Teaching Your Kids the Joys of Tech Hacking

By Carla Gregson
Guest Contributor

Tech Hacking is a unique new way for families to bond. It can be the perfect project builder for people who have a little bit of computer or technological savvy. The basic idea behind Tech Hacking is to take apart some type of device and rebuild it into a new and improved, or in some cases, completely different gadget. The concept is to disassemble an existing device and find a way to recreate it into something new. This can be the perfect project to share with your kids.

You might initially think that Tech Hacking is far too complicated, or perhaps even illegal, for most people to accomplish. Most of the time, however, it is neither. Tech Hacking can be a perfect way to encourage your kids’ ingenuity by creating an invention by using simple gadgets that are available to people everyday. Tech Hacking is accomplished by updating, rebuilding, or completely recreating a computer, cell phone, MP3 player, or similar gadget into almost anything the mind can conceive. Not unlike the generations of families who worked on fun and exciting projects together in old times, this is a new way of bonding through creative invention.

Once upon a time, one of the more popular family projects was building things together. In fact, throughout history, many families have bonded through some form of building or creating-type activities together. Many families over the years bonded while making model airplanes, model trains and rockets. For example, kids from the 30’s through the 70’s grew up building toy figures, soapbox cars, and go-carts. For a child today, working with his or her family to create a new gadget from another one not only spurs their imagination, it creates timeless memories.

This family time is a treasure that your kids may well remember their whole lives. It can also be a powerful parenting tool that gives you the opportunity to teach your kids to work together and be creative. Tech Hacking is just the latest in a long list of bonding strategies through creative projects that many families enjoy together today. It can be a powerful way to teach teamwork and problem solving skills and to encourage group creativity.

Some of the items you and your kids can create through Tech Hacking might include homemade robots, LED fireworks displays, levitation devices, electric go-karts, solar-powered amplifiers, and a compact new Wii Cube with extras and a screen. Other remarkable ideas include a computerized car that is driven remotely from a computer, a doorbell that sends a message to a cell phone when someone is at the door, and a simple fun LED-lit box of chocolates. You are limited only by your imagination.

The great thing about creating new gadgets through Tech Hacking is that the sky is the limit. New inventions always await the brightest of minds and most diligent of group efforts. No matter what the end project is meant to be, Tech Hacking can be the perfect memory builder for any family. While the gadget might not last forever, the memory of the ingenuity, fun, and time spent creating it will.

About the Author

Article contributed by Carla Gregson on behalf of BingoStreet.com.