Natania Barron - Geek Mom: Projects, Tips, and Adventures for Moms and Their 21st-Century Families

Copyright 2012 Natania Barron, Kathy Ceceri, Corrina Lawson, and Jenny Williams

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Potter Craft, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
www.pottercraft.com
www.crownpublishing.com

POTTER CRAFT and colophon is a registered trademark of Random House, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Geek mom : projects, tips, and adventures for moms and their 21st-century families / by Natania Barron [et al.] ; illustrated by Dave Perillo.
1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Home economics. 2. Parenting. 3. Handicraft.
I. Barron, Natania.
TX145.G288 2012
745.5dc23 2012011924

eISBN: 978-0-8230-8593-4

Design by La Tricia Watford
Illustrations by Dave Perillo
Cover design by La Tricia Watford
Cover illustrations by Dave Perillo

v3.1

FOREWORD by Kari Byron

ONE
Secret Identities: Introduction to Imagination

TWO
Elementary, My Dear Watson: A Childs Natural Sense of Curiosity Will Lead the Way into Learning

THREE
Resistance Is Futile: Multitasking Mothers Are at the Forefront of the Digital Revolution

Before They Were Machines, Computers Were People

FOUR
Inquiring Minds Want to Know!: Bringing Science Home for Our Kids and Ourselves

FIVE
Food Wizardry: The Geeky Family About the Kitchen

SIX
Make It Sew! And Other Geek Crafts: Taking Traditional Crafts into New Galaxies

BY KARI BYRON
host of MythBusters on the
Discovery Channel and GeekMom columnist

W hen I was a kid, my dad gave me a spaceship. Not a little toy but a real, full-sized spaceship so that I could fly to the moon. At least, that is how it felt. He gave me a huge box from one of those tube televisions they had before flat screens were invented. Paint, crayons, foil, scissors, and Christmas lights made that box the coolest adventure of my fifth grade year. I ate, slept, and lived in that box. My dad taught me about space, planets, and stars. He gave me the universe. Little did I know, I had a Geek Dad.

Dad loved science fiction, Star Trek, and space movies. Because he loved them, I did too. Now that I am a mom, I can see my daughter following my every move the same way. I found that I can harness my love of science into crafts and projects that foster her natural curiosity and love for spending time with Mommy. She collects rocks and shells from the beach and then runs home to find them in a picture book. She is only two and a half but knows the names of the planets and has a glitter and construction-paper solar system hanging from her window. Someday I hope she will channel her geeky passions with her daughter.

As a host on MythBusters, I have worked in the world of geek pop culture for a decade. The best part of being on the show is the reaction I get from parents and kids. MythBusters inspires an excitement for science that they can share together. Becoming a mom made me understand how important that is. I had no idea how much being a MythBuster would prepare me for motherhood. All of my problem solving and love for crazy projects suited my new adventure perfectly. Just like my dad, I became part of a very special club, the Geek Moms. I realized this after I had my baby. GeekMom.com asked me to write a column for their site and I was honored. I discovered this whole new subgenre of geekdom and parenting.

Being a working mom can be hard. After a long day of blowing stuff up or crashing cars, I am sometimes devoid of creative parenting ideas. That is why I love GeekMom.com. Besides being a source of inspiration, it is also nice to see a community of moms doing what I am doingsharing their love of geek arts with the ones they love most. Now GeekMom has taken their blog beyond the internet, cataloguing a wealth of great stories, experiments, crafts, projects, and activities into a book. From making a Tetris cake to dressing like a superhero to making your microwave into a science demonstration, this is the handbook for every Geek Mom.

Being a geek is being passionate about a subject (usually an esoteric one). Be it comic books, fantasy, science fiction, or technology, how amazing is it to share your passion with your kids? I feel like we are all born geeks, full of enthusiasm and wonder. If you are lucky, you dont grow out of it. I hope Geek Mom helps you create memories with your kids like my dad and my spaceship did for me.

B eing a geek isnt just about brains and books anymore. Being a geek is a state of mind, and that state of mind leads us to intensely explore our interests and approach the world with endless curiosity. When we want to get involved in something cool, we really get involved. In other words, we get geeky about it. And when we become mothers, we apply that same dedication and attention to detail to our parenting. We are Geek Moms.

Now, thats not to say all Geek Moms love all the same books, video games, or tech toys or are even interested in science in the same way. But we all admit to identifying in some way with being moms who want to share our love of technology, imaginative worlds, and wizardry of all types with our children. Thats why we started the GeekMom blog in 2010 as a spin-off of Wired.coms award-winning GeekDad blog: as a place for geeky moms to come together to share experiences, ideas, projects, and stories, as well as to nurture the personal connections that are necessary to so many women.

With the same spirit in mind, Geek Mom: Projects, Tips, and Adventures for Moms and Their 21st-Century Families explores the many fun and interesting ways that moms and kids can get their geek on. With six chapters spanning everything from science to superheroes, the book contains a variety of activities and ideas that we know you will enjoy working on together, activities designed for the whole family; it even includes projects for moms to try when they get a few precious minutes alone. Every project is designed with an eye toward learning and discovery and is infused with geeky flavor, be it through pop culture, music, science, or crafts.