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!
Science Fair project FOR THE WIN! According to a piece on Wired Science, a 16-year-old high school student, Daniel Burd, from Waterloo, Ontario, has figured out a way to quickly decompose plastic (like that used in shopping bags) by letting bacteria eat it. He presented his findings at the high school science fair. The Record […]
Instructables user Thinkenstein tours us through his homemade hand-powered washing machine! I have probably been washing clothes in this hand-powered washing machine for over 25 years. It has two funnels inside the tank that serve as plungers, agitating the water every time the handle is pumped. The idea was originally for construction in wood. It […]
Oftentimes, the bounty of the season is, well, bountiful and more plentiful than can be used immediately. In my garden, the mint, parsley, and cilantro are thriving, and while I love using these fresh herbs in my cooking, I still have way more than I can use fresh. Enter our flashback for this week: a […]
How space suits destined to be trashed in space are turned into homes for amateur satellites.
In response to our post of the “BuckyBalls” magnetic beads, Mister Zed pointed us to this cool Bill Beaty demo of super magnetic beads and the behavior of their magnetic fields in loops and chains. Bill also shows how you can make a simple compass with the magnets. Lots of other cool info and vids […]
While it doesn’t have anything to do with actual buckyballs, this set of 216 rare earth magnetic balls looks like a lot of fun. I just wish they didn’t cost $31 (with shipping). BuckyBalls [via Laughing Squid]
Cymatics.org offers a nice gallery of images and video from their experiments with vibrating fluids. Their test setup using a vacuum-formed speaker inlay + custom lighting rig produces some excellent eye candy. Pics + discussion of their process can be found on the site. More: Seeing sound waves From the pages of MAKE: Chladni Plate […]
