Books About Inventors That Teach Kids To Think Creatively
Learning about inventors doesn’t have to be boring. For us, it’s really about learning that anything is possible. I was so excited to get these 5 books from Candlewick Press to create a unit study about inventions with an emphasis on creativity.
As you know, I like to say my son is a tinkerer. He’s always building contraptions. So I knew he would get really into this. As an adult, I knew it was a very important lesson to teach. I truly want my boys to always ask questions and to always wonder.
Teaching Kids to Think Creatively and Become Inventors
Disclaimer: I received these books for free and was compensated for my time. As always, all my opinions are my own. Please read my full disclosure policy.
Flying Machines
The day we read this, we also took a virtual field trip with Fieldtripzoom to the Pima Air and Space Museum to learn about the Wright brothers. My oldest thought it was so interesting that they ran a bicycle shop. It was because they ran a bike shop they thought differently than others trying to make planes at the time. That’s why they were the first in flight! We had a great discussion about how your own life experiences can influence your inventions. The next day we built the planes in the book with Dad, of course. We all had fun learning about gravity, drag, thrust, and lift. We took guesses as to which planes were fastest then tested it out across the dining room, naturally.
Kids who are raring to make their own flying machines can pore through the theory and history of flight in this book. Plus, they can build five different models — a galactic glider, a deadly dart, a whirlybird helicopter, a single-prop Starlite, and a twin-prop SuperStar — and pick up some expert tips on flying them like an ace. The book comes with everything you need including: • Tear-out printed sheets for making two paper planes
• Materials for making three propeller-powered machines, including balsa wood body parts, neoprene wings, plastic propellers, wheels, and an elastic band
