It's rather sad the "hands on" "make it yourself" etc.. type skills...are often the ones kids of today have NO interest in.
I've heard similiar complaints from my Wife about the toys that are being sold for the little one today. Most of us had the proverbial "big bucket" of legos, wood blocks, tinker toys, etc. growing up. Sometimes they came with a booklet with a dozen projects in it. Now the kits are for a single project and that project only. The same thing goes for matchbox cars, dolls, etc.
The current generation has not been required to exercise imagination in their play, only to follow a given set of rules and instructions. When they encounter the proverbial "ice cube tray", they lack the skills to figure it out for themselves. Personnaly(sp?) I figured out the ice cube tray from watching Mom break the cubes loose.