DIY (Page 30)

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

Latest in DIY

A screen attached to a Roku, displaying various streaming apps.

7 tips and tricks to master your Roku

A person holding an iPhone while sitting in front of a laptop, possibly setting up a burner phone number.

You should get a burner phone number (even if you are not a spy)

Hand inserting SD card into DSLR camera

How to recover deleted photos from a memory card

By Whitson Gordon

survival garden

Start planning now for a healthy crop of homegrown food

By Tim MacWelch/ Outdoor Life

How to open broken computer files

Music apps for your smartphone.

These music-recording apps are your first step to winning a Grammy

By Mallory Johns

Kid with glasses using computer in a living room

Your guide to kid-proofing a computer

A person lying on a white mattress in dim light, with one arm across their forehead, one arm on their stomach, and a phone next to them.

The best way to prevent arm pain from using your phone too much

Hand in rubber gloves with a cleaning product sprayer

Master odor removal with a little help from science

A person in a red plaid shirt sitting in front of a laptop computer, gesturing with their hands.

5 sleuthing skills that’ll reveal the age of any web page

By John Kennedy

How to manage subscriptions for smartphone apps and save money quickly

How to manage subscriptions for smartphone apps and save money quickly

A woman in a pink jacket outside near some trees, listening to music on a pair of Thalia headphones.

Instantly improve Spotify by organizing your playlists

By Harry Guinness

French Kiss Cocktail

How to melt, mix, and balance chocolate in cocktails

By Dan Q. Dao/Saveur

Kids and tablet

How to set parental controls on any phone or tablet

Smartphone using the app Google PhotoScan to scan a printed photo

Scan and print anything from your phone

A fisherman with a white beard tying a knot in some fishing line.

The strongest fishing knots you can tie

By John Merwin/Field & Stream

A woman in a blue dress looking away and down to the side, as eight hands reach out to her from the edge of the frame.

How to break free of the bystander effect and help someone in trouble

By Tyler Santora

What to do when Google doesn’t have the answers you need

What to do when Google doesn’t have the answers you need

A plastic piece depicting a menacing plastic dragon on a board game

Organize and accessorize your board games with 3D printing

By RK Pendergrass

Hand holding a phone with a map in front of an empty road.

No cell service? These are the best offline apps.

7 Smart TV apps every viewer should check out

Two people facing away from the camera while pointing at their iPhones.

How to create a Wi-Fi hotspot on your phone or computer

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

Hand holding Amazon Fire TV remote towards TV screen

7 tips and tricks to make the most of your Amazon Fire TV

A lean to shelter built on a rock side.

Three ways to build a winter survival shelter

By Jim Baird/Field & Stream

Person holding a clock

Tech tips for working with people in different time zones

A Black man in glasses and a t-shirt sitting on a marble wall, looking at a phone.

The best apps for dealing with anxiety

By RK Pendergrass

Orange flames on wood

Everything you need to know to start a fire

By Popular Science Team

A MacBook displays a loading Gmail icon.

How to delete your old email address without losing everything

Find out just how fast your phone is

Night sky photography

Cold weather is the best time to look at—and photograph—the night sky

By Stan Horaczek

Fomes fomentarius fungus

The two types of fungi you want in your fire-starting kit

By Tim MacWelch/ Outdoor Life

Two friends taking a selfie.

Make your own Instagram filters

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

Vintage looking chromed headphones on a table.

How to hit pause on your music streaming subscriptions

Bearded man wearing a surgical mask on the street

5 must-know tips for safely wearing a mask over facial hair

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

Person on the floor browsing YouTube videos on a smartphone.

Learn to use picture-in-picture on all your devices

A person using a pen to write in a paper notebook, with a phone on the table next to them for storing digital notes.

Turn your handwritten documents into searchable digital notes

Green camping tent in the middle of a snowy mountain

How to stay warm while sleeping in the frigid outdoors

By Alisha McDarris

A person spraying a can of WD40 in a garage.

20 ingenious uses for WD-40

By Bill Heavey/Field & Stream

A man in a gray t-shirt removing or putting on a surgical face mask by only touching the ear loops.

Why you shouldn’t ever wear your mask around your neck

By Erin Fennessy

Person filling up water bottle at kitchen sink with tap water.

Simple, at-home tests can check your air and water for contaminants

By Kendra Pierre-Louis

Make your own maple syrup without harming the trees

By Tim MacWelch/ Outdoor Life

snowball slingshot

Make a snowball slingshot and rule your neighborhood with an icy fist

By William Gurstelle

Turn that old bread into pizza in less than 30 minutes

Turn that old bread into pizza in less than 30 minutes

By Farideh Sadeghin/Saveur

Badly edited photo of a pier during sunset

How to use advanced editing tools without ruining your photos

By Harry Guinness

A person wearing glasses and laying on a bed while reading a book.

Keep your brain in shape by reading more books

Fog billowing off a misty mountain forest.

How to survive three days in the wild

By Keith McCafferty/Field & Stream

US Senator Bernie Sanders edited into a vintage Popular Science magazine cover to look like he's driving an experimental single-wheel motorcycle.

How to make a legendary meme

By John Kennedy

Person walking in forest in the middle of a snow storm.

Dress like an Alaskan to weather the winter cold

By Tyler Freel/ Outdoor Life

A line of protesters with signs standing in a street, just feet from a line of police with riot shields.

How to save important photos and video from the web

By John Kennedy

A man sleeping in a bed on a pillow with a white blanket.

Take the best naps, with science

By John Kennedy

Black mouse and keyboard sitting side by side on a wooden desk.

How to completely customize the way you control Windows

A person holding a smartphone in front of them inside a white room in a house.

How to fix spotty cell service in your home

By Whitson Gordon

An apple on the ground in the forest, surrounded by fallen leaves.

Once you know what happens to food you leave outdoors, you’ll stop doing it

By Alisha McDarris

Hand holding iPhone indoors against modern paintings.

Your phone’s home screen can hold more than just apps. Here’s what else you should add.

People dancing at house party at night

These apps bring the magic of a house party online

By Sandra Gutierrez G.

A bookshelf made out of a reclaimed wood pallet, full of books, with a chalkboard panel.

Turn an old pallet into a handy—and free—bookshelf

By Jose Mendoza

An Apple macOS laptop, desktop computer, tablet, and iOS iPhone on a wooden desk.

How to keep people from stealing your Wi-Fi

Person sleeping peacefully in bed

Skip the wearables and track your sleep with these 5 apps

How to build snowshoes on the fly—and 4 other tips for surviving deep snow

How to build snowshoes on the fly—and 4 other tips for surviving deep snow

By Tim MacWelch/ Outdoor Life

Person with headphones playing audio on smartphone

How to convert text articles into audio (and why you might want to)

A man sitting on a couch while using a laptop on a table and holding his chin thoughtfully.

5 easy fixes for common computer problems

a woman lays back in a bath tub while looking relaxed

To take the most relaxing bath ever, add some healthy tips

By Rachel Feltman

Parents and two kids on New Year's in party hats and sparklers

Make your own New Year’s ball, and 4 other family party ideas

By Purbita Saha

Hand holding a fire work in the dark

2020 stunk. Here’s how to start 2021 with a fresh mindset

By Sandra Gutierrez G.