Christmas loot

What gadgets did Santa bring you for Christmas?

My kids got Lego and Meccano models. I got a 28pcs precision mini tool set. I've used it to build a papercraft Minecraft Steve.

 

I also got a waffle maker and I have made a couple of batches of waffles, but I will be trying various waffle maker hacks. 

Hands free wheelchair

A backyard New Zealand inventor has created a hands free wheelchair for a friend disabled in a skiing accident. The wheelchair is self balancing and responds to shifts in weight, allowing the user to instantly turn in any direction.

The invention is currently in preproduction set up and is a finalist in the New Zealand National Innovators’ Awards.


Some common questions answered:

More info here

More video of the Ogo here

A house that catches the sun

This amazing award winning house in Australia can chase the sun. Built on a huge lazy susan, the house rotates 359 degrees for a change of scenery at the touch of a button.

Globe making

Earlier in the year I glued together a papercraft lunar globe from Canon Creative Park.

Recently I've been thinking about making my own earth globe, but after watching this video it doesn't look easy. The time and skill required is amazing.

[Spotted on http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2015/08/handcrafted-globes/]

If you are looking for a very simple sun or moon papercraft project, try this Pixelpapercraft Sun and Moon.

Natural History Museum, Stuttgart

We visited the  Stuttgart State Museum of Natural History in Stuttgart during our summer holiday.

The museum has two exhibition buildings in Rosenstein park. We only visited the Museum am Löwentor, which contained items from prehistoric times including amber complete with captured insects (like in Jurassic Park) and fossils and reconstructions of cave bears, dinosaurs, mammoths, people and other land and sea creatures.