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!
They’re not Make or Craft, but a few other magazines do have a healthy sprinkling of DIY projects among their archives. Here’s a good one from Homepower: Passive Solar Retrofit… In A Weekend (pdf). As I find sustainable projects, especially those that are lower-tech, I find it interesting to look at any disadvantages and think […]
The first wave farm is open for biz, er, waving… The world’s first commercial wave farm went live at the end of September in Agucadoura, located off the coast of northern Portugal. Designed by Pelamis Wave Power, the farm employs three Wave Energy Converters – snakelike, semi-submerged devices that generate electricity with hydraulic rams driven […]
“Human Pump” by Gunwook Nam attempts to solve the global water crisis by capturing kinetic energy generated by human foot traffic in order to power a large system of pumps to move clean drinking water to the earth’s surface in the form of a waterfall. Some very nice renderings of the design at the link […]
This RFID wearable flower is a nice way to integrate the technology in your clothing without making it seem too obvious that you are being mischevious. Well you might be mistaken for a magician instead. Anab Jain Projects via NeoNomad
I spotted this different take on a vertical-axis wind turbine at Maker Faire Austin last weekend: I haven’t found any further documentation on Rusty Forbes’ design online, but the Makers’ site claims this will work in winds from 5 to 90 miles per hour. Any takers to try and document building one? Also, check out […]
I’m not sure how I even came across the My Aunt Debbie shop, but it’s a load of fun–colorful, clever, and kitschy. Her offerings run the gamut from jewelry to clothing to housewares, with all of it made from repurposed and thrifted materials combined in new ways. Some of my favorite items in her shop […]
At Maker Faire Austin, Evil Mad Scientist Labs was demonstrating some really simple and useful circuits powered by solar cells. Today, they’ve posted the details on their site. Interruption-resistant direct drive: The “direct drive” circuits work well for their design function, but are rather basic. They provide no energy storage, and so are quite vulnerable […]
