Atari Dog Daze &
Science Projects
2-Player Games for Atari 8-bit
Computers: Dog Daze, Claim Jumper, Bumpomov's
Dogs
These games were designed to run on the Atari 8-bit Home Computers of the early 1980s. Now you can use an Atari 800 emulator to run these 1980s-era programs on your modern Windows-based PC. For instructions, go to the Atari800 Emulator web page.
Read the Farbish interview with Gray Chang.
Listen to a 2014 interview with Gray Chang at Antic, The Atari 8-Bit Podcast. The interview begins a little after the 1:04:00 mark and runs about 40 minutes. A transcript is also available.
Science Projects
For amateur scientists of all ages, the following low-cost, hands-on projects promote scientific inquiry, task management skills, and craftsmanship.Cardboard Camera Obscura (Optics)
Website Introductory Video
The camera obscura has been used as a tool by artists for hundreds of years. You can build one using a magnifying glass, cardboard, a paper bag, tape, and glue. The image is projected upside-down on tracing paper, working like a live movie projector.
Analemma Solar Position Visualizer (Astronomy)
Website Introductory Video
This full-year solar position visualizer is a simple tool for astronomy students, architects, and solar power designers to see where the Sun will be in the sky throughout the day and during the year. It has a 365-day calendar with a figure-8 analemma, showing the exact position of the Sun in the sky relative to the year-average solar position. You hold the tool at arm's length and sweep it across the sky from east to west in the direction pointed by the tool.
Hand-Held Sundial/Compass/Navigator
Website Introductory Video
This 3D-printed, hand-held device is a mechanical model showing the Sun's path through the sky during the day, and the changes in that path over the course of a year. To get the time, you find the point on the cage that casts a shadow on the center of the plate, and read off the hour from the center line of the cage. If you know the time, you can use the device in reverse to find the compass directions and your geographic latitude.