Here are just a few of the experiments and projects you can do with the MAKE Microbe Motel Kit.

• Are dogs' mouths really cleaner than human mouths? Culture bacteria from your mouth and your dog's mouth to find out.
• Is the average toilet bowl really cleaner than the average kitchen sink? Find out by swabbing both and culturing the bacteria.
• Find the grungiest areas in your home by swabbing and culturing your computer keyboard, television remote, telephone, etc.
• Is money really as filthy as your grandmother told you? Find out.

More:

Are you interested in Science? Don't forget to check out all the other experiments in the Make: Science Room.

We're ecstatic about the fact that we now have Maker Shed kiosks, with magazines, books, and electronics kits, in several California Fry's stores. We think this is big news, not only for Maker Media, but for all indie makers -- a major retail chain is now giving small kit-makers this level of exposure. And, we think it's particularly cool that we designed and built these kiosks in-house, and even personally delivered them to the stores! What other publisher could claim that?

Here, Assoc. Publisher and General Manager of Maker retail, Dan Woods explains more:

Maker Shed kiosks are now installed in four of Fry's largest superstores. Each kiosk merchandises current and back issues of MAKE, Make: Project books, and kits, with an emphasis on maker-made kits produced by indie makers like Limor Fried's MintyBoost, Mitch Altman's Brain Machine, Ken Murphy's Blinky Bugs, Dale Wheat's Tiny Cylon and Wee Blinky kits, and Amy Parness and Ariel Churi's DIY Design Electronics kits. This indie maker angle was a really important selling point to Fry's. The kiosk's themselves are all-MAKE in their design and construction. The challenge was to create a merchandising/branding kiosk that could show off maker-made kits, as well as our books and magazines, all in a 2' X 2' footprint. The design we came up with incorporates the Maker Faire workbench framing as the internal structure, refurbished fence boards from West Sonoma, and some nicely weathered corrugated shed aluminum that was locally salvaged. The result is a nice combination of weathered shed and repurposed industrial tubing. They're uniquely MAKE, and Fry's is ecstatic. In fact, they were even trucked down and setup by Heather (Harmon-Cochran) and Rob (Bullington) in one day.

These are the stores that currently have kiosks. (San Diego will be set up by Fry's staff next week)

San Diego, CA
9825 Stonecrest Boulevard
(858) 514-4500

San Jose, CA
550 E. Brokaw Road
(408) 487-1000

Fremont, CA
43800 Osgood Road
(510) 252-5300

Sunnyvale, CA
1077 East Arques Avenue
(408) 617-1300

The 3pi robotics bundle includes:

• (1) Pololu 3pi Robot $99.95 value
  
• (1) Orangutan USB Programmer $27.99 value
  
• (1) 3pi Expansion Kit without Cutout $19.99 value
  
• (1) Maker's Notebook $19.99 value
  

Learn how to program the 3pi:

Don't forget to read our How-to Tuesday: Getting started with the 3pi for a lot more information about this little bot.

When I put together my Chumby Guts kit, I had to stop and scratch my head a few times because I didn't know how to orient a part or which screws to use. I filmed the second time around, to share with you how easy it comes together! Now all that's left is to build a plush enclosure for it. Keep an eye out for an upcoming CRAFT Video about that!

Subscribe to the MAKE podcast in iTunes, or download the m4v video.

More:

• Chumby in a box
  
• The Chumby has landed!
  
• Custom case for Chumby Guts
  
• Chumby Guts -- so delicious!
  

In the Maker Shed:

Chumby Guts

Kent was impatient at having his Chumby Guts laying loose on the table, so he took to the box that it came in. This is a good way to see what the casing process entails and considering what it will ultimately need before committing to a proper case. Think of it as a Chumby case sketch model. Some of the other possibilities we've heard are cigar box Chumby and Teletubby embedding (called either TeleChumby or ChumbyTubby). MAKE Flickr pool member Pauric posted a set of photos showing how he gutted his first gen Chumby and installed it in a nice wooden case.

How are your Chumby Guts doing? Post up some Chumby photos in the MAKE Flickr pool, and send us some tips in the comments.

More:

• The Chumby has landed!
• Custom case for Chumby Guts
• Chumby Guts -- so delicious!

In the Maker Shed:

Chumby Guts

Features:

• Cool glowing blue tube with 8 digits, PM dot and alarm on/off indicator
• Adjustable brightness
• Alarm with volume adjust
• Precision watch crystal keeps time with under 20ppm (0.002%) error (< 2 seconds a day)
• Clear acrylic enclosure protects the clock from you, and you from the clock
• Battery backup will let the clock keep the time for up to 2 weeks without power
• Selectable 12h or 24h display
• Displays day and date on button press
• 10 minute snooze
• Integrated boost converter so it can run off of standard DC wall adapters, works in any country regardless of mains power
• Great for desk or night table use, the clock measures 4.9" x 2.9" x 1.3" (12.5cm x 7.4cm x 3.3cm)
• Completely open source hardware and software, ready to be hacked and modded!

Electronic Brick starter kit includes:

• (1) Arduino sensor chassis
• (1) LCD 16*2 Characters
• (1) Rotary Angle Sensor (Analog)
• (1) Button Switch
• (1) Piezo buzzer
• (1) Tilt Switch
• (2) LEDs
• (1) Light Sensor
• (1) Temperature Sensor
• (1) 2-pin Plugable terminal module
• (5) Fully-buckled 3 Wire Cables
• (1) 10-pin Colorful Ribbon Cable (for connecting the LCD)

My daughter had to draw first blood on the package. We cracked the box and checked out the stuff inside. After going to the hypnotist show to benefit the school drama department and doing strange things on stage, I felt refreshed and motivated to assemble and play with Chumby guts until long past my bedtime.

I didn't take any photos, in large part because of the very helpful images already taken and posted to the MAKE Flickr Pool.

Build instructions are on one double sided sheet of paper. I missed it the first few times I looked through the box because I thought I would find a booklet. There is a link to the instructions pdf on the Chumby guts page in the Maker Shed. The directions are pretty good, but leave a bit to be desired. I found the photos by MAKE Flickr Pool members MTBFO and ewee to be essential. Early in the build, I was wondering which of two sets of small screws to use, and found that the silver ones were likely the ones by checking a photo. I also found the notes on many of ewee's pictures to be really useful.

So now there is a new tooltoy in the arsenal. This should be fun, and already the big question is "How do you case this thing?" Kent Barnes has extended the chumbilical cord that connects the mother and daughter boards and seems ready to move things around. John Park has a nifty laser-cut case. The box that it came in is sized about right for a first enclosure. The next case will probably be a cigar box, which is very alluring lately. You can clothe your naked Chumby guts by following these instructions.

As soon as it was plugged in, the disembodied Chumby woke up, started talking and showed a tour of the basic functions. Within a few minutes, it had upgraded the firmware and brought me to the website to register it. Finding the household wireless was a snap. Over on the Chumby wiki, you can find resources on hardware, software, and more.

In all, this has already been a fun project with few pitfalls. The next steps of customizing the case and configuring the software are exciting prospects at this point. Now that she's awake, my daughter is curious about how each of the widgets work. This will be a fun thing to have.

Have you got a some Chumby guts waiting to be animated? If you've already built yours, please weigh in with your tips and tricks by adding a comment or two. If you have a glamour shot to share or process set of pics, post them over to the MAKE Flickr pool.

In the Maker Shed:

Chumby Guts

The Welcome to MAKE bundle includes:

• A Year subscription to MAKE Magazine $34.95 value
• The Best of MAKE $34.99 value
• A Maker's Notebook $19.99 value

Here's what comes in each kit:

• 3.5'' LCD (320hx240v 16bpp TFT) with Touch Screen
  
• Texas Instruments TSC2100 Programmable Touchscreen Controller with Stereo DAC
  
• Plastic Front Bezel
  
• Gasket
  
• Aluminum Frame
  
• 4 x Screws to attach Aluminum Frame to Front Bezel
  
• 350MHz Freescale iMX21 MC94MX21DVKN3 ARM9 controller Motherboard Circuit Card Assembly with Samsung 64MB SDRAM on 32-bit data path and Hynix HY27US 64MB NAND Flash ROM
  
• Kionix KXP74-1050 3-axis accelerometer
  
• Daughtercard Circuit Card Assembly
  
• Three USB 2.0 full speed ports, one internal, two external
  
• Chumbilical Flex Cable from Daughter card CCA to Motherboard CCA
  
• Wifi Riser Circuit Card Assembly
  
• USB Wifi Dongle based on the Xterasys 3135G 802.11g USB Wifi adapter (ralink chipset)
  
• Flex Cable for Wifi Riser CCA to Motherboard CCA
  
• 3 x Screws for Wifi Riser CCA to Motherboard CCA
  
• 3 x Standoffs for screws for Wifi Riser CCA to Motherboard CCA
  
• 2 x 2W StereoSpeakers
  
• 4 x Screws for Speaker to Plastic Speaker Holder
  
• Plastic Speaker Holder
  
• Switch for Bend Sensor
  
• Plastic Switch Holder
  
• 2 wire cable with 2 pin connector (from Daughterboard CCA to switch)
  
• 2 x Screws to Attach Switch to Plastic Switch Holder
  
• 12 V DC 1A Power Supply
  
• Built-in microphone

(Note: actual parts may vary slightly due to manufacturing and availability)

Start out your monster-making experience by reading the DIY hand-sewn, free-range, monster tutorial found in CRAFT, Volume 06. Next, crack open the DIY Mini Monster kit and make your first adorable little monster. When you're all done, use the included Maker's Notebook to sketch out some new designs.

Here's what comes in each kit:

• 3.5'' LCD (320hx240v 16bpp TFT) with Touch Screen
  
• Texas Instruments TSC2100 Programmable Touchscreen Controller with Stereo DAC
  
• Plastic Front Bezel
  
• Gasket
  
• Aluminum Frame
  
• 4 x Screws to attach Aluminum Frame to Front Bezel
  
• 350MHz Freescale iMX21 MC94MX21DVKN3 ARM9 controller Motherboard Circuit Card Assembly with Samsung 64MB SDRAM on 32-bit data path and Hynix HY27US 64MB NAND Flash ROM
  
• Kionix KXP74-1050 3-axis accelerometer
  
• Daughtercard Circuit Card Assembly
  
• Three USB 2.0 full speed ports, one internal, two external
  
• Chumbilical Flex Cable from Daughter card CCA to Motherboard CCA
  
• Wifi Riser Circuit Card Assembly
  
• USB Wifi Dongle based on the Xterasys 3135G 802.11g USB Wifi adapter (ralink chipset)
  
• Flex Cable for Wifi Riser CCA to Motherboard CCA
  
• 3 x Screws for Wifi Riser CCA to Motherboard CCA
  
• 3 x Standoffs for screws for Wifi Riser CCA to Motherboard CCA
  
• 2 x 2W StereoSpeakers
  
• 4 x Screws for Speaker to Plastic Speaker Holder
  
• Plastic Speaker Holder
  
• Switch for Bend Sensor
  
• Plastic Switch Holder
  
• 2 wire cable with 2 pin connector(from Daughterboard CCA to switch)
  
• 2 x Screws to Attach Switch to Plastic Switch Holder
  
• 12 V DC 1A Power Supply
  
• Built-in microphone

(Note: actual parts may vary slightly due to manufacturing and availability)

You know how, on those reality romance shows, every week, they say: "Get ready for the most exciting rose ceremony, ever!" Yeah, we don't know anything about that either, but that's what we hear they say.

Anyhoo... we probably sound the same, heralding each issue of MAKE as the best, most exciting issue EVER! But this upcoming issue (due on newsstands middle of Nov) REALLY is. I mean, look, it's got Adam Freakin' Savage on the cover! It's the "Kids of All Ages" issue, and who among us doesn't relate to that? There's a hydrogen rocket project, a laser in a lunchbox, plans for building a motorized, Arduino-powered phenakistoscope, an homage to maker toys of the 1960s, and a how-to on toilet-training your cat. A what? Okay, maybe that's not our finest moment. But look, it's Adam Savage!

If you want to pre-order a copy of Volume 20, and you do so in the Maker Shed before Oct 31st, the shipping is only one cent. That's the best issue of MAKE ever, for only $14.99.

If you want to subscribe to MAKE, here's an offer to get five issues for the price of four.

Bob Thompson, our resident Make: Science Room lab geek, answered a question in the comments for the "Setting Up a Home Science Laboratory Part II - Gearing Up" topic, about buying digital scales. I thought it was worth posting here for the benefit of others.

Cynthia asked:
What would you recommend in the way of a digital scale for intermediate/high school science? I was thinking of purchasing one that was a 1000 g capacity with a 0.1 sensitivity. Could this both serve chemistry and physics, etc.?

Bob's reply:
Good question. The two big trade-offs in buying a balance are capacity and resolution. Ideally, we'd all like an inexpensive balance with 0.0001 gram resolution, but unfortunately, there aren't any such animals.

The balance I chose two or three years ago for my own home lab is the desktop MyWeigh iBalance 201, which has 200 gram capacity and 0.01 gram (centigram) resolution. That's still a current model, and is available in Maker Shed and elsewhere. However, it's also a $100+ balance.

If you're looking for something a bit less pricey, Maker Shed also carries a portable $33 electronic balance (on sale through 10/31 for $29) that has the same 200 gram capacity and 0.01 gram resolution. I have one of those as well, and it's a very nice little scale. I suspect it probably isn't quite as durable as the i201, but OTOH, it's less than a third the price. (It's also useful around the house. My wife just used it yesterday to see if she needed to put a second stamp on an envelope.)

My take on this is that 200 g is sufficient capacity. Almost any experiment you do that would use the 1000 g capacity of the balance you're considering can be scaled down to work within the 200 g capacity of these balances. OTOH, having 0.01 g resolution instead of 0.1 g resolution is very nice, particularly for chemistry.

It'll also save you money on chemicals. For example, if you need to make up a solution to a particular accuracy, being able to weigh out (say) 7.87 g of the chemical and making up 100 mL of solution is cheaper than having to weigh out 78.7 g of the chemical and make up 1,000 mL of the solution.

This way to the Make: Science Room >>

Our Halloween Special Edition brings you 40-plus DIY projects for the holiday that's made for makers. From the craftiest costumes to amazing animated props and the latest in computer-controlled haunted house effects.

Don't forget to check out the official Maker's Notebook page for more information, modifications, and reviews.