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Inner Workings: Discovering the Magic Within Ordinary Things

By Elaine Bentley, Vice-Countess of Internal Fix-Its (and Manager of Family Programs), Chicago Children's Museum

“That’s beautiful,” the passenger next to me suddenly observed. She had been quietly watching me knit on the Chicago “El.” “Thank you,” I said, “but it’s just a knit stitch…nothing very special.” “Well,” she continued as she stood to exit, “to someone like me, it looks like magic.” Her comment made me recall that I, too, once thought there was magic in my mother’s fingers as she knitted or crocheted. I also remembered when I first saw a potter work on a wheel. How I marveled to see a vase rise up under his hands!

Seeing how things are made is especially enlightening and memorable for children. CCM’s new traveling exhibit, How People Make Things, tells the story behind several common objects that are dear to children’s hearts. When visitors learn this exhibit is based on Mr. Rogers’ factory tours, many exclaim “The Crayon Factory!” (Yes, you can see it again when you visit). You can find out how sneakers, fly swatters, springs, and kick balls are made.

With ever-increasing consumerism, we become more removed from these processes as we buy more and make less. Certainly, many of us still cook, sew, tinker, or craft at home, involving children whenever possible. More and more, however, daily pressures demand shortcuts and trump the time we might otherwise use to make cookies, secure buttons, fix that flashlight, or build a bird feeder. Here are some ways to help children understand how things are made:

The Kitchen: Your Factory at Home. All of the manufacturing processes highlighted in our new exhibit have parallels in the kitchen. Cookies, sandwiches, waffles, and pie crust are excellent examples of die cuts, assembly, molding, and deforming, respectively. Gadgets such as food mills, pasta makers, and meat grinders, demonstrate an additional process, extrusion. And while you’re in the kitchen, why not shake up some butter, mix up some slime, bake a loaf of bread, or crank out some ice cream? Use your own recipes or check out the bounty of instructions on the Internet.

Tours and Demonstrations: Seeing the Experts at Work. The exhibit shows videos, but you can also visit real factories. To find a plant tour near you or near where you might be traveling, visit http://factorytoursusa.com. A survey of your home town will yield additional field trip or demonstration opportunities. Trades people are often surprisingly willing to share their expertise with children. Many businesses also offer virtual tours online. Click on their home sites to find out, or click here.

Build It Yourself: Kits and Tools. Many commercial model-making kits are available, as are kits for building the real thing. Growing up in the 1950s with a passion for astronomy, I built a model of a three-stage rocket. Although my spaceship never blasted off beyond the stratosphere, I learned about concepts that would take a real one into outer space. You can buy kits for building just about anything, from bird houses to periscopes. Home improvement and hobby shops also sponsor Saturday classes for children that help with directions and the use of hammers and screwdrivers; children are excited to use real tools!

Take It Apart: Discovering the Inner Workings. Before you toss that broken clock or tape player, take it apart to see what makes it tick. Inside is a world of switches, circuits, gears, fan belts, speakers, and more. Children will begin to see patterns, commonalities, cause-and-effect relationships, and may even engineer a repair. When I was babysitting my 6 and 11 year-old neighbors, we purchased a toy potter’s wheel at a thrift store. When fresh batteries failed to revive it, we took it apart, found and repaired a loose connection, and started it spinning. Toy wheel, $.40; batteries, $1.79; investigating and solving a problem, priceless.

Even if you’re not electronically savvy, simple mechanical items or battery-operated toys can be safely disassembled. Steer away from anything with ancient TV or radio tubes, and cut off all outer cords. Of course, you’ll need to be vigilant about small parts around younger children.

The City at Work: Stop to Watch. Construction sites and service stations are places to learn how people play a role in how things are made—and fixed. The opportunities are all around. Just stop and gawk. In the case of a building going up, you might make several trips over time to document the progress.

Learning how people make the things doesn’t dispel their magic; it heightens it. Support children when their curiosity prompts them to ask how common objects are produced. Exploring and understanding the inner workings of everyday things will help children create magic of their own.
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© 2008 Chicago Children's Museum

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