Maker Faire Bay Area 2024
DIY Pinball with Maker tools (laser cutter, 3D printer, micro:bit)
Home: Massachusetts, United States
Originally conceived as a Maker skill-building activity for MIT students, this adaptable tabletop pinball game is blast to assemble, customize and play! Come try out our sample games, add your own features like bumpers, ramps, lights and sounds, or go head-to-head with a friend in 2-player mode. Take home plans to make your own pinball machine from common hardware. This is a great starter project for Makers in and out of the classroom: laser-cut the plywood playfield; use shop tools to cut lumber and assemble the base; 3D print your own set of flippers and buttons; design and fabricate any number of creative obstacles, features and decorations; express yourself through the theme for your machine; collaborate with others for 2-player mode.
https://k12maker.mit.edu/pinball
Maker
K-12 Maker Lab at MIT Edgerton Center
The K-12 Maker Lab at the MIT Edgerton Center prepares teachers to lead engaging and relevant learning experiences, giving their students the tools to create, the courage to fail, and the empathy to solve problems as a community. We offer professional development workshops and free online resources.
http://k12maker.mit.eduWhat Inspired You to Make This?
At our makerspace we had a student-made prototype of a 2-player pinball game that was super fun to play and could be a good Do-It-Yourself project. We decided to design a game that could be individual or connected to another for a 2-player game. The game had to be DIY - all the hardware should be easy to obtain at a hardware store and the major parts would be fabricated on a hobbyist laser cutter and 3D printer. We ran this project remotely for MIT students stuck at home during January 2021 due to COVID restrictions, to give them a hands-on fabrication and design activity. It was a huge success and the students made many fun, expressive, clever machines. This version of the game features a surface with a grid of mounting holes wish allows designers to build different machines or test locations for their features.
