The Geek Dad’s Guide to Weekend Fun by Ken Denmead

The Geek Dad's Guide to Weekend Fun by Ken DenmeadPssst. Wanna know a secret? You don’t have to be a dad, or even have kids for that matter, to enjoy the hell out of The Geek Dad’s Guide to Weekend Fun.

The follow up to his book Geek Dad, in The Geek Dad’s Guide to Weekend Fun author Ken Denmead presents a wide range of activities designed to bring parents and kids together for hours of fun and education.

Each project is clearly broken down with a chart that gives you an idea of cost, difficulty, duration (how long it will take), reusability, and the tools and materials required. And while some projects will require an expenditure, Denmead goes out of his way to structure most around common household items that most will already have readily accessible.

The projects themselves range from educational (Did you know you can measure the speed of light using nothing more than chocolate and a microwave? Sure can.), to cost saving (Tired of spending tons of cabbage on role playing games? Then learn how to make your own combat card games and terrain pieces.), to downright James Bond-esque (Seriously, who wouldn’t want to know how to build a backyard zip line or Nerf dart blowgun?!).

And since the whole idea behind the book is to promote learning through hands-on activity, many of the projects also include a section called “Extra Geeky Ideas” that suggest variations and ideas for further customizing the project or experiment to encourage kids to use their immaginations. Similarly, where applicable there are sidebar boxes called “Quick Science Lesson” to help kids further understand the concepts behind the projects and experiments.

No question about it, The Geek Dad’s Guide to Weekend Fun is a great book for parents, kids, and those who are still kids at heart. Now if you’ll excuse me, I think there are two trees in the backyard that would work perfectly for that zip line.

The Geek Dad’s Guide to Weekend Fun is available from Gotham Books (ISBN: 978-1592406449).

Ken Denmead is a husband and father from the San Francisco Bay Area, where he works as a civil engineer. He’s also the editor of GeekDad, the parenting blog for Wired magazine’s online presence, where along with a group of other dedicated, geeky parents he posts projects, book and movie reviews, weekly podcasts, and more about being a parent and being a geek. The Geek Dad’s Guide to Weekend Fun is the follow up to Geek Dad. To learn more about Ken, visit his website.

1 Comment

  • Sabrina Ogden

    August 22, 2011 - 4:52 PM

    Sounds like fun… I’ll have to share this with all the families in my neighborhood. Great review, Elizabeth.