Make: Online: Kids Archives

Kids Archive: Kids

November 5, 2009

"Letters, we get letters..."

Mark Frauenfelder and Dan Woods got sent this letter about the latest issue of MAKE, Volume 20. We got the sender's permission to post it here:

Mark and Dan,

This is Jim Kelly, the freelance tech writer in Atlanta. Hope you guys are doing well.

Just wanted to write and tell you how impressed and inspired I am with issue 20 of MAKE magazine. The interview (and foreword) with Adam Savage was extremely fun to read. As a father of a 2.5 year old, I too am anxious to encourage my son to explore, take apart, design, and enjoy the creative process.

Issue 20 was directed at kids, and I think you hit the bullseye, with force behind it. I hope this issue is one of your bestselling ones, and I for one am encouraging parents I know to pick up a copy. I'm also purchasing a few extra copies for some teachers I know.

My son just got done watching me configure my new CNC machine to mill out some fun designs on wood; his eyes could not have opened any wider. I wish all kids could have access to this level of technology and machinery, but unfortunately, our school systems seem to be cutting shop class and art projects and focusing time and money on standardized test-taking skills... how unfortunate.

To bring this all home, I guess what I'm trying to say is that there is such a demand for material/content that encourages our youth that a void has been created and cannot be filled fast enough. MAKE is in a unique spot to develop something that goes a little beyond the Maker Shed and the quarterly magazine. Maybe it's a subscription-based activity website, with monthly special projects broken down into categories such as "Do It Yourself" (no parents required), "Dad and Me" (or "Mom and Me" - projects with the parents), and more. Maybe it's a special magazine (like your Halloween special issue) that focuses on even more kid-friendly content. Or maybe a mixture of projects and inspirational interviews (Dean Kamen comes to mind) in a book format.

I'll wrap this up by saying that I, Jim Kelly, hate the three month wait between issues of MAKE... I read every issue over and over again. I'm starved for this type of content. And I'm an adult - imagine what those kids who have this creative streak inside them must feel? They're in need of something... not sure what... and maybe you guys can figure out what to offer them. Issue 20 could easily be just the tip of the iceberg.

Take care,

Jim Kelly

Thanks for your thoughts and kind words, Jim. Reaching the educational market, be it home-schooling parents or teachers in grade school and college, is an increasing focus of ours. We see the new Make: Science Room as part of that effort. We also have the Make: Education social network to reach out to educators and and to create a place where they can network with each other. We've also been working on a dynamic new project-based program of making and mentoring designed to raise the next generation of makers. We're developing this with some very innovative, high-profile partners and are very excited about the prospects. Stay tuned -- we'll be making an announcement about this in the next few months and looking for some kids to participate in a pilot program.

We'd also like to point out that there is something to tide maker parents, kids, and educators over between issues of the magazine: this website, Make: Online! Over the past year, we've been adding much more original content, regular columns, weekly projects, guest authors, and special programs. And then there are our regular Weekend Project podcasts, and special videos, like Collin Cunningham's MAKE Presents series, and Marc de Vinck's how-to and kit build videos. There's a lot going on here, so we hope you're getting your daily dose of MAKE from us. If there's anything else you'd like to see us do here to satisfy your MAKE fix, please let us know. We're always looking for ways to expand and improve the site.

From the pages of MAKE:

Want to know how to build a hydrogen rocket? How about a laser light show in a lunchbox? Or a simple remote-controlled videocam car? Or maybe you want to go old-school and build a wooden mini sailboat or toy car launcher? All this and tons more, plus revealing photos of Adam Savage's maker childhood, can all be found in MAKE, Volume 20, "For Kids of All Ages." Get your individual copy in the Maker Shed, or subscribe now.

Adorable stoplight costume

David King built this stoplight costume for his oldest daughter. It's his first Arduino project. Besides flashing the expected red, green, and yellow lights, it incorporates an Adafruit WaveShield to play music. [Thanks, David!]

In the Maker Shed:

Arduino WaveShield Kit

October 31, 2009

William Kamkwamba at MIT

Recently, William Kamkwamba spoke at the Technology and Culture Forum at MIT.

William Kamkwamba, is a senior at the African Leadership Academy, a pan-African high school in Johannesburg, South Africa. A 2007 and 2009 TEDGlobal Fellow, Kamkwamba has been profiled on the front page of the Wall Street Journal and his inventions have been displayed at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry. He's often invited to tell his story at such venues as the World Economic Forum in Africa, CES, Aspen Ideas Festival, Maker Faire Africa and the African Economic Forum.

During the evening, William was introduced by Amy Smith, and spoke with his coauthor Bryan Mealor, an American journalist covering Africa. Together, they told stories of life in Malawi and William's experiences making and fighting to learn in the midst of a devastating famine.

After the break, there is more video from the evening.

Read full story

October 29, 2009

Halloween Howtoons...

Jetpack
Nice collection for the kiddos...

Happy Halloween! October 31st is one of the best days of the year. Not only do you get to devour candy all day, you also get to be anything while doing it!!! Forget about the thrills and chills, there is no trickery here. This year we are setting out to get you as much candy as possible, so check out these sweet costumes

October 28, 2009

Where are they now: Pleo the Dinosaur

He's baaaaacck! Pleo, the long-hyped, short-lived robotic baby dino is back on the market. Robert Oschler, of RobotsRule, has posted a piece, The Inside Story Behind Pleo's Rise, Fall, and Resurrection, that includes an interview with Derek Dotson, one of the founders of Ugobe, and now the CEO of Innvo Labs, the company that acquired the rights to Pleo.

RO: Are there plans for any new accessories or new Pleo models?

DD: I can talk about the 2010 Pleo model. That model will look the same as Pleo does now except it will have a new paint job and eye color to differentiate it from the current Pleos. Over the coming year we intend to give Pleo more depth to his personality and utilize the sensors better. For example, Pleo doesn't do a whole lot with the camera in his nose right now. It's not the hardware since the camera is a good quality camera. However there's a lot of room for improvement in the software. An example of a specific feature people want badly is getting Pleo to come to you. The 2010 model will do that. Also, Pleo uses power more efficiently which will lead to longer play times. To make Pleo more realistic, Pleo will develop certain character biases at birth so that everyone's Pleo will be different. As for the sensors, the reason why they are currently underutilized is due to a bottleneck in the serial bus that connects them to Pleo's processor resources. That's something we can fix without drastically altering Pleo's architecture. Once that happens, we can do more with them when it comes to Pleo's hearing, vision, etc. Beyond 2010 there will certainly be new creatures other than baby robot dinosaurs.

From MAKE magazine:
make volume 19 cover.gif
In MAKE, Volume 19: Robots, Rovers, and Drones, learn how to make a model plane with an autopilot and a built-in robot brain. We'll also show you how to make a comfortable chair and footstool out of a single sheet of plywood, a bicyclist's vest that shows how fast you're going, and projects that introduce you to servomotors. All this, and lots more, in MAKE, Volume 19! Subscribe here. Buy the issue in the Maker Shed.

October 27, 2009

Fake TV camera trend takes over elementary school

This fascinating piece, from This American Life (animated by Chris Ware), tells the story of an elementary school where a couple of kids made a TV camera out of cardboard and tempera paint. Soon, the cardboard camera craze went viral and it seemed like every kid was either a camera operator, an anchor, or some other faux TV production person. Then things went positively post-modern.

Chris Ware animation of This American Life story

Play kitchen made from shelving parts

I really like this homemade play kitchen build from dollar store shelving parts. It cost less than $20 and breaks down for storage. The felt fried eggs look delicious.

RoundAboutGirl's playkitchen

[Thanks, Luckymomma!]

October 22, 2009

Drill-powered "fort" speakers

MAKE subscriber John Kelbley was doing some expansion/improvements on his kids' "fort" and wanted to deliver music to the (unpowered) space. His solution was to use the rechargeable powerpack from an an old 12 volt Ryobi drill and use the drill body as a stand for two outdoor speakers he found on clearance. Amplification is provided by a Sonic Impact T-Amp he cased inside the gutted drill body. Love the volume control where the drill chuck used to be.

The Best Sounding Drill I've Ever Owned!

Decade of homemade kid costumes

For years I didn't consider myself very creative. Sure, I always decorated the house for holidays, did crafty projects with my kids, refinished furniture, loved to try new recipes, and shunned store-bought costumes for what I think are way better homemade creations, but a crafter? Not really.

These days I'm trying to convince myself that I am indeed a crafter. And when you're surrounded by knitters, crocheters, professional seamstresses, painters, and soft-circuit mavens, you need lots of convincing! I recently went back through photos of the kids in their Halloween costumes that I've made, and gosh darn it, I am a crafter (of sorts). Enjoy the photos after the jump!

PS: Two of the costumes shown were store-bought, or mostly purchased at a store and then embellished with homey touches.See if you can spot them. And one of the boys is a former intern, not one of my kids, exactly.

Read full story

October 16, 2009

Digital open winner opens robot shop

We've covered Brennon Williams here before, the precocious 15 year old who runs several science and tech blogs and lectures other teens on the joys of science and following your dreams. He's now a winner of the Digital Open, the online tech expo put together by Boing Boing, Institute for the Future, and Sun, to inspire kids 17 and under to explore science, technology, and making things. Inspired by MAKE/Maker Faire, Brennon has built a simple obstacle-avoiding robot and created a kit of it to sell online. Here, he describes the motivation behind it:

The BW Science Labs Store is an idea I've had for a while now, but it has taken a lot of work to get it up and running. There is currently 1 kit available, the Vivus the Robot kit. I've seen a lot of those really low-quality $20 robots where you clap your hands and they twitch, and I've seen $400 robots with a great deal of functionality. I wanted to make something in between, and that's exactly what Vivus is. During prototyping I wanted to make a "real robot", one that was autonomous and could truly act on its own, while trying to keep the cost down as well.

Digital Open Winner: teen creates a robot shop

More:
If Brennon is our future...
Night sky in a shoe box

October 15, 2009

Boy floats away in homemade UFO (updated)

This is terrifying ...

A 6-year-old boy is floating over northeastern Colorado in a homebuilt lighter-than-air craft and authorities are racing to try and rescue him. The homemade flying saucer , covered in foil and filled with helium, lifted the boy into the air near Fort Collins Thursday morning after the balloon became untethered at the family home. Fort Collins police and other authorities have been alerted and Airtracker 7 has launched in an effort to locate the boy. We're told the boy was near Milliken around noon and was heading southeast at about 7,000 feet, which would be about 2,000 feet above ground level. Skies in the area are partly cloudy and southwest wind speeds are 15 to 20 miles per hour. "It is believed the device could rise to 10,000 feet," said Eloise Campanella, Larimer County Sheriff's Officer spokeswoman. Deputies from Larimer and Weld counties are tracking the balloon as it drifts.

....and it's over. The kid was hiding in the attic.

October 11, 2009

Junkbot student videos

As a summation assignment for the CD scrounging, battery pack and junkbot projects, students made videos showing their junkbots. In the videos, which were made on whatever equipment they had available, they were to show the 'bot, explain what they did to make it, and explain a bit about how it works. Part of the project was a writing assignment where they wrote about their junkbot and what they learned from the project. Not all of the students put the videos online, instead, emailing them in. Having the videos online definitely creates a better, more lasting record.

Grayson writes in his video notes:

Three things I learned about components that I did not use on my junkbot are things about LEDs, stepper motors, and potentiometers. I learned that LEDs only allow electricity to flow in one direction. If you hook up an LED backwards, it will not light up. Another thing I learned is that you cannot control a stepper motor without a computer chip. They are controlled with many coils and one person cannot run one with a single battery pack and a motor. I also learned that potentiometers (variable resistors) control the amount of electricity flowing through a circuit. Potentiometers can control things such as volume, motor speed, light intensity, etc.

What are your classroom projects this year? Do you have videos or photos that you could share with us to show off the creative makers you're working with? Post up some links in the comments, and add some photos to the MAKE Flickr pool.

October 7, 2009

Playgrounds From the 70s

Wow, I didn't really want to believe this, but playgrounds really did look a lot different in the 70s. Dangerous, metal... fun. Post your memories up in the comments!

How-To: Make Monster and Alien Feet

Today on CRAFT: MAKE reader and father of two kids, Dave Simon contributes a great Halloween tutorial on how to make monster and alien feet.

From the article:

Where I work we cannot have elaborate costume festivities. Only one item of clothing can be "Halloweenish". For instance, one year your hat can be the costume, then another year the shoes you wear can be the costume. I intended to be a duck, and wanted to make the flippers. I took an old pair of foam shoes and carefully sprayed expanding foam around them so that I could carve them. They looked good as craggy monster feet, so instead I painted them as is, with gnarly toes and all. My daughter was always borrowing them so I made a pair for her for her third birthday. She loved them in pink and purple. (Monsters can be pretty, you know.) This Halloween, we'll be making some alien feet for my son.

October 5, 2009

OLPC OX controls RepRap, prints OX peripheral

Here's a vid of an OLPC OX that runs a RepRep which is printing out little camera viewfinders for the XO, to help kids line up shots with the laptop's built-in camera.

The OLPC OX and 3D Printing

September 28, 2009

CAD modeling music video

I love the band They Might Be Giants. I love designing 3D objects on the computer. I love turning those designs into real objects. I love this song and video!

September 26, 2009

Debilitatingly cute snowglobe costume

Here's a Halloween unicorn chaser for all you folks who are tired of simulated electrocutions and vomiting robots. Submitted by Flickr user jpotisch to the MAKE Flickr pool.

Make: Halloween Contest 2009

Microchip Technology Inc. and MAKE have teamed up to present to you the Make: Halloween Contest 2009! Show us your embedded microcontroller Halloween projects and you could be chosen as a winner.

September 8, 2009

1:10 scale scratch-built ATV

Our pal Francesco Fondi, of Hobby Media, sent us a link to this staggeringly detailed UAZ-469 ATV. Wikipedia sez of the UAZ-469:

The UAZ-469 is an all-terrain vehicle manufactured by UAZ. It was used by the Red Army and other Warsaw Pact forces, as well as paramilitary units in Eastern Bloc countries. In the Soviet Union, it also saw widespread service in all state organizations that needed a robust off-road vehicle.

The video kind of goes on forever, but given the impressive craftship in evidence here, I can see how the builder can't get over his own handiwork. His website is in Italian, but there are tons of pics of the build and you can see how he created some of the components, such as 1:10 scale leaf springs.

Fuoristrada UAZ 469b radiocomandato autocostruito in scala 1/10 dal modellista Kostruktor

September 5, 2009

How-To: Program a person

When introducing kids to programming, it's helpful to get them into the mindset of programming. Having this experience will help them to get the concept that they are in charge of what the code does. They should also see that there is a lot of programmed behavior in the devices and systems in our lives.

Supplies:
People
Paper
Pens/pencils
A space to work in, tiled floors can be handy for calibrating moves

Tools
None

Concepts
Programming
Communications systems
Iterative or Design process

Time frame
This takes at least 20 minutes to explain and do. After that, you could use it as a filler activity, where you use it to illustrate a concept in the language that you are learning.

Mastery Objective
Students or participants will know how to create a very simple programming language so that they can command another person to perform simple tasks and explain where programming is present in other parts of their lives.

Process
Have participants get together in groups of twos or threes. Big groups don't work as well.
Each group will need a piece of paper and a pen or pencil
Each group creates their own code of simple commands.
Their commands will be written on the piece of paper and then spoken to the programmed person.
The programmed person should not have to read the code, it should be transmitted to that person verbally, or on slips of paper in a sequence.
The programmed person will then carry out the written code as accurately as possible.
Students and participants should use the iterative process, where they try their program and refine it as they go. If they don't test out the program, it may not do what they want, their may be miscommunications or sloppy code that the programmed person does not follow well.
Have each of the groups or pairs demonstrate to the rest of the group what they have programmed.
Each group in turn has a person who calls out the code, and another person who executes the code.
Each person should think of several objects or systems that use programming techniques in their daily life.

Keep it simple
Make a code of at least five lines of code, one command on each line.
They should avoid words like: "and," "next" and "then," which will have the effect of making commands more complex. Implied in the system is that the next line of code or simple command is "next" or "then."

Don't make it impossible
Keep the commands realistic for your situation.
If you are limited on time, they should not repeat movements or events dozens or hundreds of time.
If you are limited on space, they shouldn't have commands like "run for twenty seconds" or "jump eight feet"
If you have regular human beings, they shouldn't have commands like "jump up three feet" or "lift the maple table top"

Extensions
You could have them create a common syntax for their code, making it more consistent.
Create objects of groups of participants, that could all be commanded by one person acting as the transmitter of the code.

If you try this out, please let us know how it goes in the comments. Send in some photos and video to the MAKE Flickr pool and tag it with ProgramAPerson.

September 4, 2009

Free classroom electricity posters

Looking for a way to liven up your maker classroom? How about some spiffy posters? No shipping hassles, here, these are pdf downloads. The files are on the large side, so your size limitation will be on finding a printer big enough to get the size you want. They look like 11" x17" should be no problem.