Blinkybug (Maker Faire version)

UPDATE: Blinkybug Kits, which include all the parts to make 4 bugs, are now available on Make Magazine's online Maker Store. Blinkybugs are small, eletro-mechanical insects that respond to stimulus such as movement, vibration, and air currents by blinking their LED eyes. They're incredibly simple, yet have a certain lifelike quality. I've been making variations of these for a while now, and showing others how to make them at museums, fairs, workshops, etc. I wanted to come up with a solder-free version for the workshop I was organizing for the 2007 Maker Faire], which took place May 19 + 20 in San Mateo, CA.

Soda Bottle Rocket LED Fireworks Originating in China, fireworks have been around since before the 16th Century and have been making people look to the night sky with delight. Firework formulas are closely guarded secrets handed down from generation to generation and the overall concept has not changed much over the centuries. Mix chemicals compounds, place them in a delivery device, light a fuse, and watch the fun. While there are thousands of forms fireworks, we focused on the aerial fireworks that make the big displays in the sky. The container is the 2-liter soda bottle. Big Bertha Bottle Rocket Firework loaded and ready for action During our experiments we created the LED Chutie, which we brought with us to the 2013 World Maker Faire in New York City. The Chutie is the basis for the stars in our firework. LED Stars We need to use a launcher for our rockets. Fireworks Always Bring Smiles! We hope you have a lot of fun with your Soda Bottle LED Fireworks.

Building a Simple Arduino Robot Step #1: Making the Chassis Place the battery pack face down and orient it so that its cable is facing you.Take two pieces of double sided tape and adhere them on the long sides of each servo. Ensure servo alignment at the bottom. Peel the backing off the tape and firmly press the servos onto the battery pack. Step #2: Breadboard & Arduino Attach the breadboard to the top of the battery pack. Step #4: Wiring the Servos Cut two 3-pin segments off of the long break away header. Insert the ultrasonic sensor so it's facing towards the front of the robot, and overhanging the unused power and ground rails.Note: The sensor is not plugged into a power or ground rails, it's in the body of the breadboard.Also, zip-ties help to keep your robot's cabling tidy.Connect the ultrasonic sensor so that it's VCC pin is wired to front power (red) rail on the breadboard (not the back one!). Step #6: Connecting the Power (pt. 1) Step #8: Adding a Kill Switch Step #9: Programming your Robot

Bubble Machine These are the tools and materials that I used for my bubble machine. Yours will differ greatly depending on what you have available. This is a great project to do with scraps, and odds and ends all hacked together. It doesn't have to look amazing to be a lot of fun, it just has to work. To make it easier for others to reproduce this, I've done away with my normal format of exactly what to use and instead broken it down into the five main components the machine's made from. The 5 steps after this talk about what alternatives you could use and what each has to do to make a great bubble machine. Trough: To hold the bubble solution. Bubble Ring: A ring of holes that will spin slowly through the trough picking up the bubble solution. Motion: A slowly moving motor to spin the bubble ring. Blower: Something with a bit of puff. Power: A power source or two for the blower and spinner. You'll also need nuts, bolts, hot glue or superglue to hold everything together.

Polispasto2