Columns
The U.S. space program that I grew up with is gone. Yet our fascination with space is not.
Page 1
Here are some things we learned from building a Rube Goldberg-style machine for an OK Go music video.
Page 31
Made on Earth
Jason Dietz makes lamps that depict a classic flying saucer shooting down a giant plasma ray and pulling up an unsuspecting victim into the ship.
Page 18
Britta Riley created "window farms" - a way for urban dwellers to garden vertically.
Page 20
John Zaklikowski re-creates particle accelerator detectors like the ones at the LHC and at Fermilab in Illinois.
Page 21
The SolarPump Charging Station provides free power for charging cellphones, laptops, electric bikes, and other gadgets by converting solar energy to electricity right on the spot.
Page 22
Former Navy aviation machinist Ted Wojcik built a pedal-powered lawn mower.
Page 23
Dan Parker has devoted most of the last five years to designing and building his own high-altitude airplane.
Page 24
Andrew Carol paid homage to the ancient Greeks by building a functioning Antikythera Mechanism out of Lego.
Page 25
1+2+3
» Cut-and-Fold Center Finder
by Andrew Lewis
This cut-and-fold cardboard center finder is ideal for all those fiddly measuring jobs.
Page 33
The Ping Ponger uses almost half of a rubber racquetball as a disc spring that's bistable (it can be at rest in 2 possible states) to propel a ping-pong ball from a compact PVC launcher.
Page 44
Dizzy Robots are cute pocket-sized pals that dance around until they fall over.
Page 78
» Sneaky Milk Plastic
by Cy Tymony
When separated from milk by using an acid such as vinegar, casein becomes a moldable plastic material that can be used to create everything from glue to fabric to billiard balls.
Page 116
Maker
Car-free carrying makes a comeback.
Page 34
SPECIAL SECTION: Special Section
Build and launch your own sat for as little as $8,000.
Page 46
» Listening to Satellites
by Diana Eng
Tune in to space with a homemade yagi antenna.
Page 48
Sense, signal, and snap photos in the stratosphere.
Page 54
» Makers at Mission Control
by Rachel Hobson
Meet the elite NASA team that figures out how to fix the space station when things go wrong.
Page 56
Lab-worthy analysis for cheap.
Page 58
Mavericks of the private space industry.
Page 62
» DIY Space Roundup
Map the Chemical Composition of the Moon
DIY Ion Engine
Space Rock Hounds
Lunar Lander Simulator
Zillionaires in Space
DIY Inflatable Home Planetarium
Five Cool Participatory Space Projects
Saturday Morning Science in Space
Cash Prizes for Space Scientists
Space Science Gadgets You Can Make for NASA
Androids at 28,000 Feet
Live From Outer Space!
Spaceport Sheboygan
Backyard Astrophotography
Page 68
Projects
Snap aerial photos from 300' up by suspending a hacked drugstore camera from 3 tethered helium balloons.
Page 80
Make a mechanical strobe with a toy motor and construction paper, pair it with a digital SLR camera, and take stunning photographs of objects in motion.
Page 90
This simple AC-powered coil device uses magnetism to levitate aluminum rings and shoot them into the air - and aluminum isn't even magnetic!
Page 100
Page 0
Making Trouble
» Model It, or Make It Modelable
by Saul Griffith
Computational models are digital, and that makes them inherently shareable, independently verifiable, and easy to collaborate on and improve.
Page 13
Make Free
The standard explanation for the attractiveness of older technology is simply that They Made It Better In The Old Days. But this isn't necessarily or even usually true.
Page 16
Country Scientist
» Becoming an Amateur Scientist
by Forrest Mims III
Sometimes the capabilities of the amateur scientist rival or even exceed those of their professional counterparts.
Page 26
Tales from the Web
Make: Projects is our newest online service, a living library of how-to tutorials being built by the entire maker community.
Page 29
Maker's Corner
» New Resolutions
by Dan Woods
Learn a new skill, teach a new skill.
Page 32
Skill Builder
The science behind the art of prop-making.
Page 108
DIY: Imaging
» A Simple Light Sculpture
by Jared Bouck
Swirling colors for long-exposure photos.
Page 117
Make an arcade-style snapshot station for special occasions.
Page 120
DIY: Music
Plug in and turn up any sound-making battery toy.
Page 123
DIY: Home
Make your own tree bling from fallen branches.
Page 126
Put those old jars to good use.
Page 128
Unique containers made from yarn and resin.
Page 130
Coat hanger keeps zip-lock bags open
Page 132
DIY: Toys
Re-create Renaissance tech to convert rotation into a square wave.
Page 133
DIY: Workshop
Make your tool bucket even handier with a nifty cover.
Page 137
DIY: Outdoors
Avoid transplant mortality by making soil blocks.
Page 140
» Greenhouse Controller
by Andrew Lewis
Build a temperature-switched power outlet and save some green.
Page 143
Electronics: Fun and Fundamentals
Learn how a single microcontroller does the work of 20 old-school chips.
Page 146
Toy Inventor's Notebook
Balloon-Dispensing Steampunk Honeymoon Night Vision Goggles!
Page 151
MakeShift
Rescue an injured mother hawk and her family.
Page 152
Howtoons
If you know how many hands it takes to measure from east to west, you can figure out how many hours you have left to play today!
Page 154
Make Money
Sometimes it costs more to buy it than to make it from the money itself.
Page 165
Aha!
Page 167
Heirloom Technology
Make a gift to eternity in about two hours.
Page 168
Remaking History
» Alessandro Volta and Electrodeposition
by William Gurstelle
Before the chemists of the 19th century understood electrochemistry, most metal items were made from one solid hunk of metal; the same on the inside, outside, and everywhere in between.
Page 170
Homebrew
» My Own FrankenBrewery
by Matthew Wirtz
Page 176
= PDF OF ARTICLE
= DOWNLOADABLE RESOURCES
= SLIDESHOWS AND EXTRAS
