WREXlabs

The Brooklyn Space Program

2010-10-07T07:28:00.000-07:00

The Brooklyn Space Program is a group of friends (including kids) in New York City interested in scientific experiments, engineering, design, and education. And get this...they sent a balloon carrying a video camera into the upper stratosphere! Check it out in the video below or on their website.

Homemade Spacecraft from Luke Geissbuhler on Vimeo.

We went to World Maker Faire in NYC!

2010-09-28T08:08:00.001-07:00

It was awesome and we took video. We'll be posting videos over the next few days. Here is the very popular and carny-rific Life Size Mousetrap!

LEGO Bookbinding

2010-05-16T11:28:00.000-07:00

Dec got a notebook with the covers made out of LEGO® base plates yesterday when his mom went to the Art Star Craft Bazaar and stopped by the Moonlight Bindery booth. We returned there this morning (to help Dec's sister reset up her booth) and stopped by Moonlight Bindery to show off what Dec had done with the notebook. He turned it into a rolling, jet powered notepad ready for his latest sketches and ideas.

Visit Moonlight Bindery's Etsy site or blog to see some of the other cool LEGO® and non-LEGO® hand-bound books they have available. Personally we are looking at the large road plate journals for possible Christmas gifts.

Here's Declan's creation.

Ready for speed!

Ready for creativity!

2010-04-22T08:04:00.000-07:00

Gever Tulley, famed founder of the Tinkering School has expanded his TED talk "5 Dangerous Things You Should Let Your Children Do" into a book that anyone looking for a little danger in their lives should check out.

Fifty Dangerous Things (you should let your children do) is a collection of activities, projects, skills, and experiences that explore the idea that kids are safer if they know how to recognize danger and cope with it rationally.

And even if you aren't a kid this book can still serve as a mini-bucket list for your inner child, reigniting the simple joy and wonder of doing something dangerous.

Workshop cancelled.

2010-04-16T07:39:00.001-07:00

We didn't get enough signups for the Create-A-Little, Destroy-A-Little Workshop that was scheduled for tomorrow at the Hacktory so we had to cancel. We think it might have something to do with people not wanting to spend time indoors, what with the lovely Spring weather and all. Oh well, we'll give it another try in the future. Until then it is back to the basement to take some things apart. We hope to have a new video up soon showing what is inside an old crushed-ice machine. Stay tuned!

The family that hacks together...

2010-03-25T12:20:00.000-07:00

In association with The Hacktory in Philadelphia, Declan and I will be hosting the first ever Create-A-Little, Destroy-A-Little, Family-Fun Workshop on April 17th from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Click on the link above to find out more and to register for this day of destruction and creation!

Olympic Physics

2009-12-11T07:04:00.000-08:00

NBC and the National Science Foundation have produced “The Science of the Olympic Winter Games“, 16 short videos on the physics of Winter Olympic sports. They use a high-speed camera to capture athletes in action and then slow things down to explain the science behind the sport. It adds another dimension to watching the Olympic games when you understand the physics involved.

Hat tip to the GeekDad blog for the link.

FAT is good!

2009-12-07T06:50:00.000-08:00

The Friday After Thanksgiving (FAT) Chain Reaction seems like a lot more fun than braving the crowds on Black Friday!

It's a LEGO Halloween!

2009-10-30T14:29:00.000-07:00

Check out our Instructable showing how we made Declan's Halloween costume this year.

The human LEGO brick Halloween costume - More DIY How To Projects

Just cool!

2009-08-26T09:56:00.000-07:00

The Exploded Store!

Tinkering School

2009-07-20T09:56:00.000-07:00

The Tinkering School just finished up a seven day summer session and they give a great play by play of their adventures on their blog. Try not to turn too green with envy as you read about and see pictures of all the fun they had! It is sure to inspire the tinkerer in you!

Episode 006 - Marshmallow Shooter

2009-07-17T21:21:00.001-07:00

Click to Play

Tim and Declan build a marshmallow shooter as seen on Howtoons.com.

MAKE presents: The Integrated Circuit

2009-07-13T07:10:00.000-07:00

Another great introduction-to-electronics video from Collin Cunningham and MAKE: Online!

Howtoons summer fun

2009-07-08T10:39:00.001-07:00

We're putting the finishing touches on our next video which documents our making of the Howtoons Infamous Marshmallow Shooter! Check out their site and their book while we make our final edits!

Music and Sound from a Pencil!?!

2009-06-22T08:44:00.000-07:00

The Hacktory is putting on a Drawdio class on the 27th here in Philly. We are going to be there! You should be, too! Check out The Hacktory's class page to find out more about this very cool little device and to sign up to make one.

The Build It Bus

2009-06-22T08:37:00.000-07:00

The Build It Bus is a very cool idea. It's a workshop on wheels for kids in Philly. Check it out! Hmm, I wonder what it would take to get a WREXLabs bus going? We could call it the Unbuild It Bus and tour with the Build It Bus! (Thanks to new Philly Hackerspace Hive76 for the link.)

Episode 005 - Eight Ball Toy

2009-06-17T06:19:00.001-07:00

Click to Play

Tim and Declan take apart a push button Eight Ball toy to see how it answers questions.

Transistors! More than meets the eye!

2009-03-31T07:31:00.000-07:00

MAKEpresents: The Transistor is another nice introduction to one of those mysterious bits and pieces inside all our electronic devices.

VibroBugBot

2009-03-27T13:20:00.000-07:00

Check out this very cool vibrating bug robot thingy over at Wolf's Junkyard!. What can you make out of an old cell phone?

Hat tip to the Make:zine blog.

GeekDad Anniversary!

2009-03-15T12:10:00.000-07:00

It is the GeekDad's second anniversary and while rummaging through some of their old posts I came across their Deconstructing Music post from August of 2007. There are some cool pictures and comments on the deconstructing of an old piano that had outlived it's usefulness. WREXing an old dilapidated piano is high on our list here at WREXLabs. It would make an awesome video, don't you think!

Anyway, check out the post and also check out the rest of GeekDad. It is a great site and one we visit almost every day!

Capacitor extravaganza!

2009-03-13T07:07:00.000-07:00

MAKE: has a great post on capacitors with a couple of very funny yet informative videos that include the WREXing of a number of caps*!

*Thats street lingo for capacitors. At least thats what they say in the video.

Hiatus

2009-02-25T19:35:00.000-08:00

We've been on a little hiatus here at WREXLabs as we rethink our format and work on cleaning up the workshop. We'll be resuming videos soon and adding more posts to the blog with links to things we find interesting. Stay tuned!

Episode 004 - Crushing Cans (Updated)

2008-11-22T07:39:00.001-08:00

Click to Play

Using only a kitchen stove and water Tim and Declan crush soda cans by harnessing the power of the mighty molecule! We've added some more information to the video to help clarify what's going on with the experiment.

October Excuses

2008-11-04T09:19:00.000-08:00

Our participation in the MakePhilly Art Buggy Derby 3.0 and our creation of a homemade Halloween costume during October has played havoc with our production schedule (such as it is). The latest episode is in production and at least three more episodes are in the planning stages.

Let us know what you think of our web show and what things you'd like to see us take apart. We also want to know about what you have taken apart.

More Art Buggy Footage

2008-10-23T09:57:00.000-07:00

Keystone Edge, an online magazine covering the new economy in Pennsylvania has a video up of the festivities! Check it out!

The Crayonator Takes the Flag

2008-10-22T07:47:00.000-07:00

The WREXLabs sponsored Crayonator team took the top prize on Sunday at the MakePhilly Art Buggy Derby 3.0 by a margin of only 4 points. It was a very exciting event and fun for all involved.

Check out photos of the event here and here.

Philadelphia Weekly has a video up of the event. Check it out!!

And look for an upcoming episode of WREXLabs where we take apart The Crayonator to see just how it makes those blades go around so fast!

Let's do the Time Warp!

2008-10-15T08:40:00.000-07:00

The GeekDad blog has a cool post about Discovery Channel's Time Warp, with videos. It looks like it should be good. There is some question as to whether they can keep up the interest after a few episodes, but we're more than willing to see if they can.

Deconstructed

2008-09-30T08:49:00.000-07:00

The fine folks at Toolmonger have turned us on to the fact that the Science Channel (makers of How It's Made) is coming out with a new show called Deconstructed. It's described as a program that explains the inner workings of commonplace objects, such as hard-disk drives, microwave ovens and televisions. It sounds like a great show for us DIY deconstructors! Now all we have to do is figure out how to pay for premium cable or hope the Discovery Channel starts running it.

There isn't a lot of info on the web about the show so check out the Toolmonger's TV Tonight blog post for times and descriptions. And while you are there, subscribe to Toolmonger's RSS feed. They've always got the latest, greatest and sometimes weirdest tool news around.

Grand Opening

2008-09-29T10:03:00.000-07:00

We've been keeping WREXLabs a bit of a secret as we worked on the initial videos but now we are looking to generate some traffic by getting the word out that we are here and open for business (so to speak).

WREXLabs is me (Tim) and Declan, my son. Inspired by DIY people like Bre Pettis and our friend Eric Rochow we decided to make a video podcast that we'd like to see instead of waiting around for someone else to make it.

Once a month we will share a video of something we have taken apart. We'll show you how we did it and what we learned. And we want to hear from you. Tell us what you liked, tell us what we could have done better, tell us about your experiences with taking things apart to see how they work.

Also, tell all your friends about WREXLabs! We want to help connect people who like to take things apart (and put things together from what they find). If we generate enough interest we'll start a forum or even a community on Ning.com.

Like all good DIYers we are learning as we go along (the polite way to say learning from our mistakes). We have big plans for future episodes and hope you'll come along for the ride.

History Hacker! Go Watch It!

2008-09-26T07:41:00.000-07:00

History Hacker with Bre Pettis! On the History Channel Tonight at 8:00 PM and again at MIDNIGHT! Watch it! We will!

LEGO Factory Tour

2008-09-24T06:28:00.000-07:00

Just because we like to take things apart doesn't mean we don't like to put things together, too. And when we are putting things together, a lot of the time those things are LEGO bricks! Take a look at this video of a tour of the LEGO factory, compliments of GIZMODO.

Take It Apart dot net

2008-09-22T06:40:00.000-07:00

Our favorite DIY magazine MAKE: has a link to a cool site called Take It Apart dot net where they disect electronic gadgetry just for fun.

Check it out for tons of video and photo disassemblies.

Episode 003 - Mini-Massager

2008-09-16T19:31:00.001-07:00

Click to Play

Declan and Tim take apart a mini-massager to see what makes it vibrate.

We got this cool hand-held massager at a garage sale for $1. Like Declan says, it kind of looks like a little alien creature or space ship.

See what How Stuff Works has to say about things that vibrate! It's got a great picture of the insides of a Tickle Me Elmo doll!

Episode 002 - RC Car

2008-07-13T10:50:00.001-07:00

Click to Play

Tim and Declan take apart a remote control toy car to see what makes it run. Let us know what you think in the comments. Or email us at wrexlabs(at)gigocorp.com. Tell us what you like to take apart or what you'd like us to take apart in an upcoming episode. And don't forget to subscribe to our RSS feed so you'll know when our latest episodes come out.

For more info on how RC toys work check out How Stuff Works.

Episode 001 - Chinese Take-Out

2008-07-06T15:08:00.001-07:00

Click to Play

Tim and Declan take apart a Chinese food take-out container to see how it keeps food from leaking out.

Check it out and let us know what you think in the comments.

Find out more about Long-Nose Pliers, the tool we use in this podcast. You can also find out some stuff you probably didn't know about Chinese take-out containers on Wikipedia!

Please let us know what things you like to take apart or what you'd like to see us take apart. We have a bunch of WREXlabs episodes in the works so subscribe to our RSS feed in the right hand column of this page so we can tell you when our latest shows are posted.