EDIT: Had some time to A. Wake up, and B. Get my shit organized.

So my first recommendation is to read these 3 books.

http://www.amazon.com/Relax-Its-Just-God-Religious/dp/1941932002/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452781395&sr=8-1&keywords=relax+it%27s+just+god

http://www.amazon.com/Parenting-Beyond-Belief-Raising-Religion/dp/0814474268/ref=pd_sim_14_5?ie=UTF8&dpID=41mSJWJjhCL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR104%2C160_&refRID=136KZ8YRX0P0CY93EJGA

http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Reality-Dawkins-Richard-Hardcover/dp/B011SKFWNK/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1452781427&sr=1-2

These are all geared more towards the parents, but it sounds like that will be just as beneficial to you. I've worried about the same exact stuff you're worried about ever since my wife told me she was pregnant. These books have been a fantastic resource. The first 2 help you prepare for the inevitable questions (which it sounds like you're already getting) children ask in regards to our origins. There's nothing I can say here that will really improve upon what's contained in these books, so my #1 suggestion is to just pick them up and read them. "Relax, It's Just God" Is a quick read, so I'd probably start there.

I'll just say, for anyone that hasn't read them, or doesn't intend to, the most important thing I took from these books is this:

Please don't shield your children from religion. It's played an incredibly important role in the founding of civilization, and it continues to be a dominant force in society (particularly if you're in the US). By shielding your children from all things religion, they will have no defense against it when they are inevitably confronted with it. To a child, the easy answers and flimsy logic of religious dogma can seem persuasive. By refusing to talk about it, or not engaging them honestly in discussions about it, you're essentially sending them out into the world unarmed.

Now, once you've sort of amassed this collection of tips and strategies for talking about it with them, you need to build an understanding of the concepts that ACTUALLY govern our world. There's a lot of great resources out there nowadays that introduce complex things in a very approachable way. If your children are on the younger side, I'd recommend these books:

http://www.amazon.com/I-Wonder-Annaka-Harris/dp/1940051045/ref=pd_sim_sbs_14_5?ie=UTF8&dpID=51Xa9vh-4mL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=13A7B660SHNYNWGNRS9J

http://www.amazon.com/Our-Family-Tree-Evolution-Story/dp/0152017720/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=12ZKCH4ZP41R11J3AQC3

http://www.amazon.com/Older-than-The-Stars-Karen/dp/1570917884/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=1NTGW8B5FNWYGW2MDDGP

I buy these 3 for every single one of our friends that has a child (provided I'm cognizant of their beliefs, wouldn't want to step on any toes)

I think one of the things religion has going for itself, that science and reason kind of lag behind in, is instilling a sense of wonder in people. It's easy for adults to marvel at things like quasars, black holes, the process of DNA replication, etc., etc., but it's a bit harder to instill that sense of wonder in kids without getting into some really dry science. That's why religion (in my opinion) is still so successful, it offers easy answers to really difficult questions, and doesn't really require you to think too hard on it. "I'm scared of dying" is easily answered by "Well don't worry, God loves you and will bring you to heaven with him."

There's also some great videos on youtube I'd recommend (though they vary a bit in regards to age appropriateness):

https://www.youtube.com/user/sciencestatedclearly (evolution)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rHUDWjR5gg&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtPAJr1ysd5yGIyiSFuh0mIL (Astronomy)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7X56fBK1JlY&list=PLsmqeqKj7M-rZe1C9PUon8V-VQ1tZj5NF (evolution)


Kids, even very young kids, are a lot smarter than we give them credit for. Knowledge of the way the world actually works is the best insulator against religious dogma, so give them as much as they can handle. When that kid at school tells them God created everything, instill values in your child that will lead them to ask "why" instead of just accepting that at face value. And if your child comes home and says, "Jimmy said god created the world" you can respond with, "Well yes, that's what Christianity says, do you know what Islam says? Hinduism? What about the Greek Myths, those are pretty cool huh? Most civilizations have a story about how everything got started, but none of them really agree with one another, and we've never been able to prove it. Scientifically we have a pretty good idea, but there's a few things we don't know yet, and that's perfectly fine. It's ok to say 'I don't know' when it comes to big complicated stuff like this. Let's see if we can't find out more! (insert books/videos/research here)"

My son is barely a month old, so I'm a ways off from a lot of these conversations, but I'm doing my best to prepare myself. I hope to teach him how to tell whether a source is reliable or not, how to be skeptical (particularly of those in power) and how to think critically, and not stop digging just because the answer he arrives at makes him feel better. Luckily, there's a plethora of information out there nowadays from secular sources that is geared towards people like you and me and our non-religious offspring.


EDIT: The other book I will recommend that's not a parenting book and isn't geared towards kids is "Your inner fish". There is a series of youtube videos based of the book if you prefer that. Basically, it makes evolution really cool, and in a way that (in my opinion) you can tell your children about easily. Things like why our skin is the way it is, why we look the way we do, etc. All stuff kids will probably ask.

You can do lots of projects by following instructions on instructables. That is a good way to start to see if you really like electronics. Eventually, you'll want to really understand what is going on and figure out what is really going on. Getting rid of the "black boxes" requires a bigger investment of time and money, but it is worth it if you really like electronics. It frees your creativity and increases the satisfaction you get from completing a project.

If you want to learn about electronics, this is THE book you want. This is the best tip I am giving you. Seriously. https://www.amazon.ca/Make-Electronics-Learning-Through-Discovery/dp/1680450263/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1468868697&sr=8-1&keywords=make+electronics

When you buy your first soldering iron here is what I suggest: 1) get a dicky one like for 10 bucks. 2) be frustrated because it's a pain in the butt to work with and you keep getting cold solder joints 3) buy a Hakko 888d for around 100$ 4) be happy and enjoy your long-lasting love story with your Hakko. (the first 3 steps can be skipped if you're not too tight on money and confident about wanting to pursue electronics as a hobby).

Really for data logging you'd be better with a NodeMCU (microcontroller with integrated wifi chip). But I really don't suggest you start there. Learn to walk before you try running. That is, go with an Arduino if your impatient to get cool results , or even better, learn your basics in a practical and fun way with Make: Electronics.

Great questions! (from both you and your kiddo!). I came across this article - http://www.washington.edu/news/2013/01/08/the-philosophical-child-a-book-for-when-your-child-asks-why-are-we-here/ - which recommends a book for parents, but that doesn't sound like exactly what you're looking for.

In terms of philosophical picture books, the closest thing I can think of would be I Wonder by Annaka Harris. You might also check out the Zen Shorts series, though I don't think any of them really address "nature of reality" type questions directly. Also, while not exactly a picture book, the book Is Nothing Something? might give you some good starting points for discussion. Big Questions for Little People is similar but aimed at slightly older kids. You're Here For A Reason could also be relevant, although maybe not philosophical in quite the way you're looking for.

You could also take "How am I alive?" in a more scientific direction - you might enjoy You Are Stardust and Older Than the Stars, or a simple introduction to evolution such as Our Family Tree. You could also explore simple books about the human body and discuss how her heart, lungs, brain, etc allow her to walk and talk and stay alive - something like See Inside Your Body or Outside-In - or even go into a bit more detail about how she got "in mom's tummy" with a book like Who Am I? Where Did I Come From? or Before You Were Born - or talk about past generations (i.e. mom came from HER mom's tummy!) with a book like Me and My Family Tree

Hope some of that is helpful - of course this is a discussion you can continue as she gets older, and there are lots of great books for older kids that more directly tackle different beliefs and ideas about why we are here.

There is a pretty big difference between having a career in astronomy and having a hobby of astronomy. Some people like both; other people only one or the other.

It sounds like you are of the age where you can expand your knowledge of "amateur astronomy" and it may lead to a fantastic lifelong hobby. But you may find "astronomy as a career" to be not as exciting. It's just too early to tell.

Anyway, that being said... from the point of view of a career, you'll eventually need the math that all scientists need: calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, probability and statistics. And if you go into cosmology or certain other areas, you'll also need some more specialized math that will be taught with your quantum physics courses.

But any "hobbyist" knowledge that you pick up before then is certainly not a waste, no matter what.
cookupastorm had some GREAT advice for that

And I already threw in my plug for the fantastic Intro to Astronomy course from the Great Courses. See if you can get it on inter-library loan and watch it for free.

In addition to Turn Left at Orion mentioned by cookupastorm, people frequently recommend Nightwatch by Terence Dickinson

Also, as an amateur, you can already get a taste of the career-type stuff by helping out with such things as GalaxyZoo (or wikipedia link ) or the American Association of Variable Star Observers.

Also, goes without saying: Look up your local Astronomy club and go to some of their meetings and star parties.

I loved these giant bricks so much at that age! Superfun for basic stacking as well as advance building.

Should probably wait a bit on this one, but Cootie is the best game ever for the preK & K crowd. Another classic game is Memory.

Have some construction paper, brown paper bags (I cut the bottoms off, then down one seam and use the backside as kraft paper), markers, and crayons. Even the 2 year old can rip paper up and stick it to contact paper to make fun collages! Bonus, no need for scissors!

And please don't forget books! Board might be best for the little girl, but if she's not an eater/tearer, then go ahead and get paper or hard backs. Rikki Tikki Tembo, a Seuss collection, Where's Spot, some Eric Carle, Carl, Richard Scarry, Jamberry, and some Little Golden Books ought to be a good start! Protip: Thrift shops have tons of books for kids in great condition.

Looking at stars is pointless, they'll still just be points of light. The interesting things are planets, nebulae, clusters, galaxies and the occasional comet.

Do you have access to a decent pair of binoculars? If so, they will serve nicely for observing a lot of objects in a dark sky location. Even just kicking back in a lawn chair and scanning the Milky Way reveals thousands of stars you can't see with the naked eye.

One thing you won't need binoculars for is M31, visible to the naked eye and in the eastern sky that time of year - but you have to know where to look. A good book for the basics is Terence Dickinson's Nightwatch and it's actually easier to become familiar with the sky in the city since only the brightest starts are visible and the constellations are more easily recognized. Once you've got that down, 'star hopping' is easy.

Also, check out Sky and Telescope's Sky at a Glance for the lowdown on the weeks ahead.

Good luck and happy hunting.

2 good books to get you set:

1. 'Nightwatch' by Terence Dickinson :
   This will get you oriented with everything astronomy.
   
   http://www.amazon.com/NightWatch-Practical-Guide-Viewing-Universe/dp/1552093026
   
   
2. 'Turn Left at Orion' :
   This book will show you how to actually find nebulae, double stars, and galaxies in the night sky. It will also show you what each looks like through the eyepiece of an amateur telescope.
   
   http://www.amazon.com/Turn-Left-Orion-Hundred-Telescope/dp/0521781906
   
   *You can probably find the e-book version of each of these online if you look. But then again, having a physical book in front of you is 10x better.
   
   
   
   
3. Software
   
   Stellarium :
   Pretty much a software planetarium thats free. All you have to do is type in your location and it'll show you exactly whats in your sky at the moment. Three useful keyboard buttons: 'pg up' = zoom in, 'pg down' = zoom out, 'n' = shows deep sky object locations.
   
   http://www.stellarium.org/
   
   Last but not least:
   Try to get yourself a used dobsonian telescope (8 inch or 6 inch). You can definitely get one for $200 used. Its a good investment b/c its something that lasts a lifetime and it retains its value extremely well. Remember astronomy is about actually seeing and experiencing the sky, and not just learning about it from a book.
   
   Hope you get hooked on astronomy like I did last year.

Try /r/parenting/ and /r/raisingkids/ (slightly less toxic)

Many kids don't begin to read until they enter kindergarten (age 5). If this 4-year-old is being taught by his parents to read, or gets such instruction (say, in a Montessori preschool) find out if he's in the early stages, or he's going full bore reading regular picture books and 'early reader' books on his own. Such a child typically enters kindergarten reading at a first or second grade level.

Unless he's a strong reader, the safe and good bet is to buy books with the intent that his parents will read the books to him. So even a chapter book could be appropriate if the subject matter interests him to be read a chapter or two each night at bedtime.

There are loosely ordered by my recommendation level:

• Richard Scarry’s Cars and Trucks and Things That Go. This one is bursting with vehicles, tons to take in on every double page... mostly passenger vehicles, but all manner of other types of vehicles make their own appearance, plus lots of absurd ones (a gorilla driving a banana car, etc.) One scene is in a construction site. A thin story line ties each scene together (the pig family going on a car trip, and Officer Flossy chasing down the speeding Dingo Dog). A fun feature is a yellow bug ("Goldbug") hidden in a different place on each double page. Be sure to get the hardcover. Even when Mom or Dad isn't there to read it, the book is fun to look through.
  
  
• Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel (Amazon link). This is a true classic from 1939. A steam shovel was antiquated even in 1939, but that's the theme of this story.
  
  
• Trashy Town (garbage truck) This one is fun if you can get him repeating the story's refrain with you... "Is the trash truck full yet? {yelling} NOOOO! Mister Gilly drives on..."
  
  
• I Stink (garbage truck)
  
  
• Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site
  
  
• Justin Roberts Greatest Hits CD (or MP3s). I mention this one only because he has a song Obsessed by Trucks.

Nice to see the new community for Make: Electronics. Charles Platt really did a awesome job of teaching electronics to beginners in a way that got their hands dirty quickly with some fun projects. Do yourself a favor and get the 2nd edition of the book as the projects were redone from readers input and the 2nd edition book now includes Arduino based projects so it is perfect IMO as you get to learn the basic circuits and foundation principals first which in turn leads you into microcontroller use and automation. I got the Make Electronics 2nd ed book and these electronic kits that have the components for each experiment in the book for my wife that I never thought was going to have a interest in electronics and she loved it. Right from the beginning when she was told to put a 9v battery on her tongue and wanted me to watch lol. It was perfect for her as she would of never spent the time to order all of the electronic parts to follow along with the projects if she didn't have the component kit. I just ordered another set for my nephew for x-mas as he just turned 12 and wants to learn robotics eventually so IMO this would be the perfect start for him to understand electronics and have a idea what is going on first.

There's a lot of Raspberry Pi kits on Amazon that come with wires, a breadboard, some LEDs, and other electronic components. The CanaKit Ultimate is one such kit that's a good price for what it contains. In addition to the Pi kit get him some books with interesting projects.

• Getting Started with the Raspberry Pi
  
• Raspberry Pi Projects for the Evil Genius
  
• Raspberry Pi Projects
  
  These are all pretty good books and have interesting projects. If your son is actually interested in engineering don't let him just stick XBMC or RetroPi on the thing and call it a day. While those projects might be interesting in their own right you're not really learning much if you're just assembling a video player or video game emulator.
  
  If he puts together some interesting projects with the Pi get him a Radio Shack gift card for his birthday. They're trying to get back to being the electronic hobby retailer of choice so they're carrying Pis, Arduinos, and stocking more electronic components.
  
  What's nice about a good kit is a lot of the components will be useful in other types of projects. Breadboards and good wires work just as well on an Arduino as they do on a Raspberry Pi.

I've been into the hobby for 6 months or so. Bought myself an 8" dobsonian reflector, and a couple higher quality lenses for it. I have been keeping a journal of my progress, but I am just doing simple writeups of my findings and the conditions/location of any given night of observing.

I bought a couple books that have been a big help in navigating the night sky.. one is the a sky chart by Celestron:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000665V8


The other is called "night watch" and is a complete beginners guide to the night sky/astronomy and has also been very helpful, and I highly recommend it -

http://www.amazon.ca/NightWatch-Practical-Guide-Viewing-Universe/dp/1552093026


I downloaded a quite powerful app for my iPhone called "GoSkyWatch" and I'd say it's been by biggest ally. It utilizes gps as well as accellerometer/gyro functionality, so by simply holding my phone up it shows me exactly what I'm looking at, and also locates what I need to find.

I've gotten out around a dozen times so far, and am finally getting into a groove and knocking off lots of deep space objects. Of all the galaxies/nebula/clusters I've found... I still gotta say nothing quite affects me like locking onto Saturn and seeing it drift through my field of view. After that though, the first time I saw M81 and M82 galaxies in the same field blew me away, and M31 Andromeda galaxy is always a pleasure. Really looking forward to winter months and getting a chance to look around Orion and it's hidden gems within.

Hey there! Welcome to the hobby!
For reading, I recommend Practical Electronics for the Inventor. If you're brand new and want something a bit less dense, the Make series is a good place to start.
The box you've got looks a lot like a component kit a friend of mine gave me. He tried the electronics program at ITT before they went under and this is what they gave him. It's got some nice stuff in it and it's great for a beginner.
Now, you want to know what's in there? Google is your best friend. Everything has an identifying code on the side. Punch that into the search bar and 90 percent of the time you'll find everything you need to know about it. It's tedious, but it's the way of things.
Good luck and have fun!

These are a great teaching aid. I've purchased close to a dozen for people wanting to learn computing. Be sure to grab the power supplies too. And secure erase the sd cards with the Linux utility "shred". A single pass with zeros is probably fine, 5x random re-write if you need to be super sure. (PM me if you want me to construct the command for you)
For anyone looking to use them in classrooms this book is a great reference:
https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Started-Raspberry-Pi-Electronic/dp/1457186128

To the technology teacher in the Bay Area (or really anyone interested), please feel free reach out to me if you'd like some volunteer collaboration on lesson and project ideas. I've created some intro to computing lesson plans for my friends who are interested in getting started. (The lessons are geared towards adults with college degrees, but who have never gotten into computing so they start at the beginning and move pretty fast). I've also dug into half a dozen different fun projects so I can give some pointers.

Hey! I actually had very little knowledge of drones/electronics, and then I started lurking on this subreddit and became inspired! I did a bunch of research first, which pretty much consisted of watching build videos and googling "how do I build a quadcopter". I made sure to google any words or lingo that I didn't understand, like "what is an ESC", and "how does a flight controller work". I also tried to search this subreddit for things like "what flight controller should I use" and watched a lot of build videos.

Once I had a decent understanding of the basic parts and components, I bought a toy grade RFT quad, flew/crashed it, and took it apart to look at the various components. I also decided at that point that I wanted a deeper understanding of electronics, and bought this book, though I think that step is highly optional and not required to build a quad. I started working through the book, and also bought this soldering practice kit. After completing the practice kit, I felt more or less ready to try to build this tiny whoop.

Since this was my first build, I tried to keep it simple. It really just consisted of some very easy soldering and then putting the rest of the parts onto the frame. If you'd like more specific instructions or explanations of anything I did, let me know! I think this build could definitely be accomplished by anyone with a desire to learn. I learned a lot along the way, and I'm already planning a bigger more complicated build.

Soldering is really cool, but it does take a lot of practice to get decent at. Also, to actually get much out of your soldering skills you're going to need a cursory understanding of electrical circuits, as well as some familiarity with coding. You can obviously learn these as you go, and there's limitless resources available online, but it is a bit of a hurdle. I would highly recommend the book Make: Electronics by Charles Platt. It's cheap and very well-written. It gives you a ton of information as well as detailed projects through which you can apply this information. It assumes you have no prior knowledge of electrical circuitry, but it is clearly written for adults and does go quite in-depth. Also, be prepared to spend a couple hundred bucks to get started. And if you really get into it be prepared to spend a lot more. Individual projects are generally quite cheap, but equipment costs and ordering a bunch of random/spare parts to fuck around with can really add up. Also, don't cheap out on your soldering iron. Get an adjustable one with a base, you'll thank yourself later.

It's really fun once you get the hang of it though, and being able to come up with your own projects and then make them yourself is awesome. Let me know if you have any other questions!

Oh, get the interactive books they can touch. My son loves to feel the different textures on the books. He loves the "Where is baby's _____?" series like "Where is Baby's Belly Button?" you lift the flaps to reveal the answer. Dear Zoo is another great book with flaps. He loves Peeka who? Or the peeka flaps books. There are some reasonable ones with prime shipping:

Where Is Baby's Belly Button? A Lift-the-Flap Book https://www.amazon.com/dp/0689835604/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_0rv0AbB518KMJ


Dear Zoo: A Lift-the-Flap Book https://www.amazon.com/dp/141694737X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_Hsv0AbHS1TGC4

Copying this and adding some from another place i had posted it

Boynton books like pajama time and wake up are hits
Eric Carle like the very busy spider, mixed up chameleon, panda bear panda bear.
Pout pout fish
Bear snores on
The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and The Big Hungry Bear https://www.amazon.com/dp/0859531821/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_pQtezb6GYSVXT
Dr suess is a hit - Mr. Brown can moo can you, 1 fish 2 fish, green eggs and ham.
We have the 3 in this line because he loved the first one someone gave him so much cool dog school dog, fun dog sun dog, snow dog go dog - link - Cool Dog, School Dog https://www.amazon.com/dp/1477816704/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_2RtezbBD2BBWB
The behavior series in these books are amazing - i used the paci one to quit paci and hands are not for hitting and feet are not for kicking to stop those unwanted behaviors - Feet Are Not for Kicking (Board Book) (Best Behavior Series) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1575421585/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_v4Hgzb4MFJ4YD

My kid is crazy about planets so we have some on planets too and he learned so much from them
Hello, World! Solar System https://www.amazon.com/dp/0553521039/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_h7HgzbRYET040 (this one still has pluto but whatever lol)
Solar System for Kids: The Planets and Their Moons https://www.amazon.com/dp/1682801152/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_I8Hgzb7V5G69T

Little blue truck

My kid is also really into these wipe clean books and we spend about 45 mins snuggled on the couch doing them - this one is great but the dry erase marker it comes with is not that good, i just use a different one. We just skip the pages with time etc but he has a blast doing them
Wipe Clean: Early Learning Activity Book (Wipe Clean Early Learning Activity Books) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0312499221/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_49Hgzb8D8BE9T



He has way too many books but these are some of the favs.

Here are some other reasons which explain more about Rey's talents and abilities:


From "Star Wars: The Force Awakens, "Star Wars The Force Awakens: Before the Awakening" and "Star Wars: Force Awakens Incredible Cross Sections"

• (Summary of Rey's chapter in "Before the Force"): Rey has friends on Jakku. She fixed a downed freighter and made it flyable. She even repaired/replaced it's hyperdrive and it worked. Her friends decide to steal it from her and use it to escape Jakku when they find out that Rey didn't want to leave because of her hopes of her family returning. Instead she wanted to sell it to Unkar for a lot of portions (she imagines hundreds of portions or more). Her friends end up taking the ship and leaving without her.
  
  
• Her speeder is capable of low-altitude flight and can even do barrel-rolls. So Rey does have some real flight experience from this. However, she has never flown "off-planet". As posted in a different thread by /u/twinspiritradio:
  
  
  • In the cross-section of her speeder, it says that when it's not carrying salvage, it can gain incredible speeds and perform such moves like barrel rolls.
    http://i.imgur.com/14XAgCt.jpg
    
    
• She also finds data chips which contain a flight simulator. She is so driven to master flight that she pushes herself and pushes herself. Starting out, she couldn't even take off without crashing. Through crazy determination and time there's nothing the flight simulator can't throw at her that she cannot do.
  
  
  • Source (from "Before the Awakening"): http://i.imgur.com/TmuySPQ.png
    
    
• She has been on-board the Millennium Falcon before. She used to sneak onto not only the Millennium Falcon, but all of Unkar's other ships he had docked and did this frequently. Who knows what she did on it, but it explains how she is so familiar with the Millennium Falcon and knows how to repair it.
  
  
  • Source (from "Star Wars: The Force Awakens"): http://i.imgur.com/LmqarJF.png
    
    
    Other observations
    
    
• Rey has been stranded on Jakku for quite some time and has to scavenge as a means to eat. She scavenges for parts from downed Imperial wreckage. In doing so, she develops her technological know-how. To be able to know what will get her more "portions" she needed to know what was valuable. In order to learn how to get these parts, she had to learn how to properly remove them and where they were and possibly what they were used for. This is how she is so mechanically inclined, especially with Imperial/First Order technology.
  
  
• Rey knows how to defend herself because she's had to to survive on her own for so long. It's even demonstrated in the film and even blows Finn's mind when he sees it. So her skills with a lightsaber can easily be taken from this.
  
  
  What does all of this tell you?
  
  
  
• Just because she knows how to fly something doesn't make her the child of Han or Luke.
  
  
• Just because she is familiar with the Millennium Falcon doesn't mean she is Han's daughter.
  
  
• Just because she knows how to fix things and understands technology, doesn't make her a clone/descendant of Anakin.
  
  
• Just because she knows how to defend herself, doesn't mean she was ever trained as a Jedi/Padawan.
  
  
  What does it not tell you?
  
  
  
• Where her Force abilities come from or how she is able to understand and use it.
  
  
  Personal observations
  
  
  
• To me, all of this is more evidence that she is more likely a descendant of Obi-Wan than of a Skywalker/Solo. Why? Well, it shows that she is highly intelligent, focused, determined and patient. This doesn't describe a Skywalker or a Solo in the slightest. We know all too well how impatient and unfocused Anakin and Luke were. None of those things describe Han Solo at all either. Who does it describe? Obi-Wan Kenobi.
  
  
• You might say, well, Obi-Wan didn't like to fly. My response? Who cares what Obi-Wan did/didn't like? Vader chose the Dark Side, Luke didn't. Right there is a simple example of how a person can differ from their ancestors.
  
  
  Additional details
  
  
• Also from /u/kremshawthethird, which is from "Rey's Survival Guide": https://i.imgur.com/UN7c2gw.jpg It shows how the rebel helmet she has and the rebel forces "doll" have nothing to do with Luke Skywalker. It could however, show why she calls herself "Rey".
  
  
• And from /u/jlsm511's post on /r/starwarsleaks: http://imgur.com/a/1BVvH
  This sample from "Star Wars: The Force Awakens Visual Dictionary": discusses the helmet and doll briefly as well.
  **
  
  Edit: Added links to sources.*

PCB/Schematic Capture

>To jump right into schematic / PCB layout, I'd use EasyEDA because you can finish that layout and order boards directly from their sister company JLCPCB. EasyEDA is super easy to use, and usually has all the schematic libraries you'll need.
>
>Moving on from EasyEDA, go to KiKad definitely. I believe EasyEDA is more user friendly for the basics, so definitely start there to get a good grasp.

Learning

>For learning electronics, start by diving into some informational YouTube channels. Ease yourself into all the jargon and terms. It will be very overwhelming at first, don't be too hard on yourself. Try to learn what most components generally do (i.e. transistors are just switches, capacitors act like batteries, etc.) GreatScott has some good beginner videos iirc.
>
>Buy Make: Electronics and go through every exercise. This will really help you understand how certain things work, and improve your troubleshooting.

Regarding your comment about understanding circuits, it can be very difficult - especially in your position as your are looking at these rather intricate synth circuits. Music From Outer Space generally has great write ups on how his circuits operate, but man sometimes those explanations go over my head and I'm an EE. Read slowly, and google any concepts or words you don't know. Break down the circuit in chunks and analyze chunk by chunk - what does each chunk do? Reading and understanding schematics is a skill that will develop over time most definitely.

/u/wahtisthisidonteven has recovered nicely from his crack addiction yesterday, and has already given you some of the best advice ever;

You protect that TS clearance with your god damn soul. Shit is worth a nice chunk of change. Don't fuck with it. Don't hop the Mexican border with your buddies and get stuck in Tijuana. Don't fuck the girls from the International Officers Intel Center thing. Don't do drugs. Just don't do anything stupid.

I would recommend you brush up on your basic math (and electronics) if you can. If you can go in with a good understanding at an Algebra/Trig level, the math won't be too hard on you.

I'm going to be honest, if you got something like this and could wire strip, crimp and work a bread board, you will coast the first 3 months.

But really, brush up on basic math, and look at some basic, basic electronics books. Shit, are you familiar with Snap Circuits? If you don't like to read, go pick yourself up a Snap Circuits kit. It will teach you the basics of circuits and batteries, and you will learn the symbols for power/ground/resistor/induction/capacitor, etc.

You will be staring down the barrel at an easy, easy associate's degree pickup. You will need to fill in some Gen Ed credits, and boom, you'll pick this up from AIT.

So here's what you should do; go look at those Gen Ed requirements, and if you have no college, fucking do some now. Go to the Ed Center, and CLEP what you can! Clep for comp / eng comp and some liberal arts shit. You can distance enroll in cochise college now with TA usage, and start on the General Ed for the degree!

Questions?

Arduino is great for plug and play, blink an LED, using code. But if you want to understand electronics I would start here:
Easy Electronics (Make: Handbook) https://www.amazon.com/dp/168045448X/
^you could shoot through this book in a weekend.

After doing that book I would get this book:
Make: Electronics: Learning Through Discovery https://www.amazon.com/dp/1680450263/
You can purchase the parts individually or buy kits specifically made for the books. I found the kits will save you time.
I started like you a few years ago and now have moved on to arduino and am designing my own PCBs. Good luck.

Here, kitty kitty!

This coloring book for me would be great!

This coloring book for my daughter since we really enjoy coloring together. Thank you for the lovely contest :)

They and you will get a lot out of the current COSMOS series, you can watch the episodes online for free. It is so refreshing to learn real and true things, children are natural explorers and discoverers. The mormon church squelched that natural quest for truth by pretending to already have all the "answers" and condemn questioning and discovery. Taking my children to a natural history museum was so refreshing because when they wondered about the 100,000 million year old dinosaur fossils I didn't have to think about justifying it with mormon madness. The great thing about the COSMOS series is that what is presented is backed up by real evidence. http://www.cosmosontv.com/watch/230227523738 I've read this book with my kids and they love it. http://www.amazon.com/Evolution-Eyewitness-Books-Linda-Gamlin/dp/0756650283

Cool! Thanks for posting this!

All three of my boys LOVED the book "I Stink!". Even after having read it over 687,310 times to each of the three boys...I still have a soft spot for it.

Any females doing the job? My guess the answer would be no, otherwise your rad sticker job (I'm a skater) would disappear.

Thank you for doing this job, after spending time overseas while in the military I appreciate our amazing sanitation workers more than most.

I got A Kid's Science Museum in a Book when I was younger. It might be a little old for a 5 year old, but it is a great introduction to many aspects of science including lenses, optical illusions, growing some agar gel (if you buy a new book, it would probably be gone in a used one) and other fun science things for kids. Would recommend.

Oh jeez, I have like 50 in my lists... Hmm... Let's go with this one!

Thanks for the cute contest!

Edit: or this one! instead.Really, any one in my lists would be wonderful. :)

You absolutely want to get ahold of a copy of "How to Read a French Fry by Russ Parsons

It talks about the science of food and cooking in a very readable way. There's some chemistry and whatnot in there, but it is very approachable. I found after reading it, I had a much better understanding of WHY fond has flavor, or why as the title would suggest, old oil makes darker french fries or why, if you're cooking fries correctly, the potato doesn't actually have that much contact with the oil, despite being submerged (it cooks by steaming from the inside).

These are just basic examples, but like I said: my cooking as a whole really benefitted from knowing what was going on in the background.

My daughter is only two so I haven't done anything with this book yet, but I had to grab it when I saw it at Costco.

I have flipped through it and it looks like there is a lots of good ideas, it also emphasizes the importance of taking notes and recording findings and all that good science stuff.

I'd go for the Academy of Sciences. I remember it's huge with lots of great exhibits, like a planetarium. Exploratorium is pretty good too, I even have the book.

The Baby University including Baby Loves Rocket Science (https://www.amazon.com/Rocket-Science-Babies-Baby-University/dp/1492656259/) and Baby Loves including Baby Loves Aerospace Engineering (https://www.amazon.com/Baby-Loves-Aerospace-Engineering-Science/dp/1580895417/) books might be good.

I definitely like Kylo more than Rey. I'm super HAPPY with the entire cast including Rey. But my heart has always been with the bad guys. I knew I was going to love Kylo the most the moment I saw him. In fact the moment I saw him I looked at my boyfriend and said "You're costuming that." like he didn't have an option, I'm making him a Kylo and he's going to be mine and that's that!

But I LOVE the point you brought up that this movie really makes you sympathize with the bad guys and I loved that. You feel for Finn who is freaked out by the power and cruelty of the first order and you actually feel for Kylo who is struggling between light and dark. Watching the promos and getting hyped, I never imagined I would feel for Kylo. I assumed I'd sit there and think he was amazing but I didn't think I'd connect with him, it was actually kind of nice! I'm circle jerking, I know, I can't help it.

Here's a list of shit you need to pick up:

The visual dictionary

The Art of Star Wars the Force Awakens

And you mentioned having a book with layouts of the death star and such so you may like Incredible Cross Sections.

And from what EVERYONE I know has been telling me, The Force Awakens novelization is a must read if you want juicy little details that weren't made crystal clear in the movie!

Also, if you are not reading the comics. STOP. RIGHT. NOW. AND. READ. THEM!!

In order of priority:

Darth Vader

Star Wars

Princess Leia

Shattered Empire

And read Kanan if you're a Rebels fan. I HAVE the comic I just haven't read that one yet!

But no seriously that Darth Vader comic. The stuff that happens. UGH. NERDGASM. After reading them and re-watching the movies in preparation for TFA I fell in love with the originals all over again. It was like that fresh awesome new love I had for them the first time! So good!

Click Clack Peep (my daughter LOVES all the Click Clack books, but this is her favorite one. Btw it’s mandatory to read it in the most Southern, country accent possible.)

How to be a Good Dog

Owl Babies

Blue on Blue

Hello Light House

Puppy and Friends

We Forgot Brock!

Giraffes Can’t Dance

Solar System

Ten Little Rabbits

Panda Bear, Panda Bear What Do You See?

Joseph Had a Little Overcoat

Babushka Baba Yaga

The Thingamabob

Hear Bear Roar

> Exploratorium

This is no help, really, but I remember having a Klutz book when I was younger that was the Exploratorium in book form and it just made me fall in love with the place, even though I would never get to go to the place no matter how much begging I did. I would do it if only for that childlike sense of wonder that a good science center can instill in you.

That is, if you like science and stuff.

My situation is very different, DH and I are both out. I do however worry a lot about Utah culture influencing my kids and my kids wanting to please beloved TBM grandma. One thing I do is read them children's books about different beliefs/science. Here are a few I ordered recently. My heart goes out to you. Keep doing your thing, being a loving father and talking to them openly.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1940051045/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0152017720/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0756672287/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 (for older kids)

I completely agree with the choices and the Arduino statement as so many electronics beginners want to jump right in to Arduino and microcontroller usage without having any base electronics knowledge which is really required to use them properly.

​

That is one reason the 2nd Edition of Make: Electronics stands out as the better choice IMO if your only buying 1 book as it starts out with very basic circuits, gets you the fundamentals, and the progresses all the way up through Arduino usage at the end in the last few experiments. Their are also some premade kits the author suggests for the book. They are a bit pricey but they make it a lot easier for the beginner to have all of the correct parts on hand and sorted while reading each experiments.

​

Book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1680450263

Kits: https://www.protechtrader.com/Make-electronics-component-pack-1-2nd-edition

​

​

-----
-----

BOOKS

Children Electronics and Electricity books:

• "Electricity for Young Makers" by de Vinck.
  
  
• "Make: Easy Electronics" by Platt. (12 experiments)
  
  
• "Electronics for Kids: Play with Simple Circuits and Experiment with Electricity!" by Dahl.
  
  
• "Electronics For Kids For Dummies" by Shamieh. (13 experiments)
  
  Newbie Electronics books:
  
  
• "Make: How to Use a Breadboard" by Ragan and Culkin. (10 experiments)
  
  
• "Make: Electronics" by Platt. (34 experiments)
  
  
• "Make: More Electronics" by Platt. (36 experiments)
  
  
• "Lessons in Electric Circuits - Volume VI - Experiments" by Kuphaldt. (free book)
  
  
• Series "Engineer's Mini-Notebook" booklets by Forrest Mims. (download archives)
  
  
• List of books about 555-series Timer ICs on Wikipedia.
  
  Basic Circuit Theory books:
  
  
• "Electrical Circuit Theory and Technology" by Bird. (download old edition)
  
  
• "Introductory Circuit Analysis" by Boylestad. (download old edition)
  
  
• Series "Lessons In Electric Circuits" by Kuphaldt. (free books)
  
  
• List of books about Diodes, Transistors on Wikipedia.
  
  Analog Design books:
  
  
• "Microelectronic Circuits" by Sedra and Smith. (download old edition)
  
  
• "Electronic Devices and Circuit Theory" by Boylestad and Nashelsky. (download old edition)
  
  
• List of books about Operational Amplifier (OpAmp) ICs on Wikipedia.
  
  
• List of books about LM-series Analog Linear ICs on Wikipedia.
  
  Digital Design books:
  
  
• "Digital Fundamentals" by Floyd. (download old edition)
  
  
• "Digital Design: Principles and Practices" by Wakerly. (download old edition)
  
  
• "Digital Design: with Introduction to Verilog, VHDL, SystemVerilog" by Mano and Ciletti. (download old edition)
  
  
• "Digital Design and Computer Architecture" by Harris and Harris.
  (download old edition)
  
  
• List of books about 7400-series TTL Digital Logic ICs on Wikipedia.
  
  
• List of books about 4000-series CMOS Digital Logic ICs on Wikipedia.
  
  Digital Signal Processing books:
  
  
• "Scientist and Engineer's Guide to Digital Signal Processing" by Smith. (download or online)
  
  Computer Design books:
  
  
• List of books about
  6502,
  6800,
  6809,
  8080,
  8085,
  Z80,
  68000,
  x86
  processors on Wikipedia.
  
  
• List of books about
  8051,
  ARM,
  AVR,
  PIC,
  RISC-V
  microcontrollers on Wikipedia.
  
  Electronics Reference books:
  
  
• "The Art of Electronics" by Horowitz and Hill. (download example chapter)
  
  
• "The Art of Electronics - The X Chapters" by Horowitz and Hill. Shipping in 2020.
  
  
• "ARRL Handbook" by various ARRL authors. (download very old edition)
  
  Historical books:
  
  
• "The Intellectual Rise In Electricity - A History" by Park Benjamin in 1895.
  
  
• "Electricity - It's History and Development" by William Durgin in 1912.
  
  
• "Bibliographical History of Electricity & Magnetism" by Paul Mottelay in 1922.
  
  
• "History of Communications Electronics in the United States Navy" by Linwood Howeth in 1963.
  
  -----
  -----
  
  

  MAGAZINES
  

  
  Current Electronics Magazines: (subscribe now)
  
  

• "Circuit Cellar"
  
  
• "Elektor"
  
  
• "Everyday Practical Electronics"
  
  
• "Nuts & Volts"
  
  Historical Electronics Magazines: (archives)
  
  
• "Electronics Today"
  
  
• "Everyday Electronics"
  
  
• "Popular Electronics"
  
  
• "Practical Electronics"
  
  
• "Radio Electronics"
  
  Historical Computer Magazines: (archives)
  
  
• "Byte" - 2nd group
  
  
• "Dr Dobb's Journal"
  
  
• "Interface Age"
  
  

• "Kilobaud"
  
  -----
  

M Rules!!

Coloring is a great way to relax :)

I'd highly recommend getting hold of "NightWatch" by Terence Dickinson. An excellent book with annotated star charts which note what can be seen with various types of equipment under various conditions. Lots of great advice to a beginning astronomer.

What you're looking for is hobbyist electronics more than engineering. I'd suggest checking out a hackerspace like Pumping Station One. They're sort of community workshops that allow you to use their equipment and attend more informal classes/events.

If you'd like some books that are a good starting point I recommend Make Electronics and Practical Electronics for Inventors

Earthsearch

I had a copy of this as a kid, and loved it. It has all of these cool activities inside, with information about the world. The cover is recycled aluminum, and the book talks about all of the things it might have been previously. The book also contains a sheet of toilet paper, a little bag of rice, and all sorts of other cool things.

A few months ago, I found a copy sitting on a shelf at a friend's house, and as I was skimming through it I realized that most of the things I know about earth science, I learned from this book. It's astounding, really.

This one

Apparently all her books are awesome. I use stupid voices and flip the flaps like I'm presenting a million dollar prize. Baby loves it every time. A mom on reddit gave this to me on an exchange.

This book is a pretty awesome ELI5 for Einstein's theories of relativity, if anyone's interested.

http://www.amazon.com/Exploring-Night-Sky-Astronomy-Beginners/dp/0920656668/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1417547768&sr=8-1&keywords=astronomy+for+kids

http://www.amazon.com/4M-5219-solar-system-kit/dp/B00007L12U/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1417547768&sr=8-7&keywords=astronomy+for+kids

http://www.amazon.com/Night-Sky%C2%AE-Star-Wheel-Publishing/dp/1931559309/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1417547768&sr=8-11&keywords=astronomy+for+kids

stuff like this may help :) I literally searched astronomy for kids on amazon :)

• Me & Dog
  
  
• The Magic of Reality
  
  
• Older Than the Stars
  
  
• I Wonder
  
  
• 
  Raising Freethinkers: A Practical Guide for Parenting Beyond Belief
  
  
• Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion
  
  
• The Emperor's New Clothes
  
  
• When Someone Very Special Dies: Children Can Learn to Cope with Grief (Drawing Out Feeling series)
  
  
• What Do You Believe?

This book might be of interest for you. I picked it up at Costco for my daughter, she's not old enough for it yet (16mo) but it looks like it will be a lot of fun.

I got my eleven-year-old son this one. It's a bit disjointed in terms of instruction, but a very cool book nevertheless. It's not explicitly atheistic, though it does go so far as to touch upon creation myths and how evidence has shown them to be just that.

This also looks interesting.

edit: fixed link formatting.

This is the first book my son ever focused on 😊

Hello, World! Solar System https://www.amazon.ca/dp/0553521039/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_HF84CbHCG4RK7

I think you're looking for Earthsearch or perhaps for Explorabook by the same author/publisher. They were both very popular in the '90s, and they're still great! I have them in my classroom for my students.

Our Family Tree by Lisa Westberg Peters is supposed to be great and just perfect for his age. http://www.amazon.com/Our-Family-Tree-Evolution-Story/dp/0152017720

Check here too for ideas: http://shop.skeptic.com/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=SS&Category_Code=CB

A lot of good recommendations already. Hopefully this is another, How To Read A French Fry

http://www.amazon.com/How-Read-French-Fry-Intriguing/dp/0618379436

Covers the "physics" of deep frying, beans and some other things. Pretty cheap to obtain.

We have a couple from this series: Baby Loves Aerospace Engineering! (Baby Loves Science) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1580895417/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_NgUzzb21803A7

> my big complaint is that the colors/pictures inside the books can be super boring

Agreed. I actually returned the one we got and replaced it with Baby Loves Aerospace Engineering. It covers exactly the same concepts, but in a much prettier way and with a kid and a bird to look at!

I found that the Make: books are quite easy to follow and things are well explained. You could start with this one: https://www.amazon.com/Make-Electronics-Learning-Through-Discovery/dp/1680450263/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=make%3A+electronics&qid=1551011236&s=books&sr=1-1

There is also Make: More electronics and Make: Encyclopedia of electronic components volume 1, 2 and 3.

They come with lists of components needed for each book, and there are also ready made kits of components available on Amazon.

I love Eric Carle, my son would enjoy these

Green eggs and ham.

Toddlers love this book

For my kids

Thanks for thinking of the kids!

neato coloring book is the cheapest on my list.

This is most needed at the time for my lil ones bed

Thanks for your contest! and yay for your 1st contest!

Naw, was a decade ago. I took a diffraction grating from this and a regular digital camera, old telescope tube, and some razor blades to make a slit, and wrote some code. Pretty sure it was C# because that's what I was learning at the time. I think the code is gone -- I didn't bother to set up a github account or anything.

To do it right, I'd need a better difraction grating and a camera without an IR filter -- preferably without a bayer filter on it either. Or at least some sort of response curve for the bayer filter. When I figured out it'd be expensive to get something that gives quality results, I kind of drifted off to other projects.

Silly redditor

Babies can't read.


I had a pair of books that I would recommend to any parent. Exploring the Night Sky, and Exploring the sky by day. It's difficult to put into words what these books did for me as a child. It gave me an awesome sense of understanding. This when combined with the ridiculously ignorant interpretations of clouds, rainbows, and stars by other children and adults, made me realize that people just make shiat up when they don't understand something, even adults. That realization helped inoculate me against any other silliness not backed up by evidence.

Give the gift of knowledge. Kids are naturally curious about the sky, what with all the weird and wonderful things that can be seen.

My daughter (5) and son (7) both enjoy this book I Wonder. Also, Older Than The Stars is pretty decent too.

It's from the Star Wars: The Force Awakens Incredible Cross Sections. Not sure about the isbn. But here's an amazon link.

http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Awakens-Incredible-Cross-Sections/dp/1465438157

Definitely worth it. A lot of interesting info on the ships and some fantastic illustrations and stills from the film.

If you want a book to help get your head around special relativity, try The Time and Space of Uncle Albert. It is written for kids, has no maths, and is incredibly insightful - after two years of a physics degree I re-read it and found it was still helpful in building my understanding!

I am a nanny and have seen this situation play out a few times. It works far better when the parents are on the same page. You need to set your boundaries prior to the birth. Tell the parents there will be no baptism and that is final. Also, this is your child and they are not to interfere with what you chose to (or to not) them him/her. That you live in a country that does not openly encourage religiosity like the US is a good start. But if it's like what I see in the states, baptism might be a dealbreaker for whether they actually want anything to do with the grandchild in their life. This is where you have to hold firm. I have also been see posts of atheists who were baptized at birth and are now resentful it was forced on them, so might be another angle to consider.

Fill your child's room with books about science. As your child ages, if any of the books contradict was your in-laws have said to her in private, your child will most likely tell you and that is when you can explain what the grandparents said is not true. I once posted a list of books for kids on here that are good introductions to science but I can't find it, I will keep searching, but offhand I can tell you Grandmother Fish, Older than the Stars, and any book by Chris Ferrie.

The judgement is inevitable but you can judge them right back. Parents can weigh on on the family dynamics better than I can, but from the atheist families I have been with, what helped the most was having the parents on the same page as well as myself since we were the three then children were most likely to come to with questions and eventually they just began ignoring the grandparents.

funf

vier

drei

zwei

eins

I'd love a Hootie!

See my flair.

Maybe some of these or books like these will help you explain things to your kids.

http://www.amazon.com/Parenting-Beyond-Belief-Raising-Religion/dp/0814474268/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326736652&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Just-Pretend-Freethought-Book-Children/dp/1877733059/ref=pd_sim_b_7?ie=UTF8&refRID=1TST6CPCNP7RGVV1RVT7

http://www.amazon.com/Raising-Freethinkers-Practical-Parenting-Beyond/dp/0814410960/ref=pd_sim_b_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=1TST6CPCNP7RGVV1RVT7

http://www.amazon.com/Maybe-Yes-No-Dan-Barker/dp/0879756071/ref=pd_sim_b_5/175-5906093-8191060?ie=UTF8&refRID=161YVFZQ1AYMJBH8S80V

http://www.amazon.com/What-Do-You-Believe-Publishing/dp/0756672287/ref=pd_sim_b_2/175-5906093-8191060?ie=UTF8&refRID=161YVFZQ1AYMJBH8S80V

http://www.amazon.com/Older-than-The-Stars-Karen/dp/1570917884/ref=pd_sim_b_3/175-5906093-8191060?ie=UTF8&refRID=161YVFZQ1AYMJBH8S80V

I had a nearly identical experience when my son was in preschool. I blogged about it if you want to check it out. http://adamjnicolai.com/mandatory-indoctrination/

But yeah, if this happened in a public school, I'd go on the fricking warpath. That teacher needs to be fired or at the least suspended. Not acceptable.

As far as recouping your son's rationality, just buy a good kid's evolution book. I thought Our Family Tree was good (http://www.amazon.com/Our-Family-Tree-Evolution-Story/dp/0152017720/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1413303317&sr=8-1&keywords=our+family+tree).

I'd recommend Night Watch by Terrence Dickinson

http://www.amazon.com/NightWatch-Practical-Guide-Viewing-Universe/dp/1552093026

I'm a member of my local astronomy group, and this book is in pretty much everyone's library. It's spiral bound with big pages, meant to be used outdoors to familiarize the beginner with the night sky.

Mine is this coloring book for $2.19!


/u/Yokuo I love you hair it's so shiny.

Actually, from what I understand, you can pretty much mail any object as long as it has enough postage on it for the weight and has a clearly written address on it. I used to have this wacky book when I was a kid that had all kinds of weird facts and projects in it. I think the front cover had a picture of the astronaut in the self propelling pack. It also had a packet of agar in it for some reason.

Edit: This is it http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1878257145

my 2 year old daughter knows more about what evolution is than this jizz stain does

edit: this kids book is a great start

Another great book is Terry Dickinson's Nightwatch.

My niece has this book, and I think it's a great way to introduce some evolutionary concepts young:

http://www.amazon.com/Our-Family-Tree-Evolution-Story/dp/0152017720/ref=pd_sim_b_1

Maybe something like this?

http://vetco.net/products/300-in-one-experimenter-kit

I'd also recommend the following books:

Practical Electronics for Inventors:
www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1259587541

Make: Electronics:
www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1680450263

Make: More Electronics:
www.amazon.com/dp/1449344046

Some solid recommendations, these 2 books:
Forrest Mims: Getting Started in Electronics
Buy it: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0945053282/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_MYa-AbTX971NC

Free to view or download here:
https://www.scribd.com/doc/19963886/Forrest-Mims-III-Getting-Started-in-Electronics-Radio-Shack

Make: Electronics: Learning Through Discovery
Buy it: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1680450263/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_kZa-AbGYCSCM1

Also (arduino is great; but if you work through these books a little bit first you will be light years ahead when you start with arduino having learned the core concepts)

Checkout the Make: Electronics book by Charles Platt as their are quality electronics kits for them and should be exactly what you looking for as they start out with beginner circuits on breadboards and move on to soldering PCBs and even has some microcontroller programming projects at the end on a Arduino. The author recommends some component packs designed to follow the book on his site I'll link below that are complete and well done. I have used the book and kits myself and suggested them for a few others looking for similiar thing and never had a complaint about them.

Careful though as the Chaney kits do not cover the whole book, only the Protechtrader ones do as the authors site mentions


http://www.plattkits.com

https://www.amazon.com/ProTechTrader-Make-Electronics-Component-Educational/dp/B01EKO6FYQ

https://www.protechtrader.com/Make-electronics-component-pack-1-2nd-edition

https://www.amazon.com/Make-Electronics-Learning-Through-Discovery/dp/1680450263

Was it the Explorabook? My friend had a copy of that growing up.

I'm right there with you. I'm a bit old school as well. If they print it, I'll buy it. Goes for comics, novels, and even other books that aren't "novels". I like getting the Incredible Cross Sections books and the Galactic Maps type books. They're really cool!

I really like the Make:Electronics book. It starts with having you blow out some leds and then shows you how not to blow up an led, very practical hands on (and tongue on even) and explains theory behind it as well.

Make: Electronics is a very good book. You can buy a series of kits to complete the projects in the book. There is also a sequel (Make: More Electronics) and a series of encycliopedias from Make about electronic components.

Well since people like that one...

http://www.amazon.com/Our-Family-Tree-Evolution-Story/dp/0152017720/ref=pd_sim_14_3?ie=UTF8&dpID=61Bb8PVIFPL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR152%2C160_&refRID=08Y59RTTFGASNDNE79R4

"Our Family Tree"

We are also reading this one to the kiddo. It is entirely about evolution.

Was it perhaps from this book which I treasured as a child? http://www.amazon.com/Explorabook-Kids-Science-Museum-Klutz/dp/1878257145

I'm doing [this] (https://www.amazon.com/Make-Electronics-Learning-Through-Discovery/dp/1680450263/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1484102489&sr=8-1&keywords=make%3A+electronics) book with [this] (https://www.amazon.com/ProTechTrader-Make-Electronics-Component-Educational/dp/B01EKO6FYQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1484102623&sr=1-1&keywords=make+deluxe+electronics) kit. It's great; the only downside is there are three kits to complete the book, each $80-100.

I'm enjoying this one

I bought a couple kits on Amazon that come with PDF manuals on CD. Things like this. I got this book which really helped me understand sketches instead of just modifying other people's code.

I got into arduino because I had these two kits:

https://www.amazon.com/Make-Electronics-Components-Pack-1/dp/B00T0UCLIK/ref=sr_1_2

https://www.amazon.com/Make-Electronics-Components-Pack-2/dp/B00T0UCLF8/ref=sr_1_3

Which are meant to go with this book (although I think they might be meant for the first edition of the book). It's awesome, this guy explains how most basic components work as he guides you through several projects.

Finally, go to your local Radio Shacks today and get some components on the cheap. Look for resistor packs, LEDs, capacitors, toggles (switches, buttons, etc.), battery holders, hookup wire, heat shrink tubing, logic chips, timer chips, transistor packs, DIP sockets, PCB, project boxes, any arduino boards, motors, servos, solder, tools (like precision screwdrivers, soldering irons and accessories, IC extractors, wire cutters/strippers). If you get into this hobby, you might regret missing this clearance sale.

http://www.starwars.com/databank

That's a free resource. You can also buy:

• http://www.amazon.ca/Star-Wars-Complete-Vehicles-Publishing/dp/1465408746
  
  
• http://www.amazon.ca/Star-Wars-Awakens-Incredible-Cross-Sections/dp/1465438157
  
  

I think it's the Klutz Press Explorabook (one of my absolute favorite books as a kid!)

My friend purchased this for my daughter:
https://www.amazon.com/Baby-Loves-Aerospace-Engineering-Science/dp/1580895417

Maybe this story will be more to your liking... =)

I've never seen Bill Nye. In Canada in the 80s I did watch this show quite a bit though:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTXoozcv01w

Bob MacDonald is still on TV all the time now too so everything's good.

I was more into reading astronomy and paleontology books on my own though because the chance of exactly what I was looking for being on TV one day was pretty low. The book I probably read more than any other was this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Exploring-Night-Sky-Astronomy-Beginners/dp/0920656668

It was in Earthsearch, from Klutz. I had the same book. :)

https://www.amazon.com/Earthsearch-John-Cassidy/dp/1878257749

http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Awakens-Incredible-Cross-Sections/dp/1465438157

In case anyone was looking for it. Lots of neat details and illustrations.

Arduino, breadboard, two dc motors, motor controller, jumper wires, a hot glue gun, and some random arts and crafts supplies like popsicle sticks, cardboard, etc.

Maybe a book of project ideas, these look good:
https://www.amazon.com/Make-Electronics-Learning-Through-Discovery/dp/1680450263/
https://www.amazon.com/Arduino-Project-Handbook-Practical-Projects/dp/1593276907

Being born in America was very lucky.
When I was a kid I had a a little encyclopedia, I think it was one of those Klutz books, that had a plastic bag of rice inserted in it. The rice was divided into two sections, one very small (1" x 3", maybe) and another about twice the height. The next page had a wheel you could spin and a large slice of th wheel said something like, "You've been born in a poor country. Each day you eat the equivalent of the rice in the small section." and another slice of the wheel said the same about the second section, and a third slice said you got both sections (still hardly anything). A very thin sliver of the wheel said something like, "Congratulations! You've been born in a first-world country". That's us. Does someone want the rest of these french fries? I supersized my meal but I'm not that hungry.


edit: I think this was it

Here is a good book to get you started.
Tab Electronics Guide to Understanding Electricity and Electronics https://www.amazon.com/dp/0071360573/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_dY.ADb1263B4S

Another
Make: Electronics: Learning Through Discovery https://www.amazon.com/dp/1680450263/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_mZ.ADbV1KTHK3

I'm a complete beginner myself, but I have soldered a couple hats and such for raspberry pi's and esp8266 with perfboard. I'm just starting to mess around with pcb design, as op says it's really doesn't seem that difficult. A friend got me this book years ago randomly and it helped me greatly in understanding basic circuitry:

https://www.amazon.com/Make-Electronics-Learning-Through-Discovery/dp/1680450263

I learned about this stuff from this awesome book way back in the day. Really wish Klutz was still publishing stuff like that, but since they got acquired by scholastic they've let all my favorite childhood nerd books go out of print :(

i like this one: How to Read a French Fry

https://smile.amazon.com/How-Read-French-Fry-Intriguing/dp/0618379436/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1512065814&sr=8-1&keywords=how+to+french+fry+food+science+book

We also like Me and Dog- https://www.amazon.com/Me-Dog-Gene-Weingarten/dp/1442494131/ and Older than the Stars- https://www.amazon.com/Older-than-Stars-Karen-Fox/dp/1570917884/

I like the analysis, the scum ship could be the Quad Jumper: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/9194w9oTJ4L.jpg

As seen in the TFA Cross Sections book:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1465438157?redirect=true&ref_=s9_simh_gw_p14_d1_i1

The Time and Space of Uncle Albert is quite well done, I feel. There are a couple of sequels too.

It's not all bad.

Also, 3 from 72? Bound to be a few nutters. One does wonder if they are actively seeking out "evolutionist" material.

Thanks so much for your suggestions. I am still looking at a couple of them, but one of the suggested books was this: http://www.amazon.com/Our-Family-Tree-Evolution-Story/dp/0152017720/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323734717&sr=1-1 which judging by the reviews is exactly what I was looking for!

Pretty sure its from "Star Wars: The Force Awakens Incredible Crosssections EDIT: Nope, sorry.

http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Awakens-Incredible-Cross-Sections/dp/1465438157

[It is on Amazon in the US] (http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Awakens-Incredible-Cross-Sections/dp/1465438157/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=17ZVXNZJ9V63XHNY7VRE)

It's $12 on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1465438157/

Nightwatch as u\zobmiegeezus said. Thinking about getting more starcharts soon, but this one has helped a lot with the basics and made me realize how fulfilling observing can be.

Also

http://www.amazon.com/Evolution-How-Living-Things-Came/dp/1554534305/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323264555&sr=1-1

http://www.amazon.com/Our-Family-Tree-Evolution-Story/dp/0152017720/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1323264575&sr=1-2

This is exactly what I was going to guess.

Or perhaps Earthsearch?

Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story

Is this it?

Here's baby's belly button!

Make: Electronics

Our library has a copy of this: www.amazon.com/Our-Family-Tree-Evolution-Story/dp/0152017720/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Awakens-Incredible-Cross-Sections/dp/1465438157/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=0AEBEWJR9BRSQMVFFV0F

Read a book (The one I got my SPhD on)

This will scientifically upgrade your greyware.

For under $100:

• General Arduino Book
  
• Getting Started in Electronics by Forrest Mims
  https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Started-Electronics-Forrest-Mims/dp/0945053282
  
• Make Electronics Learning Through Discovery
  https://www.amazon.com/Make-Electronics-Learning-Through-Discovery/dp/1680450263/
  
• Arduino Pro Mini
  http://www.ebay.com/itm/1x-New-Pro-Mini-atmega328-Board-5V-16M-ArdunoCompatible-/162320449542?hash=item25cb0d8006:g:qgIAAOSwnDZT~sje
  
• CP2102 RS232 RS485 serial board
  www.ebay.com/itm/CP2102-USB-to-TTL-RS232-USB-TTL-to-RS485-Mutual-Convert-6-in-One-Convert-Module-/201633056940
  
• Soldering iron
  
• Solder 60/40
  
• LEDs WS2812 strips
  
• Wire Kits
  
• Bread Board (http://www.busboard.com/)
  
  
• Print out with their local library's address (if their local library has a makerspace)
  
  
  

Just ordered mine...https://www.amazon.com/dp/1465438157/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_wOQxwbN756R8V

http://www.amazon.com/Star-Wars-Awakens-Incredible-Cross-Sections/dp/1465438157/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1451526514&sr=8-1&keywords=star+wars+cross+sections

Older than the stars:
http://www.amazon.com/Older-Than-Stars-Karen-Fox/dp/1570917884

Go through Make: Electronics

Earthsearch

http://www.amazon.com/Earthsearch-John-Cassidy/dp/1878257749

How to Read a French Fry

Source: Exploring the Night Sky by Terence Dickinson

I, too, had a copy of explorabook as a kid.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1878257145?pc_redir=1405396976&robot_redir=1

This one mostly; [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0152017720](Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story)

This book

Here is the mobile version of your link

Our family tree
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0152017720/ref=pd_aw_fbt__b_img_2?refRID=0F3M60WMEJYZAW0QFHA6#productDescription_secondary_view_pageState_1423367287694

I wonder
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1940051045/ref=pd_aw_sim_b_2?refRID=0F3M60WMEJYZAW0QFHA6

And older than the stars
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1570917884/ref=pd_aw_sbs_b_3?refRID=1JSEC4DMC180KGGF2SSM

Are all books geared towards science and skeptisisim and all books I'm considering buying at some point.

an image from Star Wars: The Force Awakens Incredible Cross-Sections

Specifically of a First Order Special Forces TIE Fighter.

That seems offline familiar, we may have done the same deal and the dog mouth memory, maybe was from a book... Possibly this one: Explorabook: A Kid's Science Museum in a Book

I got this book too, I use mimms for physics concepts and this book for application. I've learned a lot so far!
I'm in med school and I really needed a hobby that I could do for 5-10 minutes and get back to studying. Working with my breadboard is perfect for that, I get to use my critical thinking skills and take a break from pure memorization.

Edit: wrong link

There were 5 books released yesterday.

Books Released 12/18:

1. Before the Awakening - Amazon, Google Play
   
2. The Force Awakens Novelization - Amazon, Google Play
   
3. Force Awakens, The: Incredible Cross-Sections - Amazon
   
4. Force Awakens, The: Visual Dictionary - Amazon
   
5. Art of Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Amazon
   
   If you want to catch up on the new Star Wars Canon check out my video explaining the new canon.