Science

DIY science is the perfect way to use your creative skills and learn something new. With the right supplies, some determination, and a curious mind, you can create amazing experiments that open up a whole world of possibilities. At home-made laboratories or tech workshops, makers from all backgrounds can explore new ideas by finding ways to study their environment in novel ways – allowing them to make breathtaking discoveries!

Teen Launches Hello Kitty into Space

Teen Launches Hello Kitty into Space

Thirteen-year-old Lauren Rojas’ science fair project has taken off in ways she never imagined. The seventh grader at Cornerstone Christian School in Antioch, Calif. saw a Visa commercial that featured three guys sending a balloon into the upper atmosphere. She wanted to do something simliar to test a hypothesis about the effects of altitude on air pressure and air temperature.

“I learned a lot more about space than I ever knew,” she said.

She also got an unexpected lesson in internet fame.

Continue Reading Stett Holbrook14
Black Makers Month: Pamela Jennings

Black Makers Month: Pamela Jennings

OK, it’s tax time and I’m tired. That’s no excuse for not posting more awesome Black Makers to the blog! Especially since it’s tax time and I’m about to give Uncle Sam more of my hard-earned dollars I would be sadly remiss to not get Pamela Jennings up here, since she is like a super-meta maker. Not only does she make her own cool stuff, but she is at the National Science Foundation and helps get other makers in the research world the money that they need to change the world. Awesome, yes? I think so! Pamela is another fantastically talented maker who I first met at Sketching In Hardware. I wish I could direct all my tax dollars to her funding initiatives.

Continue Reading Kipp Bradford12
Black Makers Month: Chad Jenkins

Black Makers Month: Chad Jenkins

Odest Chadwicke Jenkins is my friend and neighbor. If I really wanted to split hairs, Chad is more a scientist than a maker. I will overlook that small technicality because the work that Chad does is profoundly awesome and has mega impact in the world of robotics, which affects every maker working with robots. Chad and I share many interests including video games and robots and I find it interesting that he runs the lab previously occupied by Leslie Kaelbling, one of my former mentors, who is now at MIT. Chad played rugby in college, so you don’t want to mess with him! Chad is so cool, he was recently named as one of the “Brilliant 10” by Popular Science.

Continue Reading Kipp Bradford70