Mechanical Mind
Jones creates custom-made dioramas full of bits and pieces that reference important milestones in his clients’ lives
Blog
To Build a Better Robot, Build a Better Team
In the month of April, robotics teams participate in competitions such as FIRST in St. Louis and Vex in Anaheim. I met Kate Azar last summer and heard her talk enthusiastically about FIRST robotics. While her experience was positive, she realized that young women struggle to gain respect as competitors and team members. I asked […]
1+2+3 Clothes Folding Board
Folding clothes is a boring and laborious chore. So speed up the process by making a folding board out of cardboard and duct tape.
How Making Board Games Can Lead to Real Classroom Innovation
If creativity is intelligence having fun, then creating a board game is intelligence at play. One of my favorite units for the 7th grade class I teach is the Board Game Design unit. When my assistant principal walked into my class, though, she was skeptical. The kids had played board games in order to dissect […]
How to 3D-Print Hand Knobs for Any Hex Bolt
There’s a common argument that you can’t make anything useful on a 3D printer. That’s not exactly true, and these 3D printed hand bolts aren’t just useful, they also add utility to the hardware you already have in your shop. I can’t take full credit on this design — I first saw parts like these when […]
Bartop Video Arcade from an Old PC
Take an unwanted desktop PC and build a bartop arcade gaming cabinet out of the parts.
Meet the Stair Bear, an Adorable Climbing Robot
If someone said they had created a “Stair Bear,” I would think it would be brown and furry (or possibly dangerous). This one is neither, but I would have a hard time resisting such a great rhyme to name this four-wheeled (or is it 12-legged) contraption that is able to climb stairs. The first video […]