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!
The Spooky Tesla Spirit Radio is a crystal radio circuit in a jam-jar. It makes fun spooky sounds by responding to input from several types of electromagnetic sources. This non-powered radio plugs right into the computer sound-in jack, and makes use of audio software for real time sound effects.
William has been a classic maker since he was very young. One of the most powerful stories they told was about how William learned science. The Malawian famine in the early 2000’s resulted from poor rains causing a crop failure. To conserve their resources, William’s family could not afford the tuition for him to got to secondary school. William did, however have access to a library funded with donated books located at his former primary school. He had been exploring and repairing radios for several years, and in the books in the library, he found useful resources for learning physics, electricity generation and magnetism. Though the books were written in English, rather than his native Chichewa, he would find a picture in the book that showed a diagram of a system that interested him. He would then note the figure number below the illustration and go hunting through the text looking for the passage that referred to the image. Once he found it, he would translate that section of text with the help of the other books on hand and the librarian. Through this process, William taught himself physics so that he could build himself a windmill to power the lights in his family’s house.
Bob Thompson, our resident Make: Science Room lab geek, answered a question in the comments for the “Setting Up a Home Science Laboratory Part II – Gearing Up” topic, about buying digital scales. I thought it was worth posting here for the benefit of others. Cynthia asked: What would you recommend in the way of […]
Gillian Higgins teaches horse owners about what’s “under the hood.” To do so, she very carefully paints detailed anatomical art onto the pelt of her white horses “Freddie Fox” and “Henry.”
Launch potato projectiles 200+ yards with this stun-gun triggered, high-powered potato cannon with see-thru action. Get the PDF for this project here: http://blog.makezine.com/archive/2009/08/weekend_project_water_barrel_water.html. More great projects at http://www.makezine.com
Here’s what looks like a great, culturally sensitive way to tear down old buildings. D-Build, a project started in Syracuse, NY, is aiming to document and catalog entire decommissioned buildings as they are taken apart.
No photos yet. That’s a homework assignment for the bubble chemists in the audience. But I couldn’t resist sharing my excitement over this paragraph from US patent 5246631 for glowing soap bubbles:
An example of practice of the present invention involves using a liquid dish such as LEMON JOY available from Procter & Gamble Company (Cincinnati, Ohio). Although the LEMON JOY may be diluted with varying amounts of water, it is preferred that the dishwashing liquid be used at full strength. Approximately 9 milliliters of CYALUME solution made in accordance with the manufacturers instructions are added to approximately 120 milliliters of the dishwashing liquid. Although this particular mixture may be used to produce adequate self-illuminated bubbles, it is preferred that 3 to 4 drops of glycerin be added to the solution as a bubble hardener. The solution is then ready for use to form self-illuminated bubbles.
I’ve never actually measured how much Cyalume (wikipedia) is in a standard glow-stick, but I’m betting you could come up with 9 mL of the stuff by cutting open two or three at most.
