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 make fake glass, fun for making movies and more “…short and simple introduction to sugar glass making. Don’t be disheartened if the first time you try it it doesn’t look exactly as planned. Just persevere and eventually you will master the craft and then discover a thousand uses in your low budget feature for your easy-bake glass. Just don’t be eating it…” Thanks Plazmo! Link.
Paul writes “You must have a million comments about the Exploratorium, but this place is the ULTIMATE Makers utopia. These are profesional makers who create exhibits from old, new, rare, common, bizarre, etc. objects and products. There is an entire set of exhibits made from Mac SE computers, old PCs, spectrum analyzers, etc…It’s Science at its “Makiest”.” Link. You can also check out the online exhibits here.
Chris writes in about this very Maker-friendly exhibit “Nostalgia and Technology: Embracing the New through Art and Design explores the way in which traditional forms and artful designs have been used to introduce revolutionary new technologies into the domestic space of the people of their day. The exhibition begins with a re-creation of a 17th-century cabinet of curiosities and subsequently highlights key moments in the development of new technologies, such as electricity, sewing machines, typewriters, point-and-shoot photography, radios, televisions, automobiles, space exploration, atomic energy and wearable technology. The exhibition ends with a 21st-century mirror image of the cabinet of curiosities, where 17th-century objects have been replaced by their modern counterparts.” Link.
Want to study sharks? Build your own Tintin-esque sub – “The grandson of famous oceanographer and filmmaker Jacques Cousteau believes the best way to learn about sharks is to become one. Fabien Cousteau, inspired as a child by the comic book Red Rackham’s Treasure, where the main character, Tintin, adventures underwater in a shark-shaped submarine, decided as an adult to build his own.” Thanks Saul! Link. Nation Geographic has an update on the story too.
Here’s a great new Instructable in the Make group on building a five foot tall Jacob’s ladder from Ewilhelm, he writes “This classic climbing arc completes any mad scientist’s dungeon. Don’t touch the electrodes: they’re at 12 kV! Get a neon sign transformer rated for 9 – 12 kV and 30 mA. Make sure it’s an old style, heavy coil transformer and not solid-state. The solid-state transformers won’t start the arc. I got a Transco 12 kV 30 mA transformer on Ebay for $35. It didn’t have a wall plug, so I wired one on.”… Link.
Interesting article about “Claytronics” or programmable matter – “The day when doctors routinely made house calls may be past, but that doesn’t mean that someday you won’t routinely see your doctor in your home — with emphasis on “see.” That is to say, your doctor could physically work out of her office. But a three-dimensional lookalike, assembled from perhaps a billion tiny, BB-like robots, could be her stand-in in your home. She could talk with you, touch you, look at you, all under the control of the real, if distant, doc.” Link. Project page here.
Steve writes “Here’s how to make a soda-can Van de Graaf generator. This site contains detailed directions for making a simple Van de Graaf generator with a soda can, some PVC pipe and a few simple everyday components. The site even features a picture of the finished product in action.” Link.
