I built a framework for robot wheels a while back using OpenSCAD and used it to create a few different wheel styles. I recently decided to combine them all into one massively configurable wheel model, and add a number of…
He we’re test-driving the our latest robot creation for the first time. It’s the boy’s design and made mostly of wood. The tires are o-rings, and there’s a 12V AA batter pack sandwiched between the two pieces of plywood. The…
We finished up PopsicleBot StickBot with a couple of 555 timer circuits to allow it to roam freely and untethered. It was a lot of fun to build, and even though it’s not the fastest walker or the simplest design, it…
The goal was to crawl on the cheap, and what’s cheaper than popsicle sticks craft sticks and fishing line? Next we’ll wire up a 555 circuit so it can roam untethered, but until then, here’s how to make one of your…
We ran across a picture of a little pig online and my little girl fell in love with it, so we grabbed a sheet of paper and tried to make it. Here’s how it turned out. Below the photo is…
Okay, let’s get some parenting concerns out of the way first: I believe that a rubber band gun is probably one of the safest ways to teach a kid a bit about gun safety, partly because it actually shoots something…
My son got a set of plastic baseball players and a mat in the shape of a baseball diamond for Christmas. We had a 6-sided die on hand, and he wanted to make a game out of it. Here’s what…
There is an excellent tutorial posted by bethany at the Vermillion Rules blog that describes precisely how to make a little girl’s tutu with only some elastic strap, a few yards of inexpensive and easy-to-find tulle, and no sewing. (I…
I came home today and my son had created a suit of armor and a sword out of cardboard and paper bags. But his sword was badly damaged — dented and bent — by the kid down the street who…
I was working on another rocking horse in the shop today and my son kept picking up a horse leg and pretending it was a violin. I didn’t want the leg to get damaged, but I also wanted him to…