Short Summary
Our children mean the world to us. We are a stay-at-home mom and a school teacher dad, so our funds are limited, but our dreams are big. Our boys love space shuttles (funny, we know, since the whole fleet has been retired), and they are outgrowing their toddler beds. We thought, "Why not encourage their interest in space and resolve the bed issue at the same time?" After giving the matter some thought, and looking at rocket and space shuttle beds that others have made, we realized that a rocket with a space shuttle lends itself perfectly to a bunk bed. We didn't find any plans or pictures online, but we have designed one, and our boys stumbled across the pattern, so now we are practically committed. The boys are young enough that they will love these beds for years to come. Will they grow up to be astronauts? Probably not. Will they grow up with an interest in space and science? Almost certainly. Will they learn that their parents care about their interests and their education? Absolutely.
What We Need & What You Get
As we got more serious about carrying out this plan, we quickly realized that the costs would skyrocket (sorry, couldn't pass it up...). We want the bed to last, so we have to go with quality plywood. Just the several sheets of plywood already put us into the $200-$300 range. Once we add in paint, screws, mattresses, and other wood, we are easily at $700-$800. We have shopped around for mattresses, but even low-end ones are not cheap. In terms of wood, in addition to the plywood, we also need wood for the booster rockets, the ladder, the shelves on the front, and, of course, the actual frame. Nearly all of what you see in the picture is simply a facade. The strength of the structure is in the underlying frame. And naturally, if we don't have fasteners to hold it together, we won't be blasting off any time soon.We had to rack our brains a bit to come up with good perks, since this project doesn't really lend itself to perks (no autographed copies of the bed, or anything like that...) We think we have come up with some good ones, though, and they will be explained in more depth below. A simple perk is a hand-drawn rocket postcard from our boys, and a bigger perk is a custom-designed mission patch. Each space mission gets its own patch, and we are going to sew space-shuttle-bunk-bed-themed mission patches on our boys' astronaut pajamas. We realized that we could order extras and provide these as a very unique perk, as well.
Fortunately, this project is one that we can carry out even if we do not reach our goal. We hope to offset most, if not all, of the cost through this fundraising campaign. However, we can still make ends meet to build the beds even if we do not meet our goal of $750. We may have to sacrifice quality (fiberboard instead of plywood, for instance), and wait longer until we can work it into the budget, but we are committed to making this bed a reality for our boys. On the other hand, if we exceed our fundraising goal, we can spruce things up a bit by painting the room to look like the solar system, adding lights and gadgets to enhance the effects, making custom space-themed sheets, and so forth.
The Impact
We realize that this site is full of big ideas, many of which have the potential to change lives. Our project is not monumental, and you won't be reading stories about us in the newspaper. For two little boys, though, these beds will be the most exciting thing that has happened to them in a long time. We really feel that by continuing to encourage, but not push, their interest in space, we are helping to prepare them for a lifetime of interest in science and discovery. This has manifested itself already in the fact that our four year-old can watch a half-hour documentary about the International Space Station, or an hour-long program about the history of space flight.We are not carpenters, but we have enough building experience, and enough helpful friends and family, that we know we can build a good sturdy bed that the boys will love for years to come, and that will be a source of happy memories for them for their entire lives. With our efforts and your contribution, we can make this dream a reality.
Other Ways You Can Help
We try to be very independent, and we hate to ask for help. We are on a limited budget, and realize that others are, too. Because of that, we realize that you may not be able to contribute financially to our project. However, you can still help us by sharing our project with other people. Indiegogo has great sharing tools, so you can share our project with your social network and everyone else that you know. If the idea makes you smile, or the video made you chuckle, please pass it along for others to see. Our overall goal is very small compared to most; please help us reach it in any way that you can.
