DIY (Page 26)

PopSci's curated collection of life skills, tech tips, and hands-on projects we think you'll love.

Latest in DIY

A Kobo e-reader leaning against a stack of books next to a glass jar with yellow flowers in it.

7 fun features that you need to try on your Kobo e-reader

A brown scorpion on a light brown rock during the daytime.

Everything you need to know about scorpion stings and venom

By Alisha McDarris

Close up on an iPhone with a Siri activated screen

Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant all have alternate voices. Here’s how to find them.

A carpet of moss next to a brown rock.

Why and how to grow your own moss garden

By Ellen Airhart

A stack of pancakes topped with berries and edible flowers, on a white plate atop a white tablecloth.

7 edible flowers and how to use them

By Natalie Wallington

A laptop on a desk with Spotify on the screen. A camera, a plant, and a full mug of coffee share the desk with the laptop.

The best ways to recover deleted Spotify playlists

A cross-stitched QR code.

How to cross-stitch a QR code—and why you should

By Ruth Kogen Goodwin

Brown stink bug about to land in a bug trap

3 DIY bug traps that actually work

A child sitting under a stool, trying to guess the password on a phone.

A guide to parental controls on Netflix, Hulu, and other streaming services

Person on computer

You should download the new Google Drive for Desktop

Close up to aloe vera plant

How to grow, harvest, preserve, and use aloe vera

By LaVonne Roberts

How To Add Applications To Your Nook E-Reader

How To Add Applications To Your Nook E-Reader

Person applying sheet mask

7 things you can do to actually prevent wrinkles

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

The steering wheel and dashboard of a car at night.

What Android Auto and Apple CarPlay can and can’t do

The 360 Chicago observatory and other skyscrapers along the Lake Michigan shoreline.

From Chicagoan to Phoenician, here’s what to call the residents of the biggest US cities

By Jennifer Billock

It’s time to pick a better smartphone photo editing app

It’s time to pick a better smartphone photo editing app

By Stan Horaczek

A person sitting on a bed, enjoying playing a keyboard that's hooked up to a laptop.

5 tech tricks for learning a musical instrument

By Gina Wisener

three-framed-photos-on-wall

The scientifically best way to create a photo gallery wall

By Maridel Reyes

A person holding an Android phone with a live background.

Fix your boring Android background with live wallpapers

White liquid marshmallow.

The anatomy of a marshmallow

By Aki Kamozawa and H. Alexander Talbot

Make DIY cold brew coffee—without fancy equipment

Make DIY cold brew coffee—without fancy equipment

By Cassidy Mayeda

Teenager dipping toes into a lake or ocean

Your summer guide to sunscreen, from SPF to not-so-magic pills

By Sara Chodosh

Husks of vintage film cameras and lenses littering workbench

Inside New York City’s vanishing community of repair shops

By Stan Horaczek

The Milky Way at night over mountains.

The best ways to reduce light pollution and improve your quality of life

By Alisha McDarris

A person gardening in a wooden planter box.

Plant a garden that helps the planet by devouring carbon

By Ellen Airhart

Hurricane Florence in the Atlantic

How to prepare for a hurricane that’s about to hit

By Sophie Bushwick

Yogurt marinades make meat perfectly tender—here’s why

Yogurt marinades make meat perfectly tender—here’s why

Listen To Records With Your Teeth

The 8 Best Student Tech Projects At Microsoft’s Imagine Cup

The 8 Best Student Tech Projects At Microsoft’s Imagine Cup

Frustrated couple in bed

How to share a bed with a restless sleeper

By Jennifer Billock

bike resting against wall

How to wheel your way through the global bike shortage

A person sitting at a table in an office, typing on a laptop computer.

Text expanders are the magical productivity tool you need to master

By Eric Ravenscraft

Bacterial zoo in a bottle

Grow A Bacterial Zoo In A Bottle

Electrical fan against window

How to stay cool if you lose power during a heatwave

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

Male red-winged blackbird

How to decode the secret language of birds

How to book the cheapest flights possible

How to book the cheapest flights possible

Prevent your phone from distracting you while driving

Prevent your phone from distracting you while driving

How to watch foreign TV at home

Smart homes for beginners

Smart homes for beginners

Multiple desktops on a Mac computer.

Get more screen space than you ever imagined with virtual desktops

A swimming pool, from under the water.

It’s surprisingly hard to tell if someone’s drowning, so we made you a guide

By Whitson Gordon

A person sitting in a dark room with their hand on their face, staring at a phone as they try to figure out how to undo something in the iOS Notes app.

The simplest way to undo text in Apple’s Notes app

By John Kennedy

How to stop videos from autoplaying

How to stop videos from autoplaying

A stack of papers that would be hard to merge together if they were PDFs.

How to combine PDF files for free without sketchy online software

By John Kennedy

Chinese banyan bonsai tree on bright yellow

The beauty and science of growing bonsai

By Stan Horaczek

A man running shirtless on the side of a road in hot weather.

Know the difference between heat stroke and heat exhaustion. One can kill you quickly.

By Alisha McDarris

5 DIY Tricks To Amp Up Your Jack-O’-Lantern

5 DIY Tricks To Amp Up Your Jack-O’-Lantern

By Samantha Cole

Wind-Powered Record Player

How to build a record player powered by wind

A lawnmower, which you won't really need for a ground cover lawn, with a shovel and a broom for digging up your grass lawn.

It’s time to rip up your lawn and replace it with something you won’t need to mow

By Jean Feingold

An iPad Pro with a keyboard, on a windowsill surrounded by plants and bathed in sunlight.

The best apps for iPad Pro connoisseurs: 10 essentials to download right now

Anthotype images on wooden table

Spice up your art with turmeric, sunlight, and a 19th century photography technique

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

Powerhouse tips to improve your favorite video call app

Powerhouse tips to improve your favorite video call app

An Amazon Fire HD tablet on a wood floor.

How to get any Android app on your Amazon Fire HD tablet, plus 8 other tips

A pomeranian with glasses reads from an iPad

Google Chrome’s Reading list will help you finally close some of those tabs

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

Old printed photos scattered around a table.

How to colorize your old black and white photos

A snake plant sitting in an open cardboard box, ready for shipping.

How to ship your beloved houseplants across the country without killing them

By Ellen Airhart

Person working on Photoshop

How to wipe metadata from any file

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

person-holding-mask

How you and your family can cope with post-COVID anxiety

By Jean Levasseur

A dirty, rusty grill outside on a brick patio.

How to get your grill ready for summer

By Whitson Gordon

Make the most of your Apple AirTags with these tips and tricks

Make the most of your Apple AirTags with these tips and tricks

scientist injecting turkey

Thirteen science-backed ways to improve your Thanksgiving

By Sophie Bushwick

We asked for your best photos of frozen soap bubbles—and wow, did you deliver

We asked for your best photos of frozen soap bubbles—and wow, did you deliver

By Sophie Bushwick

A Mac laptop on a wooden table with Google Docs open in suggestion mode.

The greatest Google Docs shortcut you’re probably not using

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

Hands holding slime with crumbs over a keyboard

This DIY slime can clean the grossest parts of your home and car

By Sandra Gutierrez G.