Create, build, and play with your very own LEGO-inspired circuit blocks! Explore the basics of electricity and circuits, discover how sensors work and use ’em to design your own experiments, and incorporate upcycled materials to improve on your materials-sourcing & MacGuyver-ing skills! That old gum wrapper? Make it into a resistor or a switch! But…
Keep an eye (er, ear) on your beloved bbies while you are away! This project monitors the volume of sound in your home and if your pet gets too anxious and starts barking or making other loud noises, soothe their sad lil’ soul by turning on music or your own (pre-recorded) voice! This tutorial will…
Light-up cards incorporate two of the best worlds of making (electronics and crafts) with the added bonus of making somebody smile. Heck yes! Here’s my approach to light-up cards and my favorite recent discoveries: pop-ups and cotton balls. Read time: ~ 5 min. Build time: ~ 30 min -1 hr (mostly crafting the card) Cost:…
A survey questionnaire come to life! Use (nearly) any object to gather helpful data through an interactive, engaging, and fun multiple-choice survey. This project uses the Makey Makey microcontroller in combination with a Raspberry Pi computer to read in participants’ survey choices and save the results in a text file. Planning & Design! This…
Walking across large, metal pipes in search of urban adventure, my inner voice joked, “Hey, magnet shoes would be handy right about now.” Well, no arguing with that! Off to build my very own magnetic shoes! This tutorial gives an overview of my build process for a magnetic boot prototype in hopes of inspiring you…
Bring science fiction to life with a personalized light-up outfit! EL wire is a delightfully futuristic-looking luminescent wire that has the added benefit of staying cool, making it ideal for wearable projects. Combining sensors and a microcontroller with EL wire allow for a wide range of feedback and control options. This project uses the SparkFun…
Whether it’s to keep Fido (or in my case, Marley) visible on an adventure or as an awesome all-year-round costume, a light up dog harness is an excellent accessory for your favorite pup. EL wire is a great option for wearable lights. It stays cool, is flexible, and comes in lots of different colors. This…
This is a minimalistic design for a proximity sensor glove: a light-up glove that dims in brightness when an object, or person, is close to the sensor. This project costs less than $10, although it does take some time to build (1 – 2 hrs). This is also a modular design, meaning that it is…
This Faraday Cage phone pouch blocks all radio signals coming in or out of your cellphone. Material costs are about $10, it takes ~ 30 minutes to build, and it can fit in your pocket! The purpose of this pouch is to prevent access to your phone and its data (e.g. location) if and when…
Wearables (aka Wearable Technology) are a new & insanely awesome extension of electronics. These minimalistic, versatile, and detachable lights are designed to allow for a wide variety of creative possibilities and to be accessible to makers of all ages and backgrounds. The process takes about an hour and materials costs are less than $10 per…
