Family Maker Camp is a virtual opportunity to
keep creating, making, and exploring ways to
learn new things as a family. Make: has gathered
the best teachers, makers, projects, and tutorials
and created daily live programming available
for free via social media. It’s accessible, it’s live,
it’s interactive, and it’s supporting families,
maker style!
My name is Mario Marchese, otherwise known
as “Mario the Maker Magician,” and I am the
official emcee of Family Maker Camp. I help keep
families in the loop about what’s happening each
week, and every Friday I get to host a punk rock
dance party and DIY magic session, where kids
from all over the world join together to have fun,
be silly, make some magic, and see some of the
robotics from my theater show.
Because of the school and business closures
and sheltering-in-place that Covid-19 has
forced, we all need connection right now. Maker
Camp jumped in early to help forge an online
community of encouragement and support.
The real-time, live, interactive format is vital to
our well-being! My favorite sessions have been
the light-hearted ones, where I interact with
viewers. I’m taking the opportunity to do things
I don’t do in my theater show, like revealing the
inner workings of some of my sacred robots and
teaching my favorite magic lessons that kids can
do with items in their homes, and I’m making up
songs with kids’ comments and getting everyone
jumping up and down!
Beyond that, Maker Camp helps us remember
that the traditional path of education is not the
only way. I hope that despite this trying time,
Maker Camp can help some kids and families
realize their own amazing potentials.
For the grownups
I’m not just the Maker Camp host, I’m a parent
too. If I have to sew something for a few hours, or
solder something, my kids are always watching
and wanting to help, and I find myself with the
conundrum all parents face: how to let them be
a part of what I do while maintaining some sense
of efficiency! But I’ve learned that the extra time
spent is worth it when we see our 8-year-old
daughter sewing doll clothes from old T-shirts,
or when we see our 5-year-old designing his own
toys on Tinkercad. Our kids have been raised on
the road, with the resourcefulness that comes
along with that, and that’s something we’re super
proud of.
Old patterns may be impossible now. Let go
of what you can’t hold onto and try something
different. More than anything, be gentle with
yourselves! Even sitting on the couch and
watching movies with your kids is educational.
The other day, my dad said that the sky seems to
be a brighter blue than he remembers. Maybe
less pollution? Or maybe we never took the time
to look up?
I look forward to seeing you at the next Family
Maker Camp. You can build some of our fun and
easy projects on the following pages, and tune in
at makercamp.com.
MORE ABOUT MARIO
As a professional performer, I normally
tour with my family theater show, together
with my wife, Katie, and our two kids,
Gigi and Bear. The show is an interactive
performance full of DIY electronics mixed
with homemade magic. Kids see a show
full of props made from cardboard, 3D
printed elements, and robots made from
recyclables, and hopefully realize that
nothing I do is out of their own reach. See
more at mariothemagician.com.
Our Great Guests
Maker Camp brings fun shows throughout
each week. Check out these incredible
participants from this season and join in to
watch their segments:
•
CodeJoy (codejoyedu.com)
• Dr. Sparks (doctorsparksshow.com)
• Kathy Ceceri (kathyceceri.com)
•
John Collins (thepaperairplaneguy.com)
• Brown Dog Gadgets (browndoggadgets.com)
• Kaleidoscope Enrichment
(kaleidoscopeenrichment.com)
• STEM Labs (stemlabs.ca)
• Stupid Robot Fighting League
(stupidrobotfighting.com)
Katie Rosa Marchese
63makeprojects.com
TIME REQUIRED:
30 Minutes
DIFFICULTY:
Easy
COST:
Free if you use a recycled file folder and
beg some tongue depressors from the
school nurse; or pennies if you buy them,
but you have to buy a bunch.
MATERIALS
» Wood tongue depressors, 6"/155mm long
(3) Also called “senior” tongue depressors or
sold as “craft sticks.” These are the wide type.
Shorter, skinnier popsicle sticks won’t work.
» File folder or thick cardstock One folder
makes two boomerangs.
TOOLS
» Glue Super glue or hot glue gun and glue
stick work well.
» Scissors
» Tape, clear or masking
» Marker
» Printed template Download the PDF at
makezine.com/go/world-wide-boomerang and
print it at 100 percent (don’t “fit to page”).
FAMILY MAKER CAMP:
Easy Three-Wing Boomerang
SLATER HARRISON
was an engineer in
Bangladesh and a technology
teacher in Pennsylvania. He
and his wife Naomi work the
sciencetoymaker website and
YouTube channel.
This easy-to-build flyer comes back,
indoors and out
Written by Slater Harrison
World Wide
Boomerang
64 make.co
When I asked boomerang ninja Logan Broadbent
to visit the local high school where I volunteer,
he wowed us with his signature stunts that have
fueled his videos to tens of millions of views,
but he spent most of his time in our design and
manufacturing class showing us the science that
makes a boomerang work and offering strategies
to develop our own designs.
After lots of iterations and some evolutionary
dead-ends, we proudly present our World Wide
Boomerang. I’ve made it successfully with middle
school and high school classes, and it fits into one
class period. It’s safe (doesn’t hurt people or break
windows), costs pennies, flies in a small yard,
is adjustable for advanced flying, and yes, really
comes back. It’s an intuitive way to experience why
the airfoil shape is so essential to aviation.
1. Make the airfoil sleeves
The airfoils are made from file folder material that
we’ll fold and tape to form sleeves, which slide
onto the wooden spars. Cut a 5⅛"
×
2⅜" r e c t a n g l e
f r o m t h e f i l e f o l d e r ( o r c u t o u t a n d t a p e t h e
t e m p l a t e t o t h e f o l d e r a s a g u i d e ) .
T a p e t h e l o n g e d g e o f t h e c a r d t o t h e l o n g e d g e
o f a t o n g u e d e p r e s s o r ( Fi g u r e
A
)
. W i t h t h e t a p e d
s i d e f a c i n g d o w n , f o l d t h e p a p e r o ve r o n c e a t t h e
t a p e , t h e n f o l d a s e c o n d t i m e a t t h e p a p e r a n d
m a k e a h a r d c r e a s e ( Fi g u r e
B
)
. Re m o ve t h e s t i c k
f r o m t h e t a p e , b u t l e a ve t h e t a p e o n t h e p a p e r
( Fi g u r e
C
)
.
Re p o s i t i o n t h e s t i c k i n t o t h e va l l e y o f t h e s e c o n d
f o l d . Fo l d a n d t a p e t h e e d g e o f t h e p a p e r o ve r t h e
t o n g u e d e p r e s s o r a n d o n t o t h e o t h e r p a r t o f t h e
p a p e r t o m a k e a s l e e ve t h a t e a s i l y s l i d e s o f f t h e
s t i c k — a n d i t ’s a p e r f e c t a i r f o i l ! Ma k e t w o m o r e
a n d s e t t h e m a s i d e ( Fi g u r e
D
)
.
2. Glue the spars
T a p e t h e f i r s t t o n g u e d e p r e s s o r s p a r t o t h e p a t t e r n
( Fi g u r e
E
)
. A p p l y h o t g l u e t o t h e h u b a n d qu i c k l y
l i n e u p a n o t h e r s p a r w i t h t h e p a t t e r n l i n e s a n d
o ve r l a p p i n g t h e f i r s t , t h e n p u s h d o w n b e f o r e t h e
g l u e c o o l s .
Do i t a g a i n f o r t h e t h i r d s p a r ( Fi g u r e
F
)
. T h e
s p a r s g i ve t h e b o o m e r a n g i t s s t r e n g t h .
A
D
B
E
C
F
Mike Senese
65makeprojects.com
FAMILY MAKER CAMP:
Easy Three-Wing Boomerang
G
H
Download the template pattern
and watch step-by-step video
instructions at makezine.com/go/
world-wide-boomerang.
3. Add dihedral
Our boomerang needs a little bit of dihedral —
that is, an upward slope of the wings. In the case
of our boomerang the dihedral is subtle enough
that you can’t necessarily see it, but you can test
for it. Spin the assembly on a flat surface, then
flip it over and spin again. Choose the side that
spins more easily and mark the top of the hub
with a “T” (Figure
G
)
. If both sides spin about the
same, choose a side and gently bend the spars up
into a curl until it spins freely. The side with the T
will always face toward you when you throw.
4. Right- or Left-Handed?
For right-handed throwers, start with the T
faceup and a spar pointing toward you. Slide an
airfoil onto the spar so the tape seam faces down
and the hole for the stick is on your right side
(Figure
H
)
. For left-handed throwers, the hole
goes on the left side. Repeat for the other spars.
Tape them in place and you’re ready to fly!
Throw It!
Boomerangs generate lift like helicopters, but
by throwing them almost vertically, much of the
lift is sideways. That’s what makes them come
back (along with some gyroscopic precession that
curves the flight path, and also flattens out the
boomerang at the end for a gentle hover down
into your hands).
• Remember that the T faces toward you when
you throw.
• Hold a wingtip and throw it — with lots of spin
— angled at about 1 o’clock if you’re right-
handed or 11 o’clock for lefties.
• Throw it straight ahead. Boomerangs have
their own lift, so you do not need to throw it
upward.
• Bend the spars for more dihedral to fly higher
and hover down gently. If it’s not coming back,
gently twisting the wings so the blunt end is
higher (aka increasing the angle of attack) will
increase lift and make it turn back.
66 make.co
EDUCATORS • MAKERSPACES • SUMMER CAMPS
HOBBY ELECTRONICS : ONLINE SHOPPING
• Custom laser-etched blinky badges.
• Your logo, and optional participant’s name.
• Great learn to solder activity for groups.
• Easy to follow guide. Designed for beginners.
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