Math Monday: Hexagonal stick arrangements By George Hart for the Museum of Mathematics Interpenetrating hexagonal arrangements of sticks are a challenging mathematical exercise to assemble from pencils. Four different directions are used, as color-coded here. The above sculpture, 72 Pencils, has tiny dots of glue to hold itself together, but you can easily use eight […]
A glass-top table supported by a group of what appear to boulders may be to your taste. If so, that’s cool. This one from Brazilian designer Domingos Tótora is called the Agua Table. But even if not, I thought the process of making the “rocks” from a paste of old cardboard boxes and glue was pretty interesting. I speculate that Sr. Totora actually started out by experimenting with the cardboard-paste process, figured out he could make fake boulders using it, then cast about for awhile trying to find a use for the cool fake boulders he’d just taught himself to make. Slapping a piece of tempered glass on it and calling it a coffee table has worked for a lot of other designers… [Thanks, Billy Baque!]
Joby Elliott made this DIY overhead kitchen rack using about $40 worth of parts from Home Depot.
Some Peeps, some Rice Krispies treats, and some fruit roll-ups, and you’ve got delicious “Peepshi.” (Okay, I think I’ll be sick now…) How to Make Peepshi = Peeps Sushi More: Annual Parade o’ Peeps
Create an actual working gramophone recorder/player. Record onto many different types of materials, like old unwanted CDs (yes, I’m talking about your Wham collection) or any hard, smooth surface material you can cut a groove in. Check out the English PDF instructions in the How-To tab on this page (book and kit are in Japanese but beautifully done) but the detailed illustrations are more than enough to easily put this kit together. MAKE is proud to be the exclusive distributor in North America for these brilliant kits from Gakken.
The 6-in-1 Educational Solar Robotic Kit is an excellent beginner building kit designed to teach how solar power is used to drive a small motor. Kids use the 21 snap-together parts (no tools required) to build 6 different working models including an airboat, car, windmill, puppy, and 2 different airplanes. Solar building kits teach children the benefits of solar energy, while they create a toy that’s fun to play with and requires no batteries. Educators, science museums, and hobbyists will surely appreciate the durability, educational value, and endless hours of amusement for children and adults too! Ages 10 and up.
This valuable little book offers a thorough introduction to the open source electronics prototyping platform that’s taking the design and hobbyist world by storm. Getting Started with Arduino gives you lots of ideas for projects and helps you get going on them right away. To use the introductory examples in this book, all you need is a USB Arduino, USB A-B cable, and an LED. By Massimo Banzi, co-founder of the Arduino Project.
