Zach Klein's Blog

As you may already know, we run two amazing learning communities for kids, DIY.org and JAM.com.

They share a lot in common:

Both support kids in the exact same age range (6-14)

Both teach kids through hands-on projects

Both provide a kind, safe environment for peer-to-peer learning (our staff mods help keep it that way)

Both have badges and portfolios

Today we merged JAM and DIY and the combined platform is called DIY.org. At DIY.org your kids will have access to:

12 in-depth courses for our most popular topics like drawing, photography, animation, inventing, and science.

Over 2,000 projects spanning 120 different skills, many of them STEAM-related.

More than 1,000 videos that we produced ourselves to show kids step-by-step how to complete select projects.

We know that many of you will have questions about the merger. Here’s some answers to start:

What will happen to my portfolio? All photos, videos and awesome posts will still be there for both JAM and DIY kids.

What will happen to my comment history? All comments, likes and thanks your kids have given or received will still be there.

Do I have to do anything to access DIY.org? If you are a JAM family simply login as usual. If you are a legacy DIY member, please check your email (be sure to check SPAM folder) for a message from me containing a link to activate your account. Don’t see the email? Just login to DIY.org using your DIY credentials to get started.

Why did you choose DIY for the name? DIY stands for “do it yourself” and it reflects our mission to help every kid have the confidence to learn anything.

Why are you merging? We are committed to providing a safe online community for kids without ads (and without selling data to advertisers). We can’t afford to maintain two separate platforms.

If you have any further questions, we are here to answer them at [email protected].

👀 Sneak Peak 

Here’s the first copy of the next book in the Cabin Porn series. Inside focuses on the the interiors of 100s of our favorite homes shared by our readers since the last book. We try to show how to create warm, hospitable spaces, whether your home or cabin, with simple design and affordable materials.

In September 1976, Jack and Mary English were hunting with their 14 year-old son Dennis in the woods behind Big Sur, California. A 260-square-mile section of national forest with rugged peaks, hidden valleys, and hot springs, the Ventana Wilderness is located in a region known for having California’s largest density of mountain lion, and abundant wild hogs, turkeys and deer. While Jack and Dennis were off tracking a deer, Mary encountered a small group of 20-something hikers who were holding a map and looking around curiously. They said they’d read a classified ad in the local newspaper: someone was auctioning off a 5-acre plot somewhere in the middle of this national forest in a place called Pine Valley. The hikers had found the right spot. Later, after they’d left and Jack and Dennis returned, Mary relayed the news. “Somebody is gonna get this land,” she said, “It’s gonna be us.” 

The Cabin Book book in the wild.