Fifth grade girl builds portable, solar powered tiny house thanks to YouTube tutorials

Callie's Coop is no potato powered clock science project, and that's because its creator, Callie Hilton, is no average 5th grade scientist.

After hearing that one of her classmates was going to build a solar powered oven, Callie, driven by the age old spirit of competition, decided to go a step further-- by building a solar powered shelter complete with a composting toilet, a rainwater capturing system and yes, a solar-powered oven.

In a video posted by popular tiny house YouTube channel relaxshacksDOTcom, Callie walks us through her hideaway, which she made for just $10 in addition to repurposed materials and supplies that were already in her dad's workshop.

Some of the more impressive repurposed materials include a divider made out of an old TV that also serves as a method of warming water, and handles that make the whole thing portable made from an old walker.

The whole thing weighs about 25 pounds according to Callie, who has no problem detailing every tiny material used to create the shelter, down to the lock nuts and washers that make up her door knobs.

Callie's Coop was featured at the 2017 Georgia Tiny House Festival, where Callie gave a presentation on her project billed as a "10-year-old Tiny House Builder."

When asked how what the inspiration for the shelter was she replied "YouTube videos," but noted that she didn't want to build anything exactly like what was shown in tutorials-- she wanted to design a tiny house of her own, using the information she picked up from watching them.

It's clear that she's paid a lot of attention to pragmatic design choices featured in many tutorials. There are some incredibly clever and thoughtful design elements that make it practical as both an emergency shelter for the homeless, and a simple outdoor hangout, and one day the affordable, user-friendly, easily built design may very well be used for both of those things.

In the mean time, it can serve as a brainstorming lab for the next great science project.