Crafty science, Sciency crafts
So, looking around the craftosphere, I’ve noticed that crafters are quite scienc-y. Check out this periodic table of the elements - made into an actual table. And the two teenagers that saw cicada exoskeletons hanging around and thought - hey, those would make fabulous jewelry. Ever wanted to embroider the solar system? Theflossbox on Etsy has you covered - for that and all your chemistry, robotics, space and Earth science embroidery needs. Want to make a biosphere for your desktop? No problem.
On the flip-side: crafting is generally considered an art (and that it definitely is) but if you’ve stepped outside the sewing-knitting-goccoing-crafting crowd (not that I recommend it) it’s hard to find a more DIY bunch than scientists. Think Thomas Edison, building the first light bulb from scratch. Or Marie Curie - “Let’s see what happens when we do this...?” Shwa-bam: x-rays. (Perhaps it wasn’t that quick or easy - but then again, she was the only person to receive a Nobel Prize in two different sciences.)
And my personal favorite - Ben Franklin, whose legendary DIY exploits included the periodic dropping of a thermometer to record water temperatures on a trip to Europe (which led to the first charting of the Gulf Stream) and his famous electricity experiments - in which he put a kite and a key together, flew it in a thunderstorm and eventually invented the lightning rod - saving his city from the widespread fires that until that point, had been viewed as acts of God’s vengeance.
And here’s what really drove it home for me - seeing the robots our little summer camp scientists made this week. Check ‘em out:
And those are just a few examples. Google “DIY science” and see how far it takes you. There are some pretty cool projects out there for a crafter with an interest in the natural world (and that seems to be just about all of us.)
Happy Crafting!
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Comments
This is awesome!
By Sarah on Jul 12, 2008