This just fanned the flame for him. It is truly his passion. He got to spend a few weeks last summer in Jamaica doing architectural restoration/preservation. Are there any similar landmark projects in your area that your ds could be involved with? Yes, he's young, but he might enjoy getting a chance to observe a building being restored (with cool tools!), ask questions, maybe take photos and make a scrapbook?
Mary Alice in Kansas
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KauaiCatholic
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has he tried those 3-d foam puzzles? we love 'em, and there are a variety of difficulties available. we just finished a mini series of "architectural wonders."
I've always coveted (I mean "admired") the Equilibrio system in the Timberdoodle catalog, but haven't been able to justify the expense. my DS is more of a budding "destroyer of buildings" than a builder. 
wow! I just went over to Timberdoodle to check on the spelling of Equilibrio and found a bunch of cool architect-y things. Uber-Arc looks amazing ... way too pricey for us, but pretty cool.
anyway, have fun tracking down things for your budding architect!
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 Viviane
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We can do no great things; only small things with great love. -- Blessed Teresa of Calcutta
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MaryM
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| Posted: July 25 2009 at 2:09am | IP Logged
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KauaiCatholic wrote:
| wow! I just went over to Timberdoodle to check on the spelling of Equilibrio and found a bunch of cool architect-y things. Uber-Arc looks amazing ... way too pricey for us, but pretty cool. |
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Yes, that is what I was going to recommend. Timbledoodle has always carried lots of building and architeture type products. Link
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Mary M. in Denver
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stellamaris
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One idea is to consider letting him spend some time with a real architect. My son (now a mechanical and electrical engineer) was very interested in architecture as a boy and I contacted a local architect and asked if he could spend a half-day with him. He was great...had a few children of his own... and loved having my ds there. My ds got a chance to work on some of the computer design programs the architect used, see the models and blueprints, etc. It was a wonderful experience that he still remembers!
You might also check out the library for books about architecture, housing styles, and house building. One my ds loved at this age (not in print now, and not available used, either) was entitled Peter's New House. If your library has it, it is a very informative book about the process of house building from design to completion. Another interesting book, geared for actual adult architects,is The Grammar of Architecture . It has pages and pages of drawings and descriptions of individual architectural elements.
Hands-on projects for him could include "designing" a house out of foam board. You would need to help him cut it using an exacto-knife. We did this when we studied ancient civilization. I had my dd research and design a "typical" Sumerian home. Greek, Roman, or other cultures that had square corners!! could be studied as well. I'd skip round houses !
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Caroline
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Becky Parker
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Wow, thanks for all the suggestions! I will check out all the resources. For years, I've heard of Timberdoodle, but can you believe I've never visited their site? Well, I spent half the morning there - neat stuff. I'm happy to have something to offer this ds as far as this interest goes. My other kids all feel passionately about various things and it's always been easy to know what interests them. But this ds is very quiet and I think he has had a hard time finding his nitch. While my other kids all make a bee line to "their favorite section" of the library, this child kind of wanders around looking here and there and often takes out books that match his brother's interest. They stay in the book basket all week because he doesn't bother to read them. I'm glad to see he's exploring some interests and I'm gathering a list of great books and materials to help him with it. Thanks again ladies!
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Becky
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mooreboyz
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We did a unit on architecture last spring and some neat things were:
building big which is a website based on a PBS series. There are lots of neat projects and online explanations. My library carried some of the videos from the series (which the boys liked) and also the activity manual for the series which was way cool.
I used a couple architecture books from the library to teach them about some of the famous pieces around the world and then we used the Draw 50 Buildings book that Theresa mentioned to draw them in our notebooks.
The book There Goes the Neighborhood was interesting too as it described people's feelings at the time some of these great buildings were made (like the Eiffel Tower).
Frank Lloyd Wright is an interesting person to explore. Our library has a video of his life story and there is a website lets you construct very cool houses inside and out that I can't find right now, but I'll try to post it later.
Also, I ordered the book
The Math of Homes and Other Buildings this year and it looks useful to applying math to this field.
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Jackie
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Natalia
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My 12 yo ds is planning to be an architect. He has spent hours building with KaplaIt is incredible the structure you can build with these!
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Natalia
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Kristen in TN
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The children's second cousin is an Architectual Historian, or something like that. She has sent the children the Draw 50 Buildings that others have mentioned here and recommends the David MacCauley books. She also encourages them to start and keep a portfolio, even at the young ages.
God bless,
Kristen in TN
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4Real Forums : Living Learning
Topic: Budding Architect?
