And here, all this time, I thought the secret to making easy, awesome cardboard play domes was the Esko Kongsberg i-XL24 die-less cutting and creasing table. [Actually, I knew that something was missing.
Thanks to veteran domologist Tom Camilli's new book, Domebook, I learned the key missing ingredient for any cardboard play dome project: a math classful of nerdy 4th graders:
Let's see... you've stretched a blanket between two chairs to make a tent for your kids to play in. You've pushed furniture together to make a fort. And you've cut holes in the sides of a refrigerator carton to make them a puppet theater. So, are you ready to build them the coolest play structure on the block?The book is full of diagrams, plans and [suspiciously vintage-looking] photos for building nine different variations of play dome. So If you want to see whether any kids in this decade have fallen for the "It's pretty much just like stretching a blanket over a chair!" line, you'll have to buy the book.If you can use a calculator, measure accurately, draw straight lines, and cut, glue and staple cardboard, you can construct a geodesic play-dome like the one in this picture in a couple of weekends.
Get Tom Camilli's Domebook: How to construct cardboard geodesic play domes in print or PDF version, $5-10 [domebook.com, thanks tom]
And if you have a clean copy of the original domemakers' bibles, Domebook (1970) or Domebook 2 (1971) for sale, let me know.
