Made on Earth

Dead Laptops by Jon Kalish
Chicago-based artist Michael Dinges’ work is reminiscent of scrimshaw and trench art – he decorates the plastic shells of discarded laptops. Page 18

Slap Shot to the Moon by Rachel Hobson
Jeff Stone and his wife, Susan, made a telescope out of hockey sticks. Page 20

Pipe Dreams by Sean Michael Ragan
Dasparkhotel is a pay-what-you-want travel lodge with five rooms, each built from a 20,000-pound section of 7-foot-diameter concrete drain pipe. Page 21

Solar Dune Buggy by Laura Kiniry


Brothers Michael and Kenny Ham have a goal: to create cheap electric vehicles that get people interested in renewable energy. Page 22

Organ Donor by Goli Mohammadi
Multitalented maker Matthew Borgatti built a MIDI-powered organ. Page 23

Gravity Harps for Bjork by Andy Cavatorta
Andy Cavatorta collaborated with Bjork to design and build gravity harps. Page 24

DIY Segway by Jerry James Stone
Mechanical engineering student Charles Guan built a homemade Segway, called the Segfault. Page 25

1+2+3

High-Pressure Foam Rocket by Rick Schertle
Make a high-flying air rocket with some foam and a few household items. Page 123

Paper Clip Record Player by Phil Bowie
Got a turntable that still turns? Got an old vinyl record? Make this pocket player in a few minutes for less than a penny. Page 155

Maker

Kyle Machulis: Hardware Hacker by Gary Wolf
Reverse engineering guru works to unlock our personal data. Page 32

Good Vibrations: Groovy Mechanical Sound Players by Bob Knetzger
A look back at the all-mechanical marvels that made fun sounds for over 100 years. Page 36

SPECIAL SECTION:

Meet Carol Reiley by Todd Lappin
Surgical roboticist by day, health hardware hacker by night. Page 40

Air Guitar Hero by Robert Armiger, Carol Reiley
Drop the controller and shred songs using the electrical signals from your arm muscles. Page 44

Pulse Sensor by Yury Gitman, Joel Murphy
A wearable device to give your projects a live heartbeat. Page 52

Gateways to the Soul by Luis Cruz, Zach Lieberman
Two systems, EyeWriter and Eyeboard, let people draw, write, and connect using only their eyes. Page 57

See Inside Your Own Eyes by Michael Mauser
The Shadowscope, the Transilluminator, the Light Swirler, and the Brain Scanner give you a personal glimpse into your own eyes. Page 62

North Paw and Heart Spark by Jon Kalish
Sensebridge makes devices that let people feel direction and see their heartbeat. Page 68

DIY Blood Pressure Monitor by Garrick Orchard, Carol Reiley, Alex Russell
Make a blood pressure tester that’s tough, smart, and mobile. Page 70

Tacit: A Haptic Wrist Rangefinder by Steve Hoefer
This ultrasonic “bat glove” lets you feel things at a distance. Page 78

We Have the Technology
A roundup of technologies that allow you to mod your bod.

Brain Rave
EEG Your Ride
Choscillator
Sleepers
Last Straw
Future Geniuses
Chem Lab on the Cheap
BioCurious?
DIY DNA
Smart Shoes
Highly Textured
Magnetic Touch
3D-Printable Trautman Hook
Lego My Hand
On Wings of DEMONS Page 82

Projects

Tiny Wanderer by Doug Paradis
Starter robot autonomously navigates with a $2 microcontroller. Page 88

Geiger Counter by John Iovine
This radiation detector clicks, flashes, logs radioactivity levels, and shares its data with the world. Page 100

Better Nerf Gun by Simon Jansen
Build a metal foam-dart gun that blows away store-bought plastic models. Page 112

Welcome

Experiment on Yourself by Dale Dougherty
History is full of quirky tales of scientists who were first in line to try their own experiments. Page 11

Maker's Calendar

Maker's Calendar by William Gurstelle
Our favorite events from around the world. Page 15

Making Trouble

MENTORing Kids Into Makers by Saul Griffith
Makers, let’s make education better, together. Page 16

Making Makers

Real Tools for Kids by AnnMarie Thomas
Many students reach their first year of college without much experience with tools. Page 27

Country Scientist

Track the Leading Greenhouse Gas by Forrest Mims III
For as little as $20, you can begin tracking the atmosphere’s most important greenhouse gas, water vapor. Page 28

Make Free

The Half-Life of Stuff by Cory Doctorow
When code doesn’t work, we erase it. When stuff doesn’t work, most of it goes to landfill. Page 31

Skill Builder

Kinect Hacking by Joshua Blake
Go from handwaving to coding with the Microsoft Kinect SDK. Page 124

DIY: Outdoors

$4 Hot Air Balloon by Jesse Brumberger
Up, up, and away, with Scotch tape and a painter’s drop cloth. Page 134

DIY: Workshop

Hovercraft Shop Vac by Bill Wells
Page 138

DIY: Home

iStand by Larry Cotton
Build a sturdy, multi-position iPad stand for cheap. Page 140

Bent-Wire Crank Toy by Lea E. Albaugh, Matt Mets
Learn these tricks and turn plain wire into a head-bobbing toy. Page 144

Making Bar Soap by Alastair Bland
Wash your hands of the toxins found in commercial soaps. Page 147

DIY: Circuits

The Bobbinator by Andrew Lewis
Make inexpensive linear actuators out of sewing machine bobbins. Page 150

DIY: Music

Easy Sunburst Guitar by Steve Lodefink
Build a kit electric guitar and finish it like the pros. Page 152

Howtoons

The Pneumatic Kids by Saul Griffith
Build your own air-powered muscles with everyday items. Page 156

Electronics: Fun and Fundamentals

Improbable Slots Carnival Game by Charles Platt
Customize it and calculate your odds of winning the big teddy. Page 158

Toy Inventor's Notebook

Root Beer Pong Bot by Bob Knetzger
Here’s a “noninvasive hack” that takes advantage of ReCon 6.0 Programmable Rover’s cool features while adding a fun new function to make a “Root Beer Pong Bot.” Page 161

Toolbox

Toolbox
Bend PVC like a champ, outsmart your cards, geek out on Lego, and fly a tiny chopper. Page 162

Eureka!

Danger!
Page 164

Heirloom Technology

Instant Cozy Kimono Robe by Tim Anderson
Everyone loves this robe, and there’s room in it for everyone! Page 170

Remaking History

The Tuning Fork by William Gurstelle
Build the 18th-century tool that replaced faulty pitch pipes. Page 172

Homebrew

My Arduino-Equipped Still by Jay Settle
Jay Settle combines a 1920s copper still with 21st Century Arduino technology. Page 176