Human-Powered Helicopters: Straight Up Difficult
Check out this great NPR piece about engineering students at University of Maryland that are trying to win a three-decades-old contest for human powered flight.
Fun & Games
The latest DIY ideas, techniques and tools for bikes, rockets, R/C vehicles, toys and other diversions.
Swinging in the Rain
I don’t know what the weather is like where you are, but here at MAKE HQ in Sebastopol, Calif. we’re enjoying a great run of Indian Summer weather, deep blue skies, temps in the low 80s and a tinge of fall crispness when you step into the shade. A perfect day for a swing in […]
A Cardboard Bike?
Israeli inventor Izhar Gafni says he ready to mass-produce a 20-pound bicycle made of cardboard that’s waterproof and even fireproof. There are no metal parts. The chain is actually a car’s timing belt and the tires are made from reconstituted rubber. The cost? Twenty bucks.
ALT CTRL Game Jam, NYU Poly, Oct 19-21
Our pal Phoenix Perry sent us this flyer for an awesome game design jam happened next weekend at NYU Poly’s Game Innovation Lab. MAKE is one of the sponsors.
Piranha Plant Circuit Board Keychain
This Piranha plant circuitboard keychain lights up when you plug it into a USB port.
Homemade Hybrid Rocket Engine
Building a hybrid rocket engine by combining clear acrylic with gaseous oxygen.
Animated Admiral Ackbar Costume
Everybody’s favorite bipedal cephalopod, Admiral Ackbar, is faithfully recreated in animatronic detail by Tom Cuthbert and Daniel Valdez. The head and arms are cast in rubber and outfitted with hardware to control facial expressions.
