Fun & Games

The latest DIY ideas, techniques and tools for bikes, rockets, R/C vehicles, toys and other diversions.

DIY Hacks & How To’s: Modify a Game Controller for Accessibility

DIY Hacks & How To’s: Modify a Game Controller for Accessibility

Everyone loves video games. But it can be difficult to enjoy certain games if you are injured or disabled and don’t have the manual dexterity needed to execute fast button combos. Fortunately, we can use an Arduino to do it for us. The Arduino can send signals to the controller that simulate the buttons being pressed. This lets you pre-program commands that can be activated by a single button. This kind of mod could be used to help more gamers enjoy combo heavy games.

New Video Series: Making Fun with Jeff Highsmith

New Video Series: Making Fun with Jeff Highsmith

Today we’re launching a new video series: Making Fun with Jeff Highsmith. Jeff is a North Carolina-based maker who says he’s guided by curiosity and a passion for learning. He says his ideal project would lead him to learn new things, make good use of his existing skills, involve the creative use materials (too much MacGyver growing up), and result in a fun contrivance that the world has yet to see. He was introduced to electronics through amateur radio at age 11, but didn’t start the hard-core tinkering until his first son was born and he realized he wouldn’t be spending as much time outdoors hiking and backpacking. In the Making Fun video series, Jeff hopes to inspire folks to cultivate their own creativity by showing them how easy it is to make fun toys and gadgets. With two boys aged 3 and 5, he has toys on the brain, and most of his projects involve creating or enhancing play possibilities.

WGBH Creates Space-Based Curriculum for Kids

WGBH Creates Space-Based Curriculum for Kids

Our friends at WGBH’s Design Squad have come up with a great line up of activities for kids interested in NASA and the final frontierโ€”space. The materials are designed for the classroom and after school programs, but with summer vacation a few weeks away, it would be easy to plug these resources into summer activities for adults looking to give kids something to do over the lazy days of summer. It’s basically a plug-and-play curriculum.