My four-year old daughter has recently mastered the art of throwing a paper airplane, and it can keep her occupied for ages. She’s not quite ready to fold her own airplanes, but she enjoys decorating the ones I make for her. I’m guessing most parents know how to make a basic paper airplane but this “soaring cylinder” is something that fewer people are familiar with. It’s incredibly easy to make but, as I point out in the video, it’s not straightforward to get it flying. It’s absolutely worth making the… Read more Soaring Cylinder →
Catapults are fun! This “mini mangonel” is a really simple, safe design that was invented by my friend Jonathan Sanderson as part of his work for the University of Northumbria’s engineering outreach team, NUSTEM. I was delighted they allowed me to use this for Mr Shaha’s Marvellous Machines because it perfectly fitted in with my aim of having “machines” in the book which were easy to make and left lots of room for children to “tinker“, and develop them into something better for themselves. TOP TIP: If you don’t have… Read more Mini Mangonel →
It’s Father’s Day in the UK today, and I suspect many people will spend at least a few moments thinking about, and being grateful for, their dads. It feels like today is an appropriate day to share this short film, which encapsulates what I think is probably the central “lesson” from The Young Atheist’s Handbook.