DIY.ORG - Creative Adventures for Kids

For those of you who know me well, it will come as no surprise that I was one of those Girls Scouts who was obsessed with earning every possible merit badge.  Cooking, canoeing, sewing, photography - I earnestly worked through the checklists for them all... almost.  I fell short by three, which still haunts me to this day.  The daily checklist is still my constant companion, however.  

So, when I came across this new website called DIY.Org, which challenges kids to undertake creative projects to earn badges, I was instantly intrigued.  Then I started exploring the site.  Wow, I'm impressed.  On this Summer Learning blog I usually recommend websites, apps or books that keep kids inside.  This site challenges kids to be curious, active and wildly creative - and even occasionally get outside - while learning!   This has instantly jumped to the top of my personal favorites list.  Oh, and it' free, which is a plus.  (At some point, DIY plans to sell the embroidered badges, but this isn't an option quite yet.)

First, the Facts

According to the fact sheet designed for parents posted on the site, DIY is a community where young people become Makers. They discover new Skills, make projects in the real world, and share their work online to inspire and learn from each other.  Privacy is a major concern - when children sign up, they are encouraged not to use their real names, but to choose a whimsical alias instead.

To read more of the Parent Guide, click here.

The Skills

The skills represent all the ways a Maker can build their world.  From Wind Engineer to Beekeeper these creative roles empower Makers to develop new abilities and know-how.   In a New York Times article, Founder Isaiah Saxon says: "Social Networks today are about what you like, not what you do.  We want to create an experience for children that's about what you make, and in turn, makes these skills heroic."

Currently, DIY has over 60 Skills represented... and there is truly something for everyone - following is a sampling of the complete list:

The Challenges

Each skill consists of a set of challenges that Makers (kids)  should attempt to learn the Skill, and earn the patch.  Challenges are usually open ended and encourage Makers to invent their own solution.

To give you an idea of what a set of challenges looks like, here are a handful from the Cartographer Skill group:

Not content with text to describe the wonders of their site, the creative crew at DIY has created a cool animated video to encourage kids to join:

And for families and kids on the go, there is also an App for DIY:

 ... which is every bit as visually engaging as the website.  Here are a few screen shots from the App:

It's hard to imagine having bored kids on your hands with a site like this in your arsenal of summer ideas.  I'd love to hear about your DIY adventures!  I may have to earn a few badges myself this summer.

Mrs. Morell