Component Quality: 4
(5=Highest quality) How nice are the components in terms of materials, design, fit, and other qualities? Well-made circuit boards, computer-cut plastic and metal parts, and other precision components add to the experience.
Stirling Engine
This beautiful engine teaches you the basics of thermodynamics as its power comes from an external heat source, which can be anything from fuel to solar to geothermal energy. The instructions are in Japanese, but the Maker Shed page has an English translation. MAKE is proud to be the exclusive distributor in North America for […]
Science: heirloom tech, Science, Stirling Engine, thermodynamics
Metabots
The box contains nothing more than a few sheets of die-cut foamcore, a dozen plastic ball joints, and instructions. But what they create, after some punching out and slotting together, are some of the coolest-looking posable robot action figures on the market today. Available in an all-white “prototype” version ripe for customization.
Wind Up Workshop Robots
Who would have thought a company that makes pencils and pens could come up with such a cool robotics kit for all ages! Inside the box are five windup mechanisms, plus various arts and crafts goodies to make a veritable army of whirring and walking mechanical denizens. You get some pre-cut stiff paper to construct […]
