Underroot

Family

Apr 5

Hello Lovelies,

Here's a story about the grandpa who still had so much to give!

Grandpa Underroot is my favorite person in all of Makerville. He looks like a walking, talking boulder with the most magnificent white hair that swoops down one side, just like a square root symbol. His beard flows like a waterfall. He used to run Makerville's biggest STEM workshop, but after he retired, I noticed something.

He just sat by the window, quiet. "Oki," he said one day, his gravelly voice low, "who needs an old rock anymore?"

That cracked my heart right open.

I grabbed Sillijoi and Rainbow and we brainstormed. Sillijoi suggested, "Teach the clouds to do algebra!" Rainbow just wagged her rainbow tail. Then Grandpa Underroot chuckled,

"What if I taught the little ones right here in Makerville?"

So we prototyped a tiny neighborhood STEM club in our backyard. I made the invitations, Sillijoi drew the banners, and Grandpa tested his first lesson.

He accidentally launched a baking-soda rocket straight into his own beard.

"SCIENCE!" he yelled, laughing.

We fixed the launch angle together, and soon ten little Makervillians were cheering.

Grandpa's eyes sparkled like circuitry. "I still have so much to give," he whispered.

Love,

Oki Pie

Reflection Prompt

Grandpa Underroot felt sad and a little lost, so we are going to use the Harmony Loop today.

Step 1 - Humming Hum a slow, low hum, like a big kind boulder just sitting and thinking. Let it feel warm and rumbly in your chest.

Step 2 - Mark-making Now pick up a crayon, any color that feels cozy to you. Draw one long, slow, curvy line across your paper while you keep humming. Let the line go wherever your hum takes it. There are no mistakes in Makerville!

Step 3 - Clay or Collage Find a small scrap of paper, a tissue, or a pinch of playdough. Place it somewhere on your curvy line to give it a hug. That little piece is YOU, showing up for someone who needed a friend.

Analog Design Challenge

Grandpa Underroot needs a STEM Club Kit he can carry to any corner of Makerville! Your challenge is to build him a Maker Toolbox using found objects.

Your materials could be:

A shoebox or cereal box for the main box
Toilet paper rolls to hold pencils and rulers
Rubber bands stretched across the box to make a snapping sorter
Leaves or sticks from outside as natural building pieces
Tape and string to hold it all together

Your challenge: Build a toolbox that has at least three sections inside, one for math tools, one for building materials, and one secret surprise pocket for experiments. What will you put in each section? What would Grandpa Underroot need for his very first lesson with the Makerville kids?

Digital Design Challenge

Ready to go PRO, little Maker?

Since Grandpa Underroot is a STEM legend and Makerville attracts the best talent from all of Planet Quirk, we are going to design his Maker Toolbox the Techtonian way.

Your challenge: Open Tinkercad and design a 3D-printable Maker Toolbox for Grandpa Underroot. Give it three compartments inside. Add his signature square root symbol on the front so everyone in Makerville knows whose kit it is. You can even add a little rocket-shaped handle on top, in honor of the baking-soda beard rocket!

Label your design with: