Happy Halloween: Vol. 6

Want to make that Halloween party extra scary? We have the resources to help you do just that with some DIY special effects!

How about a hologram of a ghoul? We have Holography Projects for the Evil Genius. It is a DIY resource which includes step-by-step instructions, helpful illustrations, a list of required, easy-to-find components (and a list of sources!). It not only helps you create – and customize – your own hologram, you’ll also master the latest tools and techniques!

Pepper’s Ghost is a special effects technique for creating transparent and ghostly images! It was popularized in the 1800s by John Pepper. This effect has been used in theaters and haunted house since then! The photo below was created with mostly scrap materials in the Engineering Electronics Shop on the Universal laser. Stop by the Engineering Library and check it out. The images in our Pepper’s Ghost move and it rotates through several images.  Makezine has complete instructions on how to make a spooky ghost for your party! While the Pepper’s Ghost below is using a laptop, a computer or special equipment isn’t needed! If you are interested in a more elaborate hologram, How It’s Made : Season 1 & 2 (disc 1) will explain how a hologram is created from the beginning to end.

How about creating animatronic eyes? Make : 3D Printing Projects has step-by-step instructions with color illustrations and a parts list! What could be more fun than having a pair expressive, animatronic eyeballs at your party! (We have 3D scanners available in our Creative Space and the Engineering Machine Shop has 3D printers!)

Want to make both your own fog and fog machine? The fog “juice” is made with glycerin and water- which creates a dense vapor when  heated to the point of evaporation, which then becomes cloudy when it hits the room temperature air. (For more info on evaporation check our resources, including: Liquid-vapor phase-change phenomena : an introduction to the thermophysics of vaporization and condensation processes in heat transfer equipment.) The fog machine is quite simple also! All it takes is a large candle (with multiple wicks), a small aluminum pie plate, and the top of a 2-liter plastic soda bottle! You will want to be careful about where you place your fog machine – you definitely don’t want it to be tipped over!

Interested in learning about stage make-up? How It’s Made : Season 1 & 2 (disc 5)  has great information and shows the creation process. You’ll also be able to see the transformation of a young woman to an old woman. A full transformation mask can take a month or more to create and cost upwards of $10,000. Perhaps not the most cost effective for your Halloween party!

BWAHAHAHAHA!!

Resources:

How it’s made, Seasons 1 and 2. Discs 1 & 5. 2010. Silver Spring, MD : Discovery Communications. Engineering Library Circulation Desk video (Video Record 37144 DVD)

Harper, Gavin D.J. 2010. Holography projects for the evil genius. New York : McGraw Hill. Engineering Library TA1542 .H37 2010

Drumm, Brook. 2015. Make : 3D printing projects. San Francisco, CA : Maker Media, Inc. Engineering Library TS171.95 .D78 2016

How to Make a DIY Fog Machine for a Spooky Halloween. 2016. Popular Mechanics.

More Resources:

Iannini, Robert E. More electronic gadgets for the evil genius. 2006. New York : McGraw-Hill. Engineering Library TK9965 .I253 2006

The Pepper’s Ghost Illusion. 2016. instructables.com

Carey, V.P. 2008. Liquid-vapor phase-change phenomena : an introduction to the thermophysics of vaporization and condensation processes in heat transfer equipment Engineering Library TJ263 .C37 2008

Happy Halloween: Vol. 5

Been thinking about that perfect Halloween costume? Sure, you could go to a store or online and order something, but what fun would that be? You want something special – uniquely yours, right? We’re here to help you make your very own Halloween costume and light up the night!

Not sure how to get started with creating wearable tech and your own costume? We have Lilypad in our Tool Library! Lilypad is a set of sewable electronic pieces which will help you build soft interactive textiles. There is a small programmable computer, conductive thread, LED lights, battery and battery holder, conductive fabric and more – all you need to get started working with wearable tech! Make : Wearable Electronics will help you learn the skills you need! Once you get the hang of it – you can make your own light-up dress like the one Lupita Nyong’o wore at a Star Wars^©  promotional event!

Perhaps you are going dressed as a “social butterfly.” What could be better than a dress with butterflies that actually flap their wings? If you are interested in wearable tech that utilizes motors, both Make: Wearable Electronics and Making Things Move: DIY Mechanisms for Inventors, Hobbyists, and Artists can help you learn to do just that!

Maybe a light saber more your style? makezine.com has several DIY lightsabers (from Padawan to Jedi Master!). With MaKey MaKey (available in our Tool Library!), you can make the light saber sounds!

Always dreamed of being Thor? Check out this video and then read up on fingerprint scanners in Fundamentals of Applied Electromagnetics to see how the DIY Thor’s hammer is created! Visit instructables for more superhero LED wearables!

Whatever your costume ideas are we have the resources to help you really stand out!

Resources:

Hartman, Kate. 2014. Make : Wearable electronics. Sebastopol, CA : Maker Media. Engineering Library QA76.592 .H37 2014

Light Saber. 2008. Scratch

Ulaby, Fawwaz T. 2015. Fundamentals of applied electromagnetics. Boston : Pearson Education, Inc. Engineering Library QC760 .U49 2015

Lupita Nyong’o wore a light-up dress programmed by young women, and it was stunning. Dec. 4, 2015. Upworthy. Cloud Tiger Media, Inc.

Other Resources:

Cho, Gilsoo, editor. 2010. Smart clothing : technology and applications. Boca Raton, Fla : CRC ; London : Taylor & Francis distributor. Engineering Library QA76.592 .S63 2010

Tao, Xioming, editor. 2005.  Wearable electronics and photonics. Cambridge : Woodhead ; Boca Raton FL : CRC Press. Engineering Library QA76.592 .W43 2005

The Galaxy Dress. cutecircuit.com Date accessed Oct. 18, 2016

6 Ways to Light Up Your Halloween Costume. Make: Explore Maker Camp. makezine.com Date accessed Oct. 19, 2016

McCann, J. and Bryson, D, editors. 2009. Smart clothes and wearable technology. Oxford : Woodhead Publishing. Engineering Library TT497 .S58 2009b

Pedersen, Isabel. 2013. Ready to wear : a rhetoric of wearable computers and reality-shifting media. Anderson, South Carolina : Parlor Press. Engineering Library AQ76.592 .P43 2013.

Let’s Make DIY wearables wearables. instructables.com. Date Accessed Oct. 20, 2016

Happy Halloween: Vol. 4

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Halloween is getting closer and closer and you are planning that Halloween get-together… Looking for the perfect DIY Halloween decoration projects?

Looking for a classic scary pumpkin? How about one that lights up? Electronic Projects for Dummies will help you create the perfect scary pumpkins! You’ll end up with 2 pumpkins – one transmits an infrared beam and the second one lights up and plays a prerecorded message or sound. When someone walks between the two pumpkins and breaks the plane of the infrared beam, the 2^nd pumpkin will light up and emit that evil laugh!  The chapter, Scary Pumpkins, takes you through the process, step-by-step,  complete with schematics, photos (some in color), parts list and detailed instructions!

What party would be complete without a moving eyeball picture? Haywired: Pointless (yet awesome) Projects for the Electronically Inclined will help you make one! Pick out a picture of your favorite monster, zombie or ghoul – the parts and tool lists, step-by-step photos, schematics and concise directions will help you create your very own moving eyeball picture!! Perhaps you would also like to have one that smiles when someone approaches it? Haywired will show you how to make one! The example they show is of the Mona Lisa, but you can easily adapt it to a ghoul or monster with a toothless grin!

Are you into paper projects? Learn to make a light-up paper cat with Paper Inventions : Machines That Move, Drawings That Light Up, Wearables and Structures You Can Cut, Fold, and Roll. The perfect time of year to make a black cat (or several!) to light up your Halloween party walls! It uses very few materials – construction paper, permanent marker, copper or aluminum foil tape, CR2032 coin battery, LED and a small binder clip! It will also show you how to create blinking and flickering effects for even more eerie decorations!

Interested in coming up with your own spooky decoration ideas? Don’t forget to check out what we have in our Tool Library!! We have Lilypad for making wearable tech (think of the costume you could make!), a MaKey MaKey kit – create a keyboard using a pumpkin and Hersey Kisses! Play around with the littleBits to come up with some fun circuit projects – and there is always the Raspberry Pi Starter Kit, too!

For 10 more last-minute Halloween decorations, check out makezine.com. Spider-web balloons, packing tape ghosts, and a meat head…. Because what’s a Halloween party without an edible head….

With a MaKey MaKey (available in our Tool Library) you can make some small pumpkins (or gourds) scream!

No matter how you plan to spend your Halloween, remember to stop in and explore our resources which can help you make it more eerie!!

Resources:

Boysen, Earl. 2006. Electronic projects for dummies. 2006. Hoboken, NJ : Wiley. Engineering Library TK7819 .M38 2006

Rigsby, Mike. 2009. Haywired : pointless (yet awesome) projects for the electronically inclined. Chicago, ILL : Chicago Review Press. Engineering Library TK99656 .R54 2009

Ceceri, Kathy. 2015. Paper Inventions : Machines That Move, Drawings That Light Up, Wearables and Structures You Can Cut, Fold, and Roll. San Francisco, CA : Maker Media. Engineering Library TT870 .C54 2015

Brown, Casey.  Oct. 31, 2012. Hershey Kisses, a pumpkin, and MaKey MaKey create and open source Halloween. Oct. 31, 2012. opensource.com

Branwyn, Gareth. Oct. 16, 2015. 10 Last Minute Halloween Decorating Ideas. makezine.com

Happy Halloween: Vol. 3

Bwhahahahahaha!

It is nearly Halloween and goblins, mummies, zombies and monsters are everywhere!

How can you protect yourself??

There are several DIY projects that can help you detect those menacing monsters!

“Monster-B-Gone” can be built in 2-4 hours at a cost of about $30 to $40. Make : Technology on Your Time (v. 52, 2016 Aug/Sept) has step-by-step instruction (complete with color photos) that will teach you how to put it together, program it, and add upgrades (i.e. sound effects!). the perfect accessory to have with you as you creep through that haunted house….

Perhaps laser night vision is more your style. 101 Spy Gadgets for the Evil Genius can show you how to create your own long-range laser night vision illuminator. There are pictures and clear, step-by-step instructions. The author, Brad Graham, does warn, however, about the dangers of working with lasers and the need for proper laser safety equipment.  This is part of an entire section devoted to “Peering into the Night,” and it may give you more ideas to help facilitate your monster detection!

Maybe you’d prefer a portable alarm system? 101 Spy Gadgets for the Evil Genius has a portable alarm system that is “a simple yet effective security system that is perfect for temporarily protecting an area or building.” There is a parts list, photos, graphics, and complete instructions. And, if you aren’t worried about monsters and goblins, this alarm is perfect for protecting your luggage and valuables when you travel.

Do you have some basic electronic skills and about $30 to $45? More Electronic Gadgets for the Evil Genius will help you create your own body heat detector! Could be useful when you are out searching for zombies (wait, do zombies give off body heat?). Don’t want to go search for zombies and monsters? This body heat detector could help you locate that run-away dog or cat! Full of illustrations, photos and complete instructions, More Electronic Gadgets for the Evil Genius will help you create your very own body heat detector!

These resources should give your creativity a jump-start as you think about Halloween DIY projects!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

Resources:

Monster Detector. Make : Technology on your time. Volume 52, 2016 Aug/Sept.

Graham, Brad. 101 spy gadgets for the evil genius. 2nd edition. 2012. New York, NY : McGraw-Hill/TAB Electronics. Engineering Library TK7882.E2 G685 2012

Iannini, Robert E. 2006. More electronic gadgets for the evil genius. New York : McGraw-Hill. Engineering Library TK9965 .I253 2006

Happy Halloween: Vol. 1

The days are getting cooler and Halloween is almost here!

Want to put your engineering skills to work and have fun doing it? How about making your own Punkin Chunkin trebuchet or catapult?

Most of us know what a catapult is, but do you know what is different between a catapult and a trebuchet?  A trebuchet uses a sling and has a counter-weight which, as it is dropped, forces the long arm up to pull the sling and the projectile along a slide at the base. The counter-weight uses the pull of gravity to provide the force necessary for the arm to swing upwards. The sling increases the length of the arm which increases the length of the throw. The catapult, on the other hand, uses a leaf spring mechanism to release the long arm. A rope is wrapped around a rotating drum and when the spring mechanism is released, so is the arm and the projectile. A catapult also has a cup at the end rather than the sling that a trebuchet has.

In 15 Dangerously Mad Projects for the Evil Genius, author Simon Monk says, “The trebuchet takes its energy from the weight that falls as the arm swings. The ‘potential’ energy is transferred to the arm and sling of the trebuchet and is released as kinetic energy in the tennis ball.” (or pumpkin…). He then explains that when you know the energy stored in the weight and how far the projectile can be thrown, then the energy going into the system and the energy released can be measured.  Input energy can be calculated using the formula: E=mgh where ‘m’ is the mass of the weight, ‘g’ is the gravitational acceleration on Earth (9.8) and ‘h’ is the height.  You can also calculate the amount of energy transferred to the tennis ball using the distance it traveled and its weight. E=1|2 mv² where d=v²|g v²=dg. You can then calculate the efficiency of the catapult by dividing the energy transferred by the energy input.  From this, you are then able to calculate the efficiency of your trebuchet! Ready to try to build your own? Monk also provides step-by-step, illustrated instructions, including a list of parts needed! The trebuchet project is  rated as “Small,” (1/2 day to 1 day to complete) and the skill level receives 2 out of 4 stars (a small mount of soldering is required).

Rather make a catapult? Make : Technology on Your Time (volume 28, pages 84-94) will walk you through the process of building a gravity catapult. The larger the item you want to hurl through the air, the larger the catapult needs to be. Author William Gurstelle cautions that there are incredible stresses on the working parts of the catapult and if something should bend or break, it can be dangerous. He also emphasizes that a catapult is big. Once you build it, you need to have a place to store it (and to use it!) The gravity catapult shown in this issue of Make is small and light enough for one person to move. It also has wheels and (sort of) folds flat. Still want to try your hand? This includes an explanation of how it works, a list of materials and tools needed and complete building instructions accompanied by color illustrations!

The World Championship Punkin Chunkin contest has categories for both the trebuchet and the catapult.  (Did you even know there is a World Championship Punkin Chunkin Contest?) It’s being held in Bridgeport, Delaware, this year. The goal is to encourage teams to use their science and engineering skills and also attract tourists. All the money raised goes to scholarships and community-based non-profits which support area youth. And in case you are wondering if Punkin Chunkin is a waste of good food, this is what the World Championship Punkin Chunkin Association (WCPCA) website says, “Majority of the pumpkins that are grown for competition are hybrids. Each year, we donate all the remaining edible pumpkins to farmers to feed to their animals. Shooting pumpkins has resulted in us being able to donate over 1 million dollars since 2000.”

If you don’t have the space to build a full-size catapult or trebuchet, how about making a smaller, desk-size version? Watch the video to learn to make a Mini Candy Launching Catapult!

Disclaimer: The Engineering Library does not condone the theft or destruction of personal property or harming anyone while punkin chunkin.

Resources:

Monk, Simon. 2011. 15 dangerously mad projects for the evil genius. New York : McGraw Hill. Engineering Library TK9965 .M66 2011

World Championship Punkin Chunkin. 2016. Punkin Chunkin

Other Resources:

Punkin Chunkin 2010. Science Channel. Date accessed September 29, 2016.

Desktop Warfare: Jonas Dalidd’s Winning 3D Printed Catapult. 2013.  Make:

How to Build a Catapult – A Popsicle Stick Catapult. 2016. Storm Castle Catapults. Kalif Publishing.

Kids Too Old for Pumpkin Patches? Try Pumpkin Chucking. 2016. About Travel.