Tinkering School

http://www.tinkeringschool.com/

Gever Tulley, Founder of the Tinkering School on TED Talks:
http://www.ted.com/talks/gever_tulley_s_tinkering_school_in_action.html

"The tinkering school is that place where kids can pick up
sticks and hammers and other dangerous objects and be trusted. Trusted not to
hurt themselves and trusted not to hurt others. Tinkering school does not
follow a set curriculum and there are no tests. We are not trying to teach
anybody any specific thing. When the kids arrive, they are confronted with
lots of stuff. Wood and nails and rope and lots of tools. Real tools. It’s a
six day immersive experience and within that context we can offer the kids
time. Something that seems in short supply in their over scheduled lives. Our goal is to ensure that they leave with a
better sense of how to make things than when they arrived, and the deep
internal realization that you can figure things out by fooling around. Nothing
ever turns out as planned, ever. The kids soon learn, that all projects go
awry. They become at ease that in every step in a project, is a step closer to
sweet success, or gleeful calamity. We start from doodles and sketches, and
sometimes we make real plans, and sometimes we just start building. Building is
at the heart of the experience. Hands on, deeply immersed and fully committed
to the problem at hand. Robin and I, acting as collaborators, keep the
landscape of the project tilted toward completion. Success in the doing,
failures are celebrated and analyzed. Problems become puzzles and obstacles
disappear. When faced with particularly difficult setbacks or complexities, a
really interesting behavior emerges: decoration. Decoration of the unfinished
project is a kind of conceptual incubation. From these interludes, come deep
insights and amazing new approaches to solving the problems that had them
frustrated before. All materials are available for use. Even those mundane,
hateful plastic grocery bags can become a bridge, stronger than anyone
imagined. And the things that they build, amaze even themselves. Roller coaster
built by seven year olds! Thank you!"
--Gever Tulley