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!
From the Museum of Mathematics The Math Mondays Experimental Making Labs recently received numerous binder rings in its Incoming Raw Materials box. You know — the little circles that clip closed, used to hold a sheaf of hole-punched paper together. According to the donor: “Here’s an office supply item that you’ve never used on Math […]
I visited the Citizen Astronaut and Space Hacker Workshop in Silicon Valley this weekend, hosted by Hacker Dojo, to see what’s new and exciting in DIY space stuff. This much is clear after just the first day: If you haven’t explored it before, now is the time to start looking in to sending your experiments into the mesosphere (and beyond).
Founded in 1989 by a handful of dedicated “pyros,” the Western Pyrotechnics Association is a west-coast answer to the older Pyrotechnics Guild International (PGI) and other fireworks enthusiast and advocacy groups. The WPA works with hobbyists and professionals to promote fireworks safety, educate about the science and art of fireworks display, and to entertain the public.
Tardigrades are tough little creatures. The tardigrade was originally named “kleiner wasserbär,” which means “little water bear” in German. They are tiny (~ 1 millimeter long), eight-legged animals that live in the water and can survive extreme heat, cold, and — get this — they can go without food or water for nearly 120 years! Pay tribute to the mighty tardigrade by crocheting an amigurumi tardigrade.
If fire wasn’t the first thing invented, it was probably the second. The human race has had a long relationship with fire, and now you can use it to charge your smartphone, GPS, or anything else that you can connect to this thermoelectric generator using a USB cable.
“The idea is that you can buy it in a local store,” explains designer Carl de Smet. “It’s a small package, you put it under your arm, and you carry it home because it’s also super light. Then at home you plug it into electricity,” he continues. Ten minutes later your chair will be ready.
Oakland resident Douglas Smith is an architect by training, working as a BIM / CAD manager at the San Francisco offices of internationally-renowned skyscraper architects Skidmore Owings & Merrill. In 2006, co-worker and amateur astronomer David Frey persuaded him to take an amateur telescope-making class at The Randall Museum, taught by famous amateur astronomer John Dobson. It changed his life.
