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!

How-To: Build A Reciprocal Roof

How-To: Build A Reciprocal Roof

Brian Liloia documented his build of this round self-supporting roof structure in 2008, while living in Missouri. This type of self-supporting structure, in which each beam bears the weight of another, and has its weight born by yet another, and all arranged such the load is thus distributed โ€™round in a continuous cycle, is called a reciprocal frame. It requires at least three members, and you can build a simple working model with matchsticks. [via No Tech Magazine]

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Greebly Coffee Table From E-Waste

Greebly Coffee Table From E-Waste

Though we see lots of furniture built from old computer parts, electronics, and other scrap, I especially like this one because I think it provides an object lesson in how to do this sort of thing and make it look good: Greeble it up! When youโ€™re basically just glomming bits together to achieve a utilitarian form, the more visual complexity you can achieve in the surface texture, the better.

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Wave Machine From Tape, Toothpicks, and Gummy Bears

Wave Machine From Tape, Toothpicks, and Gummy Bears

What I look for in a project, more than any other single quality, is doing a lot with a little. This โ€œwave machineโ€ demo from the UKโ€™s National STEM Centre, targeted to science teachers for classroom use, is a great example. Itโ€™s just duct tape, wooden skewers, and gummy bears, but it creates some really striking, beautiful effects when set in motion. I want to make one in my living room just to play with. Their licensing terms forbid embedding of the video, but itโ€™ll be worth your click to hop on over to STEM and watch it move.

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Time Lapse: Lego Ship in a Bottle

Time Lapse: Lego Ship in a Bottle

This build from Julia Morley took โ€œa week of planning, three days of building, a large number of expletives, and some interesting use of very long tools.โ€ And you can enjoy the whole process (minus the expletives, which have been replaced with soothing music) in three minutes of 32X time-lapse bliss here. [via The Brothers Brick]

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