A Rube Goldberg Music-Making Machine
by Adam Sadowsky
in Things I've Learned
Here are some things we learned from building a Rube Goldberg-style machine for an OK Go music video. Page 31
Warm Glow of Abduction
by Goli Mohammadi
Jason Dietz makes lamps that depict a classic flying saucer shooting
down a giant plasma ray and pulling up an unsuspecting victim into the
ship. Page 18
Crop Windows
by Jon Kalish
Britta Riley created "window farms" - a way for urban dwellers to garden vertically. Page 20
Watching the Detectors
by Megan Mansell Williams
John Zaklikowski re-creates particle accelerator detectors like the ones at the LHC and at Fermilab in Illinois. Page 21
Free Juice Bar
by Bruce Stewart
The SolarPump Charging Station provides free power for charging
cellphones, laptops, electric bikes, and other gadgets by converting
solar energy to electricity right on the spot. Page 22
The Lawn Rider
by Laura Kiniry
Former Navy aviation machinist Ted Wojcik built a pedal-powered lawn mower. Page 23
Aiming High, Real High
by Bruce Stewart
Dan Parker has devoted most of the last five years to designing and building his own high-altitude airplane. Page 24
Lego Antikythera!
Andrew Carol paid homage to the ancient Greeks by building a functioning Antikythera Mechanism out of Lego. Page 25
Cut-and-Fold Center Finder
by Andrew Lewis
This cut-and-fold cardboard center finder is ideal for all those fiddly measuring jobs. Page 33
Ping Ponger
by Edwin Wise
The Ping Ponger uses almost half of a rubber racquetball as a disc
spring that's bistable (it can be at rest in 2 possible states) to
propel a ping-pong ball from a compact PVC launcher. Page 44
Dizzy Robot
by Steve Hoefer
Dizzy Robots are cute pocket-sized pals that dance around until they fall over. Page 78
Sneaky Milk Plastic
by Cy Tymony
When separated from milk by using an acid such as vinegar, casein
becomes a moldable plastic material that can be used to create
everything from glue to fabric to billiard balls. Page 116
Cargo Bike Power
Car-free carrying makes a comeback. Page 34
Making Your Own Satellites
by Chris Boshuizen
Build and launch your own sat for as little as $8,000. Page 46
Listening to Satellites
by Diana Eng
Tune in to space with a homemade yagi antenna. Page 48
Weather Balloon Space Probes
by John Baichtal
Sense, signal, and snap photos in the stratosphere. Page 54
Makers at Mission Control
by Rachel Hobson
Meet the elite NASA team that figures out how to fix the space station when things go wrong. Page 56
High-Resolution Spectrograph
by Simon Quellen Field
Lab-worthy analysis for cheap. Page 58
Rocket Men
by Charles Platt
Mavericks of the private space industry. Page 62
DIY Space Roundup
Map the Chemical Composition of the Moon
DIY Ion Engine
Space Rock Hounds
Lunar Lander Simulator
Zillionaires in Space
DIY Inflatable Home Planetarium
Five Cool Participatory Space Projects
Saturday Morning Science in Space
Cash Prizes for Space Scientists
Space Science Gadgets You Can Make for NASA
Androids at 28,000 Feet
Live From Outer Space!
Spaceport Sheboygan
Backyard Astrophotography Page 68
Helium Balloon Imaging "Satellite"
by Jim Newell
Snap aerial photos from 300' up by suspending a hacked drugstore camera from 3 tethered helium balloons. Page 80
Stroboscope
by Nicole Catrett, Walter Kitundu
Make a mechanical strobe with a toy motor and construction paper, pair
it with a digital SLR camera, and take stunning photographs of objects
in motion. Page 90
Electromagnetic Aluminum Levitator
by Thomas R. Fox
This simple AC-powered coil device uses magnetism to levitate aluminum
rings and shoot them into the air - and aluminum isn't even magnetic! Page 100
Make: Tips
Page 0
Open Sourcing Space
by Dale Dougherty
The U.S. space program that I grew up with is gone. Yet our fascination with space is not. Page 1
Model It, or Make It Modelable
by Saul Griffith
Computational models are digital, and that makes them inherently
shareable, independently verifiable, and easy to collaborate on and
improve. Page 13
Memento Mori
by Cory Doctorow
The standard explanation for the attractiveness of older technology is
simply that They Made It Better In The Old Days. But this isn't
necessarily or even usually true. Page 16
Becoming an Amateur Scientist
by Forrest Mims III
Sometimes the capabilities of the amateur scientist rival or even exceed those of their professional counterparts. Page 26
Garden of DIY Delights
by Gareth Branwyn
Make: Projects is our newest online service, a living library of how-to tutorials being built by the entire maker community. Page 29
New Resolutions
by Dan Woods
Learn a new skill, teach a new skill. Page 32
Hard-Shell Molds
by Adam Savage
The science behind the art of prop-making. Page 108
A Simple Light Sculpture
by Jared Bouck
Swirling colors for long-exposure photos. Page 117
Photo Booth
by David Cline
Make an arcade-style snapshot station for special occasions. Page 120
Add Volume, Jack
by Peter Edwards
Plug in and turn up any sound-making battery toy. Page 123
Wooden Buttons
by Kristin Roach
Make your own tree bling from fallen branches. Page 126
Jar Organizer
by Abe Connally, Josie Moores
Put those old jars to good use. Page 128
Crochet Crockery
by Andrew Lewis
Unique containers made from yarn and resin. Page 130
Freezer Bag Holder
by Larry Cotton
Coat hanger keeps zip-lock bags open Page 132
Da Vinci Reciprocating Mechanism
by Alan Federman
Re-create Renaissance tech to convert rotation into a square wave. Page 133
Bucket Full O' Pockets
by Abe Connally, Josie Moores
Make your tool bucket even handier with a nifty cover. Page 137
Homemade Seed Starters
by Abe Connally, Josie Moores
Avoid transplant mortality by making soil blocks. Page 140
Greenhouse Controller
by Andrew Lewis
Build a temperature-switched power outlet and save some green. Page 143
Extreme Zap-a-Mole
by Charles Platt
Learn how a single microcontroller does the work of 20 old-school chips. Page 146
Steamy Honeymoon Goggles
by Bob Knetzger
Balloon-Dispensing Steampunk Honeymoon Night Vision Goggles! Page 151
Hawk Rescue!
by Lee D. Zlotoff
Rescue an injured mother hawk and her family. Page 152
Sun Time
by Saul Griffith
If you know how many hands it takes to measure from east to west, you
can figure out how many hours you have left to play today! Page 154
Chinese Abacus
by Tom Parker
Sometimes it costs more to buy it than to make it from the money itself. Page 165
Circular Reasoning: Planet Earth
by Bob Harris
Page 167
Carve a Stone Bowl
by Tim Anderson
Make a gift to eternity in about two hours. Page 168
Alessandro Volta and Electrodeposition
by William Gurstelle
Before the chemists of the 19th century understood electrochemistry,
most metal items were made from one solid hunk of metal; the same on the
inside, outside, and everywhere in between. Page 170
My Own FrankenBrewery
by Matthew Wirtz
Page 176
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