Make

This site has an amazing amount of links for design and building projects. It is also a great resource for 3D printing ideas.

While MAKE doesn't have the diversity of projects that you can find on Instructables, it does have something the other DIY site lacks: stories. This site includes personal stories that tell you about the person that created the project, and the motivation that they had for making their project in the first place. Whether it be something with real practical purpose, or just something made for whimsical reasons, the story itself draws in a different type of engagement from students. After reading some of the stories, it isn't hard to have students analyze the write-ups to begin discovering potential writing techniques that "hook" readers into a non-fiction article. If you run a STEAM program in your school, or do anything with the Maker Movement, then MAKE magazine *has* to be in your library's subscription list. This website serves as the perfect compliment to that magazine, especially since many of the projects from the magazine link to the website where there are more detailed instructions, photos and videos. You can even find links to their MakerEd store when supplies for some of the projects, or even complete kits, can be found. Like most other DIY websites, you aren't going to find lesson plans for classroom use. You will, however, find step-by-step instructions, a creative and supportive community of collaborators, and inspiration for amazing new things.

I first learned about Make from their magazine and I am a huge fan of their collection of works. Initially I was researching arduino based projects for small scale robotics (I built a D.I.Y. camera slider to help me create automated time lapse videos) and uncovered a wealth of interesting science related subjects. They offer great tutorials on projects that excite students, parents, and faculty. I find that students will browse the site in their free time and come up with their own ideas for independent projects. Students love to be able to apply a lesson to a hands on build of something that is just plain cool.