We're making every day Earth Day here at Design Squad Nation! Check out another great way to go green: paper furniture.
In this video, Judy and Adam build a table out of newspapers that can hold a bunch of heavy books. How many books do you think a paper table can hold?
How would you build YOUR Paper Table? Share your ideas on the Projects page by clicking on Judy's wish below!
This week Design Squad Nation is going off-road as we challenge you to design your own go-kart! First check out the finale of season 2 for design inspiration -- then grant Leah's wish on her Project page!
Here's your challenge, Design Squad Nation: build something that launches a big cloud of confetti! Lots of you have already submitted amazing confetti inventions to the Projects page. Check out some of our favorites so far:
"The New Confedi Machine - This confedi machine has every color in the world! Just press the green button to start it and red to stop." by Claud56
"Confetti Cup Blower - You pull the string and the confetti blows up!" by Benjmarie88
"floatable cannon confetti - You can sit on the cannon and it has 3 floaties." by rubiksgirl13
"Conffeti Cannon - the confeti would go into the connon tube, you would press the trigger, then th conffeti would come flying out!" by pepito266
"5,000 Confetti VOLCANIC BLOWER - IT BLOWS 5,000 OR MORE!" by natalie199
Wow, what cool inventions! If you haven't made a confetti launcher yet, head over the Projects page by clicking on the wish below. We want to see your ideas!
Design Squad Nation challenged YOU to choose an activity from the DSN Web site, form a team, and build your own super-big version. The entries sent in were amazing!! Our judges looked at every entry carefully before choosing our finalists, runners up, and grand prize winner.
A BIG congratulations to all the teams! Check out the grand prize winner and runners-up:
Grand Prize Winner: String Thing
Paul, Kalin and Robert
took our online game String Thing to the next level! They built wooden sound boxes and attached rubber band strings to them (like on a guitar). The team tuned each rubber band to a different note, and then it was ready to play!
Rock on!
Runner-Up: Brilliant Bamboo Boat
Katie, Sonia and Connor chose the Watercraft activity because they love being in the water!
Instead of using straws to make a small boat, the team used tall bamboo to build a BIG boat! Zip ties hold it all together, plus there's a sail made from a tarp to catch the wind. Nice!
Runner-Up: Electromagnetic Crane
Lilly and MaryAnn super-sized the Heavy Lifting activity! They used their favorite building material, PVC pipe, to create a big crane.
The team was inspired by real-life cranes to use an electromagnet in their build. An electromagnet is a special kind of magnet that works with an electric current. See the electromagnet in action in their video!
Be sure to check out the Contest page to see videos from our nine finalists, too.
In response to Juan's wish, "I wish I could turn my clothes into something more fun," rocklobster submitted this totally awesome prototype for a sweater that has storage built into it. Here is the explanation from the young engineer "If I sewed this pouch of recycled material on I could hold fun stuff on my shirt. I also added a sticker." So cool!
Do you have an idea for your own engineering-inspired fashion? Share it on the Project page by clicking on Juan's wish below!
MaryAnn, one of three Grand Prize winners of our 2010 Trash to Treasure Competition, was invited to bring her water-conserving "Smarter Toiler" to the White House Science Fair. The event celebrated the winners of STEM competitions from around the country.
MaryAnn met all kinds of cool, interesting, and important people--including President Obama! She shook his hand and even got his signature on her school excuse note. Now that's some clever thinkin', MaryAnn.
Here, she gives Dr. Harold Varmus, Director of the National Cancer Institute and Nobel Prize winner, a closer look at the Smarter Toilet.
Design Squad Nation has looked into innovative toilets in the past. Check out this video of NASA Engineer Evan Thomas talking about designing toilets for space!
Do you have an idea for an invention? Challenge yourself to develop your idea and share it on the Design Squad Nation Projects page. Your idea could inspire other young engineers to create cool sketches and prototypes -- and hey, you never know, maybe your invention could be the next to travel to the White House.
This giant Pop Fly catapult will be launching live at Design Squad Nation events in 2011! Based on our table-top activity for kids, this prototype stands six feet tall and can fling things farther than any other Pop Fly built to date. Want to build your own? Take on the challenge at on the Pop Fly Projects Page!
The Projects Area is all about sharing your ideas with the rest of Design Squad Nation by dreaming, sketching, and building. Having a hard time coming up with an idea? Go to the Projects section for a burst of inspiration. Projects is also a great place to show your support for Design Squad Nation by becoming a fan of your favorite engineers or posting stickers on the walls with the coolest ideas, sketches, and prototypes. There are so many ways to get involved in the Projects area. Choose the way that fits you best!
Another cool addition to the Projects section are our new profile pages that are now available to every member of Design Squad Nation. These new profiles are the best way to track everything you do in the Projects section! Now you can keep all your projects, fans, favorite Design Squad Nation members, and favorite submissions all in one place. Click on the "Me" button at the top of the page to build out your very own profile.
We have also added Profile Images. Earn points by wishing, sketching, prototyping, and sticker-ing around the Design Squad Nation Projects section to unlock more profile images. Choose the image that you like best to show off your skills around the website! Here are a few profile images you can unlock.
So get out there and start checking out all the cool new features of the Design Squad Nation Projects section!
