Make a truth teller for light. Turn an old CD into a spectroscope to analyze light—you may be surprised by what you see. Try pointing your CD spectroscope at the fluorescent light in your room, sunlit ...

Happy National DNA Day, which commemorates the successful completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003 and the discovery of DNA's double helix in 1953. Published sixty-four years ago in the journal ...

Obviously this is a gross oversimplification of how a stadium wave actually works. An actual stadium wave simulator was created by professor Tamás Vicsek of Eötvos Loránd University in Budapest. He ...

Over the past several years of doing automata, we've developed some "classic" motion examples for participants to check out as they are starting to design their creations.

Fireworks may be a really fun way to celebrate the Fourth of July, but we know they are more than a little dangerous. The solution? Grab a friend and make your own liquid fireworks with this simple ...

Illustrations by Ray Larsen Our social lives are filled with ritualistic touching: from hugs to high fives to pinky-swears. These acts of interpersonal contact create feelings of connection between ...

In an extraordinary mission to rescue 16 kidnapped soldiers, the Colombian army turned to pop music to send the hostages a secret message.

Can you smell time? Your dog can. On a very basic level, so can you: When you crack the lid on that old quart of milk, tentatively sniff and—peeyouu!—promptly dump that foul stuff down the sink, you ...

We love laser engraving! We've been laser engraving on wood and plastics and they have been great when we make signs/signage in the Tinkering Studio. Lately I've been experimenting with filling some ...

We have been prototyping a new automata activity called “Cranky Contraptions” using simple materials such as wooden blocks, wire, and foamies. Now that it’s been about a month that we have been ...

Starting this week, the sound of saws and hammers filled UN Plaza near San Francisco’s Civic Center. Within the month, construction sounds will be replaced with the ringing of chimes and other ...

The free version of the Stop Motion Studio application will let you quickly take and combine multiple photos into an animation. Download the Stop Motion Studio app for iOS or Android to try it out!