Paul writes “You must have a million comments about the Exploratorium, but this place is the ULTIMATE Makers utopia. These are profesional makers who create exhibits from old, new, rare, common, bizarre, etc. objects and products. There is an entire set of exhibits made from Mac SE computers, old PCs, spectrum analyzers, etc…It’s Science at its “Makiest”.” Link. You can also check out the online exhibits here.
“Edible Estates is the brainchild of Fritz Haeg, who has made it his mission to replace the water-guzzling, pesticide-drenched grasslands of American front yards with functional, fruitful plots filled with all things edible. The first lawn revival took place in Salina, Kansas, where a family offered up their conventional front yard for transformation and vowed to maintain the garden as a living, thriving edible installation.” [via] Link. Reminds me of the self reliance efforts of WWII and Victory gardens.
Ravi has a good round up on why Ubuntu Linux is a good way to get started with Linux, I usually hand out the live CD version to friends who want to tinker or install on an old computer, he writes “Ubuntu is fast on its way to becoming a peoples OS. I have always wondered what is it that makes people embrace Ubuntu over other Linux distributions. After some pondering, it struck me that the USP (Unique Selling Point) of Ubuntu is its user friendliness. Ubuntu is a distribution targeted at the non-techie crowd – those that want to get their job done and not spend time tinkering with the OS.” Link.
Chris writes in about this very Maker-friendly exhibit “Nostalgia and Technology: Embracing the New through Art and Design explores the way in which traditional forms and artful designs have been used to introduce revolutionary new technologies into the domestic space of the people of their day. The exhibition begins with a re-creation of a 17th-century cabinet of curiosities and subsequently highlights key moments in the development of new technologies, such as electricity, sewing machines, typewriters, point-and-shoot photography, radios, televisions, automobiles, space exploration, atomic energy and wearable technology. The exhibition ends with a 21st-century mirror image of the cabinet of curiosities, where 17th-century objects have been replaced by their modern counterparts.” Link.
Its easy to make your own soap! Teachsoap.com has tons of soap makin’ recipies from easy to advanced, including how to make body scrubs and lip balm. We like this tutorial on creating soaps with double color. Link.
Lizette Greco’s craft work is inspired by the drawings of her two children. Her 4 year old son loves robots, and hence the plethora of robot material in her work, like these robot ornaments. With her children’s drawings as her pattern, she creates some amazing plush toys, dolls, bags and more. Lizette shared with us one of her cool crafting tips, “When I embroider a drawing, I trace the original drawing (a face for example) on tissue paper and then pin it to the head of the doll. I embroider on top of the paper and when I’m done, I rip it off gently. That way, I don’t make pencil marks on my pieces and don’t have to clean up after them (I’ve tried this before).” Flickr Photos and Link.
Brian writes in with the best and only resource I’ve seen that has most of the Head Mounted Displays / VR-Helmets in the market – “No instructions on how to make your own, but if you were going to make your own, you’d probably want to start here…” Link. See our previous use our previous us of VR glasses with the iPod VR.
