Makers

Big rockets like the SpaceX Grasshopper and the Orbital Antares have been in the news lately, but those are a little out of reach for the average student. That's why the Aerospace Industries Association's Team America Rocketry Challenge exists. It fans the maker flames by challenging kids to design, build, and launch model rockets.

The rocket challenge finals took place over the weekend. It was a record year for the competition's turnout, with 725 teams battling through the initial rounds. The top 100 teams participated in the final fly-off in Virginia, representing 29 states with teams from schools, 4-H clubs, and even a team made up of Civil Air Patrol volunteers.

The competition was open to students in grades 7 through 12. All the teams had one goal: build the best model rocket. The challenge was to fly an egg to 750 feet up in the air, and then parachute it back to the ground with no damage. That's even harder than it sounds.… Read more

Step right up, kiddies, the carnival is coming to town! And this time, it's bringing robots and lasers.

Well, it will be if the STEAM Carnival successfully reaches its Kickstarter goal and hits the highway with all manner of amusing geeky hijinks under its big tent. Think Maker Faire meets Burning Man, with a decidedly less naked, more kid-friendly slant. The goal is to not only get youngsters pumped about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math), but to warm them up to STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math).

"Our culture isn't doing enough to get kids interested in STEAM," say the creatives behind Two Bit Circus, a collective of builders, inventors, developers, and makers behind STEAM Circus. (They also helped create the wacky Rube Goldberg machine in OK Go's "This Too Shall Pass" video.) The carnival's advisory board also brings some serious geek cred to the proceedings in the form of MythBuster Grant Imahara; Brian Fargo, creator of the video game Bard's Tale; and Nolan Bushnell, founder of Atari and father of Brent Bushnell, one of STEAM Carnival's masterminds.

… Read more

If you don't have a bag, pocket, or anywhere to stow that iPhone, how about kicking it around on your heels?

The iPhone Mashup Shoe was created by Alan Nguyen of Freedom of Creation, a 3D-printing house in Amsterdam.

The shoe was designed around iPhone cases from 3D-printed accessories site FreshFiber. You can see the cases in the base of the heel. … Read more

Lego fans! If you can't get over to Legoland Malaysia to gawk at its plastic architecture, here's the next best thing. A new book titled "Brick City" looks at Lego re-creations of global landmarks and shows you how to build them.

The 256-page manual has more than 400 illustrations of architectural icons such as the Taj Mahal, Buckingham Palace, the Eiffel Tower, Chicago's Tribune Tower, and Westminster Abbey, as well as 46 instructions and two posters. Author Warren Elsmore and 13 other builders constructed the 100 models in the book, which includes vehicles such as New York cabs -- check out the eye-popping creations in "Brick City" in the gallery below. … Read more

On his Blackout Props Facebook page, Archie Whitehead introduces himself, saying, "Hi! I'm 17 and have just got into special effects, props, and costumes." By "just got into," he actually means, "I just build an awesome wearable Iron Man suit from scratch while you were busy surfing cat videos online."

The materials for the suit alone cost around $500. Some portions of the costume are made from foam rubber. Automotive spray paint gives it the glossy, just-built-by-a-billionaire look. Battle scars across the helmet hint at some epic conflict. It took several months to put the costume together.… Read more

What would happen if you could take "The A-Team" and "Storm Chasers" and put them together in a blender? You'd get something like Tornado Junkies.

As their name suggests, this trio of young men are crazy about tornadoes. So crazy they think they can build a tornado-proof van.

Yes, this $5,000 Kickstarter project wants your money to build an armor-plated Ford to carry these Des Moines dudes down Tornado Alley chasing twisters. … Read more

Have you ever dreamed of being Tony Stark, with the ability to turn your body into a machine? Well, you now might just have the chance to be part robot, or at least the ability to create your own repulsor.

Advancer Technologies uses electromyography to help fans of the "Iron Man" movies have their very own hand armor. This type of science is typically used to test the electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles. The glove is controlled by the wearer simply flexing and relaxing their forearm muscles. … Read more

Japan is already known for integrating robots into everyday life, whether it's giant fembots in Tokyo's red-light district or shampooing robots that handle salon duties. Now, students from the University of Tsukuba have created a robotic girlfriend coat for lonely fellas.

The Riajyuu Coat features a belt around the midsection. Motors on the back tighten the belt, squeezing the wearer to replicate a girlfriend coming up from behind and giving him a hug. A set of headphone lets the guy listen to a high-pitched woman talking at him, apologizing for being late, and just generally coming off as cute, in an anime sort of way.… Read more

Good things happen when you don't drink but do fire lasers.

Last time we checked in on the antics of Scott Stevenson (aka WorldScott), he was vaporizing a row of 100 balloons with a Spyder Krypton laser.

He's been at it again, this time firing the green-light 100mW Krypton at some flash paper atop a bottle full of alcohol.

The result is spectacular, but it looks even better when the laser ignites the contents of 10 bottles in a row.

The burning flash paper sets off a jet of fire from the bottles, as well as what looks … Read more