Sylvia's Super-Awesome Maker Show (demo reel) is a DIY webshow featuring 10-year-old Sylvia and her various science, tech, and craft projects. She will be on the cover of Make Magazine's Summer 2012 "School's Out! Best Summer Ever" issue. [more inside]
posted by flex on Apr 29, 2012 - 3 comments

Can you split atoms in your kitchen? "My project is to build a working nuclear reactor. Not to gain electricity, just for fun and to see if it's possible to split atoms at home..." [scroll down to the bottom for the beginning of the experiment]. [more inside]
posted by Sijeka on Aug 5, 2011 - 104 comments

Hesperian is a non-profit publisher of books and newsletters for community-based health care, mostly aimed at the third world. Their first book, Where There Is No Doctor, A Village Health Handbook, has been translated into 88 languages and is one of the most widely used training and work manuals for community health care in the world. They have now made 20 of their publications available for free download, many of which can now also be browsed online through their website using an "Ebrary" in-browser interface. [more inside]
posted by zarq on Jul 26, 2011 - 15 comments

Make your own glow sticks! No, not like that! With complete chemical recipes for different colors, information on how fluorescent dyes work, and bonus fun camera light balance behavior. [via]
posted by phunniemee on Aug 25, 2010 - 11 comments

(MLYT) Danyk666 and his microwave oven, danyk and his unshielded Source, danyk's little jacob's ladder, danyk heats water, zaps a CD, uses wrong AC power. Also hairspray high-volt abuse, his flyback transformer no workee (wait for it), carbon scoring on your droids? And danyk's small shaded-pole motor ...OF DEATH!!! [more inside]
posted by billb on Aug 25, 2010 - 35 comments

Drawdio: A Pencil that Lets You Draw Music
posted by brundlefly on Apr 17, 2010 - 29 comments

Pssst. Hey, kid. Check out these bottle rockets. You can make them yourself. Via: Make.
posted by loquacious on Aug 26, 2009 - 31 comments

"In Massachusetts, a young woman makes genetically modified E. coli in a closet she converted into a home lab. A part-time DJ in Berkeley, Calif., works in his attic to cultivate viruses extracted from sewage. In Seattle, a grad-school dropout wants to breed algae in a personal biology lab. These hobbyists represent a growing strain of geekdom known as biohacking, in which do-it-yourselfers tinker with the building blocks of life in the comfort of their own homes." They might be discovering cures for diseases or developing new biofuels, but are their experiments too risky? Via. [more inside]
posted by amyms on May 19, 2009 - 101 comments

Hand-drawn holograms. [more inside]
posted by hippybear on May 2, 2009 - 20 comments

ilovebacteria.com explains science to people who do not necessarily have a scientific background. You'll find a selection of DIY experiments like egg osmosis, and strange facts like the ever popular why does asparagus make your wee smell? And don't forget to meet the microbes.
posted by netbros on Jun 11, 2008 - 9 comments

Multicultural toasting as an accoutrement for Gunther Anderson's guide to making liqueurs at home [ Principles | Science | Materials | Example recipe | and more... ]
posted by Blazecock Pileon on Sep 19, 2007 - 10 comments

In an attempt to curb the production of crystal meth, more than 30 states have now outlawed or require registration for common lab equipment. In Texas, you need to register the purchase of Erlenmeyer flasks or three-necked beakers. The same state where I do not have to register a handgun, forces me to register a glass beaker.

America's War on Science: Chemistry sets and model rockets, the staples of any geeky childhood, have essentially become a thing of the past.Wired has more on how a security obsessed society is robbing both children and adults of the opportunity to discover science for themelves.
posted by [expletive deleted] on Jun 17, 2007 - 68 comments

How to build yourself a Glow Discharge Panel. No, really. Woah, that's freakin' cool. UFO stuff, I think to myself. Heh. Oh.. Oh holy crap!
posted by loquacious on Aug 30, 2004 - 4 comments

Self-built science toys. Too much fun with the world around you. I'm making the Binaca cannon first thing tomorrow.
posted by skyscraper on Jul 12, 2003 - 14 comments

I'll need a jetpack, a sonic devestator, and maybe one of those hoverboards. Future Horizons is like a clearinghouse for all those cool ads I used to see in the back of magazines.
posted by CrazyUncleJoe on Feb 15, 2000 - 1 comment