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!
Sean Ragan writes: A few times in my experiments with creative reuse I’ve had some very satisfying Aha! moments. One was my finding, back in 2004, that this flexible blue plastic conduit (or “ENT” = Electrical Nonmetallic Tubing), which I find very beautiful, fits perfectly into 3/4″ PVC pipe fittings. Using only conduit, 3/4″ PVC […]
Here we have an update from Pete, a hockey loving MAKE Online loving, storage professional and his experiment to freeze a hard drive in his backyard ice rink for 100 days. This one has a couple of adventures, chainsaw, time lapse photography and the video of the big moment. How would you recover Pete’s family […]
via miters This looks like fun. Nice project. University of Louisiana News has a decent interview with Dr. Terrence Chambers, and student Don Tamosaitis. The design draws on the work of Theo Jansen. The crawler travels about 2-3 miles/hour. There were five of us working on it, there was a lot of 3D modeling of […]
The Elements of Science Kit from the Maker Shed is a great way to get your kids interested in Chemistry, Biology and Physics. The kit includes a full-color, 112-page, book and the supplies that you need to perform the 100 different experiments. Check out the link for a lot more information about what is included […]
I like this “Beginning Engineer’s Checklist,” from the PIClist site. Here are the first six items on the list: 1. NEVER loan out your copies of: The Art of Electronics (Horowitz & Hill, Cambridge University Press) (you do HAVE a copy don’t you?) Illustrated Sourcebook of Mechanical Components or Ingenious Mechanisms for Designers and Inventors […]
Liz writes in with information about an innovative new project to convert surplus shipping containers into medical clinics for people in the developing world. As it turns out, shipping containers are a pretty useful even if they aren’t shipping stuff around. A shipping container, once retrofitted for use as a health clinic, is a durable, […]
Here is a variation on the Menocino Motor project. The Mendo Motor is a solar-powered magnetically levitating motor invented by super maker Larry Spring, of Mendocino California. This is a great project to do with high school kids. The Motor incorporates woodworking, electricity, magnestism, troubleshooting, and can also be used as a way of teaching […]
