Scandinavia’s Successful Education Model

Favoring a more comprehensive educational model that emphasizes humanistic and technical training, studies conclude that Nordic nations raise citizens that are intelligent (in the traditional sense), more internally aware, prideful for their nation, and capable of viewing a situation from another’s eyes. Governments in countries like Sweden, Denmark and Norway aim to make “lifelong learning a part of the natural fabric of society,” and it …

Space Engineer Justine Haupt’s DIY Rotary Cell Phone

In an attempt to remedy the harm of an always-on lifestyle, Brookhaven National Laboratory astronomy instrumentation engineer Justine Haupt stripped a mobile phone down to its essentials in order to assemble her handheld rotary cellphone. For the DIY invention, three years in the making, Haupt paired a rotary mechanism from an old Trimline telephone with a microcontroller and Adafruit Fona 3G cell transceiver. She then …

Scoby Slime a Sustainable, Edible Packaging Possibility

As single-use plastic waste continues to pile up, packaging solutions comprised of alternative materials are in high demand. While recycled material offers the opportunity for adaptive reuse, options that are naturally available could provide even more sustainable solutions. Scoby, an edible and natural byproduct of the process of fermenting kombucha, could be a zero-waste option for packaging dry and semi-dry goods. Polish designer Roza Janusz …