Build an Engineering Masterpiece With Leftover Soda Straws

A new Kickstarter project meets children at the intersection of education and engineering, with a little whimsy thrown in.

Strawbees are colorful, key-shaped bits of recycled plastic designed to link straws together to create three-dimensional structures. Each piece has a notched flat end, which you can insert into a quarter-inch plastic straw, and a circular head, which acts as a connector and pivot point for multiple straws and pieces

Essentially, they're a low-tech version of the TinkerToys you played with as a kid — and just like TinkerToys, they bury the educational experience of designing and prototyping complex structures beneath the facade of play. Read more...