Barbie STEM Kit - Engineering a Spinning Clothes Rack
If you have kept up with my blog you know how much we love getting STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) projects for our children. Doing fun projects that includes these principles helps our kids learn how to problem solve, fosters their creativity, encourages innovation and prepares them for careers in this technology-based society.
Right now our oldest daughter has really been intrigued with these STEM based projects so here we are sharing another one. What you see in the picture above is a spinning clothes rack for her Barbie doll’s clothing. We picked up a Barbie STEM kit that teaches girls all about engineering.
This is a genius idea to integrate science with what girls love to play with. This is both a storybook and an instruction book. Inside you learn about some problems Barbie faces and how she and her scientists friend Nikki (which you will meet later in this post) solves them with engineering solutions. You can engineer 7 different projects which include a jewelry holder, washing machine, hammock, rotating shoe rack, greenhouse, designer plattform and this clothing rack. Some of the building pieces include sprockets, rods, axels, gears and pins. It also comes with colorful plastic sheets to help decorate the creations as well as a test tube...
You can also conduct experiments to learn why and how your designs work. For example the experiment that follows building this rack teaches that a small gear will increase the turning force but a larger gear may make something turn faster.
Children will also learn about optical illusions, capillary action and photosynthesis as they create origami, chromatography and leaf print dresses for their Barbie.
The Process of making the Rack
As a homeschooling mom I enjoy times like these where I can sit back and watch my husband help the kids build cool things while I take pictures lol. He looks forward to having this quality time assisting them with all of this technical fun! The kit recommends the appropriate ages are 4-8. Our daughter is eight and she definitely needed her fathers’ assistance throughout. Some of the pieces were tough to connect and the instruction manual got confusing for all of us at some point but we figured it out together.
Thankfully we had Nikki there helping us along the way as well. This is Barbies’ good friend and she is a big reason why Barbie’s projects are so successful.
The end result...
It’s a cool little gadget that our daughter now has to hang her Barbie clothes. In order to make any of the other projects she would have to take this one down to use the pieces . I think that’s one of the headaches to this kit because it can really be time consuming and frustrating making a project and then taking it all down to make another one. However, we will assist her in doing so whenever she is ready to try another project. Overall she loves the kit and her new Barbie Nikki :)
Have your kids ever tried any STEM based projects similar to this? If so please let me know below in the comments! 😃
Logo/Banner created by @rigaronib!
Very, very cool and I wish they had had these when I was a girl playing with Barbies! I would have also bought this for my daughter or Girl Scout troop, but alas my daughter is now 24! At least we did a lot of hands on very interesting badges and workshops in our Girl Scout troop! Maybe someday I will have a grandchild or niece or nephew to buy one of these STEM projects for!
I wish they would of had these when I was younger too!
Oh yes that would be nice if you get to give someone in your family a project of this sort one day :D
This post made me smile @crosheille... I never had a Barbie as a child and didn't want my daughters to get one... but then one of them got chicken pox and 'daddy' bought her a dolly. That is how it started. Then it was me making and knitting clothes for Barbie and all sorts. I am really glad that things have got better now and that there are these activities to do with children. The photos are great and I'm sure your daughter gained from the activity.
My daughters took part in Technocamps (here in the UK) so they did 3-D printing of minecraft creations and also used 'conductive' thread to sew lights on fabric things... All creative stuff and very good introduction to STEM for sure.
Thanks @cryprocariad! I didn’t want my daughter to have a Barbie at first either but when she turned 7 we decided to let her have one. That’s so neat that you started knitting and making clothes for the Barbies...I was just talking about that with my daughter. She wants to sew them some clothing. I too am glad they are coming up with more activities and learning projects for kids. I’m glad you liked the photos :D
The Technocamps sound like fun learning!
I think there's lots of possibilities when designing clothes that can include all the measuring and choosing the right fabric for the design, occasion and season - Nikki would love that 😉, @crosheille.
Incidentally I'm intrigued by the 'leaf print dresses' that you refer to above... That would be cool to see too :D
Fun for the kids and educational such a greta idea, I do think the STEM concept is brilliant and wish it was ore popular
I think it’s brilliant too! I think the more people share about it and write about their projects it’ll get there! 😉
Thanks for checking it out!
@crosheille lets hope it gets more visibility and use
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This is so cool! I would have given anything to have a washing machine for the Barbie clothes I sewed with my mama’s fabric scraps! LOL! This is a great kit for the learning component, plus it shows us chicks that we can build and create too. Thanks for sharing this! 😊
Isn’t it though? I was so excited to get this for her. Lol I bet you would have loved it! Yes exactly, there are a lot of girl engineers and techies too!! 😊
As I do not keep up with the toy aisle any more this is really new to me.
I have concerns how to keep kids off electronics and back to more imaginative and hands on activities.
Really glad they are coming up with this type of attraction! Very nice you take the time and intetest with your child.
This is such a cool learning kit @crosheille! Who would have thought Barbie and Science on the same page?? Thank you so much for sharing the detailed write-up and pics of how your daughter and husband install it together. Although time consuming, it is truly precious time spent together :) Although time consuming and frustrating at certain stage, it truly is precious time spent together :)
That is just brilliant! Barbie has come on a lot.