Landscape design toys for 11 yr olds ?

[Trace One]

I was wondering if anyone had any rec. for toys for an 11 yr old who has become interested in the design of spaces.

?

[Lucy Wang]

Legos are pretty awesome. I know the company is heavily skewed to making Lego Architecture and not landscape but they do produce trees and flora so I’d poke around a toy store to see what turns up.

[Rob Halpern]

1. A shovel

2. A hose

3. assorted rocks

4. A rule or two about what kids should not do with #1, #2, and #3

(This was my early education…. minus #4)

[Trace One]

I guess that would do in my sisters apartment. A pile of dirt and a shovel, with a directive to re-do her bedroom, since spring is soon upon us..

very funny Rob.

legos, by the way, I do not get at all. They just turn into a pile of unsorted pieces..No comprendo. 

I am thinking like a set with graph paper, templates for trees or couches. Maybe I need to invent this toy and market it…I don’t want to crush her enthusiasm, but I want to teach her how to visualize with plan section and perspective, plus appreciating the beauty of drafting, like Frank LLoyd Wright in the early years..

Or not. just leave it alone.

[Dave McCorquodale]

My kids, 8 & 7, both really liked getting a tablet of graph paper like I use to design on and I let them have an old set of circle templates.  Seemed incredibly simple to me, but I guess having something exactly like what I use daily is the key to why they like it so much.  I think of it like prepping my own little cadre of draftsmen for me to exploit in a few years!!!  

Dave

[Ben Yahr]

A sandbox!

[Roland Beinert]

You could get her a copy of AutoCAD.

Seriously, I think a set of drawing tools and maybe a book would be good.

[Wyatt Thompson, PLA]

I’d give a kid SketchUp way before AutoCad. Minecraft is another really interesting educational-design tool if caregivers are willing to engage with the child in playing the “game.” I think something more hands-on that would let kids create and get their hands dirty without a screen or a plug would be better. Garden tools, art supplies, 3-dimensional puzzles maybe.

[Roland Beinert]

I was kidding about autocad. I guess I should have put a smiley face behind that so that people wouldn’t consider it a serious suggestion, even though I began the next sentence with “seriously”.

As I said, I think a set of drawing tools and a book would be good. If Trace has any of her old hand graphics books from college, it might be a good addition to drawing tools, especially if the book has lots pictures of plans and sections the kid could try to copy.

[Rob Halpern]

Ouch!

[Trace One]

no offense, to both Rob and Henry! I am not offended, and will take all comments, sorry if  my ironic replies are too harsh…I like both your ideas..

[Rob Halpern]

No worry. It was simply direct. You and I never hit the right note with each other the first time around

[Rob Halpern]

More seriously: workable design happens out there in reality. So a tactile, visceral playing with spaces and volumes, textures etc  is important. Sublimating the experience to the computer as a first step seems misguided  to me. We design in space, we use computers to communicate it.

[Roland Beinert]

I guess if I have to explain a joke, it was never funny. So, I apologize for my stupid joke. I was not seriously suggesting anything computer related. I completely agree that CAD would be inappropriate (and far too expensive) for an 11 year old.

[Jeffrey J. Foresha]

Hello All,

I would like to mention firstly that I began my interest in design with toys like Kinex and Legos. What I learned most from playing with those toys was that there were numerous possibilities within a limited kit of parts. I believe this coupled with art supplies would allow a child to explore a great range of concepts and get a firm grasp on spacial reasoning. Certainly adding in some real world digging in the backyard will help them gain a firm grasp on how one goes from design to construction. Minecraft is certainly an inexpensive option to the toys mentioned above and has wider options for play. With Minecraft you may want to help them find servers that are more conducive to creative building.

Hope this helps,

Jeff

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