Toys are Tools

Happy Anniversary to the final Hubble Repair Mission! I love this Tweet from Astro Mike Massimino.

https://twitter.com/Astro_Mike/

 

Here is an image introducing our exploration for today. It is a rudimentary drawing of two rods and a circle that intersect with the words Toys are Tools. 

Have you ever used a children's toy to solve a problem? I do. NASA does. Maybe you could, too. First, about the kids. Then a little about NASA.

Today I did.

When I didn't have a dish drying rack, I used Tinker Toys to make a creative solution.

Here's a picture of my makeshift drying rack. I used my daughter's Tinker Toys.

Tinker Toys make the rack fully customizable. You can switch up your design depending on what you have to dry at any given time. And the toys are still toys when there are no dishes.

Our children do, too

Here are a couple of photos of our daughters tinkering with their toys. In one photo they built a table for their tea party. In the other photo our girl is assembling a frame for her fort.

In this image our daughter building an amusement park with Tinker Toys.

NASA uses toys, too.

NASA used Tinker Toys when solving problems with high-gain antenna on the Hubble Space telescope. 

Here is an image of the Hubble, from NASA's image archives.

It was important for the team at NASA Goddard to be able to build a model rapidly. So one team member raced to the nearest toy store to purchase a big package of Tinker Toys. From there they were able to build a rudimentary model and troubleshoot their problem. They soon saw how every time a cord rubbed against a metal pole, it shorted out the system. They were able to quantify the range of motion that the Hubble's high gain antenna could make without rubbing. When they told management about the problem, they made their case by showing them the physical limitations of the moving toy model. 

Here is a close-up image of that model, showing where the antenna rubbed against a cord.

They found a simple way to work within the limits of that hardware, thanks to a little time tinkering with toys.

Here is a link to a NASA website where you can view a video about this famous Tinker Toy solution.

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/hubble-memorable-moments-tinkertoy-solution

Hubble Repairs 

Here's a great piece by NASA Spaceflight that discussed the final repair mission of the Hubble telescope. That space walk was epic.

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2024/05/sts-125-400-15-years-later/

What problem will you solve today?

Will you use toys to solve it?

Engineers often build simple models to solve big problems. Maybe you can, too.

Buy Your Own to Tinker

If you use these links, we will earn a little money. It's a simple way for you to support our family's educational efforts.

Do you want to purchase some Tinker Toys on Amazon? Here is a link to where you can purchase the plastic version of this toy.  https://amzn.to/3WMg1xq

Do you prefer wood? Tinker Toys doesn't seem to make them in wood anymore, but a company called Schylling does. Here's a link:

https://amzn.to/3UQkuwy

Here's what their product looks like.

Do you use Tinker Toys? Or something similar? Tell us all about it!