Remixing in Scratch

There are 11 million projects on the Scratch website! Some of them are really good. If you ever find a project you like, you can look inside to see how the author made it.

Once you’re inside, you can also change around the project and save it as a remix – adding your own ideas to the project.

One of my favourite Scratch games is Level 1 by Maki-Tak ( https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/1241509/ ). This is a platform game with one level. When you get to the end, a message comes up inviting you to create a remix where you add your own Level 2.

Lots of people have remixed the game. In fact, there are 86 different versions. Scratch can show you a remix tree of all the different versions.

The base of the tree is the original game. Each branch leads to a remix. For this game, you can see that some of the remixes have their own remixes, and there are chains so long they go off the screen!

It’s fun to create your own projects, but it can also be great to start with someone else’s project so you have to make everything yourself. Are there any Scratch projects you would like to remix?

The future of robotics and 3D printing

Here is a part of a new Netflix show called White Rabbit Project.

The look at robotics and 3D printing as limb replacement. Check out her archery skills!!

https://www.facebook.com/grantimaharaofficial/videos/1890299361185529/

Medical uses

As a 3D Printing expert, I often get asked “but what can you actually use 3D printed things for”. The assumption being that 3D printing is for people to make toys and other such frivolous activities from the comfort of their own homes. However, the healthcare sector has not been one to sit at home printing their game avatars, they have used 3D printers to revolutionise the way that we think about medical science.

Here is an article I found, which lists some of the ways that medical science has used 3D Printers.

Unmaking, eWaste & 3D Printing

Now I know that this is meant to be the unmaking section, but when I read this article I couldn’t resist crashing right into the 3D Printer’s department. The Poly University of Hong Kong has created the Curiosity, a cheap 3D printer made from e-waste. Check it out here.

The tools of the trade

Unmaking is serious stuff.

For those that think we just tear things apart with hammers, you’d be wrong… we tear things apart with screwdrivers and pliers too. One thing we do teach at unmaking is how important it is to have the right tools for the job. Especially when we catch one of you using a screwdriver as a hammer (or a screw-hammer as we like to call it).

Even though the ones we use are found in most houses, or garages, here is an interesting article about electronics tools that you might not know about.