Laura Cochrane
Laura Cochrane is the assistant editor at MAKE.
Recent Blog Posts
Making Maker Scholarships
At Maker Faire Bay Area 2013, Luke and Adam Iseman spoke about how to make your own micro-scholarship for the students at your alma mater high school, which encourages new makers and honors your favorite teachers. You don't need a lot of money to make a big difference.
ArcAttack’s Steve Ward Demos the Handheld Tesla Coil
Today at Maker Faire, ArcAttack's Steve Ward showed me why he comes to Maker Faire: to make lightning!
Crochet Jam – Weaving Community Through Crochet at Maker Faire Bay Area
Yesterday at Maker Faire Bay Area in the Textile Talk Lounge, artist Ramekon O’Arwisters gave a compelling talk on his social and artistic project, called Crochet Jam. Ramekon goes out into the community and teaches people how to crochet, and then lets them loose to work on a collaborative tapestry. […]
Space Palette – Music and Visuals in One Fluid Motion
Space Palette is a fun instrument that combines visual and musical outputs. It works by waving your hands inside the holes of a wooden frame that looks a bit like an Atomic Age television screen of some sort. Depending on the location and depth of your hand, different sounds and projected swirling and multicolored visuals are generated.
How to Prepare for Maker Faire
For those of you heading to Maker Faire Bay Area this weekend (May 18 & 19), here are some suggestions to enhance your experience. Suggestions include pre-Faire planning, transportation, the Maker Faire app, and more.
The Moving Toys Workshop
Have fun building moving toys out of simple and recycled materials with these easy-to-follow instructions. The Moving Toys Workshop will also be at Maker Faire Bay Area this year, so come by and craft your own moving toy!
Cardboard Tube Smokestack, Paper Towel Smoke
I've been enjoying some of the clever stop-motions videos I've seen created using Twitter's newish app, Vine. One of my favorite Vine users is Brock Davis. Though he's only posted a few videos, I like how simple and creative they are. Simple + creative is a winning combination.
Knock Knock Calculator
Knock Knock is a clever Arduino-controlled calculator toy, designed for small children. The user knocks out a calculation on the surface — addition, multiplication, subtraction, or division — and Knock Knock will spit back the solution, in the form of knocks, of course. It's a fun idea for a toy, but good luck trying to use this in secret during a "no calculators" test at school!
How-To: Needle-Felted Totoro + Interview with Artist Jackie Huang
Learn how to make your very own needle-felted Totoro from needle felting artist Jackie Huang. Jackie got started needle felting after his daughter was born, and turned it into a business. He also tells us about his favorite tools, inspirations, and mistakes he's learned from in the past.
Tardigrade (Little Water Bear) Amigurumi
Tardigrades are tough little creatures. The tardigrade was originally named "kleiner wasserbär," which means "little water bear" in German. They are tiny (~ 1 millimeter long), eight-legged animals that live in the water and can survive extreme heat, cold, and — get this — they can go without food or water for nearly 120 years! Pay tribute to the mighty tardigrade by crocheting an amigurumi tardigrade.
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Author of these Magazine Articles
Tall Drink of Water
Tropism Well is an interactive sculpture that senses when someone is near and bows to pour water into a glass.
In
Made on Earth
from MAKE:
32: Design for Makers page 27
Maestro of the Wii
Several years ago, Ken Moore built a theramin, the instrument that gave mid-20th century sci-fi movies their eerie soundtracks, out of a Wii controller.
In
Made on Earth
from MAKE:
31: Punk Science page 23
Young Maker Profile: Sylvia Todd
Sylvia Todd's boundless enthusiasm shines through in everything she does.
In
Maker
from MAKE:
schoolsout: School's Out page 90
Young Maker Profile: Marc-Charles Morquette
Marc-Charles Morquette loves exploring the inner workings of mechanical objects.
In
Maker
from MAKE:
schoolsout: School's Out page 91
Turn Signals and Turntables
Dutch artist Olaf Mooij modified a 1983 Ford Sierra into the surreal, cartoonish DJ Mobile – complete with a professional-quality Beyma sound system and a DJ setup.
In
Made on Earth
from MAKE:
27: Robots page 21
Inside Out
The inner beauty of appliances.
In
Maker
from MAKE:
22: Remote Control / Wireless page 39
Cranked-Up Creativity
Mike Adair, a 44-year-old artist from Overland Park, Kan., builds brightly colored wooden crank toys in his basement workshop.
In
Made on Earth
from MAKE:
21: Desktop Manufacturing page 18
More Kid-Friendly Projects
Crowd-pleasers from the MAKE vault.
From MAKE:
20: For Kids of All Ages page 59
Teachers’ Pet Projects
We asked teachers to share their favorite classroom & science fair projects.
From MAKE:
20: For Kids of All Ages page 76
The International Spy Museum
Visitors explore the secret and exciting world of international espionage.
From MAKE:
16: Spy Tech page 94
Len Cullum in Seattle, Wash.
Making Connections
In
Workshop
from MAKE:
16: Spy Tech page 186
