Welcome to Sylvia’s Super-Awesome Make Holiday Gift guide 2011! Your source for what to get your favorite maker this holiday season.

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Not everyone can be the star of their own prime time detective series, so why not try the Crime Scene Science kit from Home Science Tools! With 7 super-awesome experiments, you can sift through the evidence and identify the culprit in the “Mystery of the Disappearing Diamonds.” First read the lead detective’s reports, interviews and backstory, then head to the “lab” and run experiments ranging from simulated blood typing to fingerprint capture and analysis– and even burn-test fiber identification. Decide for yourself who’s telling the truth, and who’s alibi just doesn’t hold up to the forensic evidence with this awesome kit from Home Science Tools.

Dagu Quadruped Walking Robot Chassis kit @ Robot Shop

Or if maybe you’re in the mood for some robotics, why not get yourself a Dagu Quadbot Chassis from Robot Shop. The kit comes with everything you need to build your very own articulated quadruped robot (except the brain and the battery). Using an Arduino, a protoshield, a little tweaking and some free source code, you’ve got the beginnings of your very own robotic puppy!

Mintronics: MintDuino @ Maker Shed

Looking for something to clear the palette? Why not try the Mintronics: Mintduino from the Maker Shed for a breath of fresh air! For less than the price of a regular Arduino, everything you need to breadboard the entire circuit is stuffed inside one little mint tin. Just snap the board together, follow the easy online instructions, and in no time you’ll be up and running Mintduino style, no soldering required.

Twitchie Robot kit @ Maker Shed

Into some creepy crawly robotics this season? Why not try out the Twitchie Robot kit from the Makershed! Solder up the Arduino compatible board, configure the laser cut wooden connector panels, attach the servos, then cover the whole thing in your very own cloth creation, and you’ve got the twitchie creature of your dreams! Because it’s all open source, you can take it apart, reprogram it, and give life to other plush creatures, or control up to 8 servos for anything else you can think of.

Wayne and Layne’s BlinkyPOV kit @ Maker Shed

For a super simple soldering kit, we’ve got Wayne and Layne’s Blinky POV kit from the Maker Shed. It’s battery powered fully programmable persistence-of-vision display in the palm of your hand. A great little board for the young solderer, it’s an all around smaller package than the Adafruit MiniPOV, and is programmable directly from their website via the two light sensors on the bottom that point to your computer screen. Flashy, blinky, awesome.

RGB Belt kit @ Maker Shed (or @ Adafruit)

Looking to add a bit of color to someone’s life? Why not try out the RGB LED flexi-strip from Adafruit Industries, also available as a full belt kit from the Maker Shed. Run by only two pins from your favorite micro-controller (and easily battery powered) you can make your own custom animations and control every led individually with up to 2 million super bright colors! Wrapped in clear rubber to keep out the elements, and easily divided to make smaller sections, this versatile full color LED strip is impossible to resist.

Remember to give gifts, have fun, and get out there and make something!

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