Fun & Games

The latest DIY ideas, techniques and tools for bikes, rockets, R/C vehicles, toys and other diversions.

Simple Machines: The Lever

Simple Machines: The Lever

The lever is one of the six classic simple machines. A simple machine is a mechanical device that changes a force’s direction or magnitude. The other five simple machines are the wheel and axle, the pulley, the inclined plane, the wedge and the screw. Explaining simple machines to kids can be a fun learning experience, especially if you include some demonstrations in the lesson. Here’s how I built a lever for a demonstration of simple machines for my son’s 3rd grade clas

Mobile Surfboard-Building Classroom

Mobile Surfboard-Building Classroom

Maine-based Grain Surfboards is a small maker-run company on the coast that hand-makes sustainably cut, locally milled white cedar wooden surfboards. Aside from their dedication to environmental responsibility, what sets Grain apart is that they also offer DIY surfboard kits and a variety of surfboard-building classes. Their newest undertaking is their successfully funded mobile surfboard-building […]