6 Inexpensive Materials, Dozens of Ideas

These posts first appeared in Education Community newsletters leading up to Maker Faire Bay Area 2014.

Where are the ideas? Click on any blue word to explore.

Make with: Paper

Paper is so readily available and versatile, making it the perfect material for making on a whim: fold, roll, engineer, or sculpt it, or go big with a paper clone, giant head, or fashionable dresses!

Try Picnic Geometry (vintage Make: 2006)

Discover the sometimes elusive “M” in STEAM with paper sculpture. In the first picnic geometry activity, paper plates are folded and stapled to create an icosahedron. This is a little tricky, so you may want to watch the video, or start with a smaller platonic solid, like a cube or tetrahedron. You can also use this technique to make large, lightweight, and inexpensive free-form sculptures.

Make with: Plastic Bottles

Recycling is great, but upcycling is outstanding! Plastic bottles are very versatile. Use one to launch a paper rocket, make LED “fireworks,” build a small vehicle, protect your valuables, cut into a flower, or automatically water your plants and dog. Think big! Reuben Margolin’s Soda Bottle Wave had a flood of appreciation at Maker Faire Bay Area 2009.

Try Two-Liter Soda Bottle Boat

Maker Camp 2013 kicked off with this simple build, a boat made of a 2-liter soda bottle. It uses two important scientific principles, boyancy and stored kinetic energy, to float and drive a simple boat. Use waterproof markers to add style, or add components like fins for stabilization.

W(h)et your appetite? Go deeper with Howtoons Soda Bottle Submarine.

Make with: Toothpicks

Working with toothpicks is easy to pick up and hard to put down. From tiny buildings to topographic murals, from elegant sculptures to lampshades, toothpicks are the surprise building block superstars you may already have in your cupboard. They can even be used as guitar frets! Still want to use them for their original purpose? Don’t forget to flavor them first.

Try Toothpick Engineering: A classic engineering challenge, building a bridge using only toothpicks and white school glue is sure to engage emerging engineers for many hours. DIT (do it together), and do some research before building. Masking tape holds pieces in place while they dry, working on wax paper prevents getting stuck to the table, and nail clippers (Scott Weaver‘s tool of choice) make cutting easy. A search for “toothpick bridge” will bring up many great resources.

Short on time? Hold toothpicks together with gumdrops or mini marshmallows.

Make with: Foil

Aluminum foil is malleable, conductive, and — best of all — shiny! Take advantage of these properties to make a solar oven, mask, electric origami, or even sharpen your scissors.

Try MaKey MaKey Journey: Combining tinfoil, a MaKey MaKey, and the free software program Scratch, creates countless opportunities for modifying games like Dance Dance Revolution and Operation. The MaKey MaKey Journey is a game designed just for the MaKey MaKey. It involves 2 players working together to move through an obstacle course without losing their connection with either each other or the tinfoil. Click through for instructions, including the Scratch project code. MaKey MaKeys are available from MakerShed.

Make with: Tape

Tape comes in many forms, and is most commonly used to attach things to each other. But tape can also be used to make sculptures, mannequins, wallets , iPad sleeves, roses, and even kayaks. Get inspired by contest entries from Duct Tape’s Stuck at Prom (deadline July 8) and Scotch Tape’s 2012 Off the Roll.

Try: Spiderweb Illusion

EepyBird shared the Spiderweb Illusion activity from their book, How to Build a Hovercraft, on Maker Connections this spring. The only material this sneaky optical illusion requires is a roll of painter’s tape! Download the PDF here.

If you’re inspired by forced perspective installations like the Spiderweb Illusion, check out this video of Stephen Doyle’s “Grit” installation. Other artists using tape for site-specific installations include Eric Lennartson, Numen, and Rebecca Ward.

Trending Tape: Conductive

If you’re looking to spice up your tape collection, look no further than copper or aluminum foil tape. Many educators have recently discovered the wonder of combining it with LEDs and coin batteries to illuminate paper creations. Learn how to with Jie Qi, nexmap, Chris Connors, the Tinkering Studio, or purchase a set of Circuit Stickers.

Make with: Old Clothes

Ready to clean out your closet? Old clothing is one of the most plentiful materials we can upcycle. Old jeans can become a stylish bag or durable tool wrap, old towels a stuffed animal, wool sweaters a rug, old T-shirts a stuffed chair, neckwear an eyewear case, and scraps a no-sew collage masterpiece.

Try Hula Hoop Rug: Haley Pierson-Cox has brought many innovative upcycling techniques to makezine readers. She spotted this “t-yarn” (T-shirt yarn) loom alternative: use a hula hoop! This giant ring will let you give a dozen old T-shirts a new life as a rug. Hint: Weave loosely or your rug may curl up like a basket.