Maker Dad: Lunch Box Guitars, Antigravity Jars, and 22 Other Incredibly Cool Father-Daughter DIY Projects

I'm a father of 2 girls (5 and 9 years) who've decided they want to be a construction worker and electrical engineer (respectively) but both are still girls who love girl things. The book is a perfect mix of wood-working, crafting, electrical and computer projects for the ages of my girls as well as much older.For those unfamiliar with electrical work and soldering, the projects start simple and get more complex. Similar goes for the wood-working.At a minimum you need hand tools and a soldering iron ($10).However, a band-saw, chop/miter saw and drill press will make the projects go smoother. To the chagrin of my wife, I am always looking for excuses to buy more power tools.Many of the projects (skateboard, etc) would be of interest to a son as well but about 1/2 are definitely designed for girls.

My daughters and I love the projects in this book. We're attacking one about each second weekend: so far, we did the anti gravity jar (using old hard disk magnets), the soap project (we're distributing soapy footprints now), and the "friendstrument" (even the baby is amazed).Only thing missing: I'd love to have some "satisfying for children" educational background info on some projects, i.e., presented in a way that would provide suggestions for explaining what's going on to my daughters, such as why the silicon hardens, or why there's a capacitor in the circuit. They don't prepare you for that in grad school! :-)

My husband was really tickled to get this. There’s some great ideas and he and our daughter are going to have some real memory building time together!

I think Mark F hits just the perfect tone here.Highly motivated parents who already do lots of DIY projects with or without their kids will find plenty of fun things to do here.The less motivated parents who might be new to DIY projects will find good instruction and encouragement, and might actually try some of these projects. I like Mark's "you don't have to be an expert" and " embrace mistakes" attitude.There's a great mix of topics.You and your kids will learn about electronics, wood working, cooking, programming, logic, etc. while you make fun kid-stuff like skateboards, magic trick, snacks, jewelry, and lots more.Fun for moms and sons, too! ; - )

I almost sent this back but for $10 I'll keep it around. There's a game programing tutorial in here that looked intriguing enough that if it's still relevant when my kid is old enough I may revisit it. There's a few fun day projects for littles but most of the projects are more appropriate for kids 8-ish and beyond. And they'll take longer than a few hours to accomplish. I think I was looking for a more comprehensive book on crafty stuff for my kids who are preschool age (4 and 6). Maybe in another year or so this Maker Dad book will hold more interest for the kiddos.

This was recommended to me by another dad. Some of the items are a little hard to build but my daughter and I are up for the challenge. Super fun and creative items in here that people love to talk about when they see them. Highly recommended for any DIYer dad.

Son does crafts like this with his daughters all the time. They sat with their heads together planning how they were going to make some of the items.

Great project ideas. Best for older kids.

Was expecting something a little less complex to do.

Bought as a birthday present for husband from daughters. They all love it.

Bought it for a friend and his daughter - they love it

It's a good book with good ideas. It's good. I was looking for more power tool applications but it's ok if you're into the tech. The seventh page in was ripped to crap from manufacturing. Other the that it was...good for the price.

Some interesting projects to do with the kids. Instructions are super clear and the pics help alot.Made skate boards for my girls and they were so much fun to do.