How is an Etch A Sketch made? MAKE: Inventions host Steve Hoefer gives a bit of historical background on the classic toy, and then, with the original patent and some trial and error, tries to make his own.

via 22 words.

Has the kid seen this 1977 Sesame Street classic? Pinball Countdown, featuring the Pointer Sisters.

Related: animator Abbey Luck’s remake.

Bloopers by soccer-playing robots? Yes please! We loved watching the challenges faced by these little technological — and might I add, autonomous — wonders. The above footage is from Robocup 2010 (in Singapore) and 2011 (in Istanbul) from BotSportTV. 

And here’s a “kid-size” Robocup 2012 game between Germany and Japan… (we love the action starting around 5m20s): 

h/t Irene’s Internet.

Giant piano! And on this particular giant piano (with rainbow light up keys!), a happy gentleman at NYC’s F.A.O. Schwartz plays the Mario theme song… and not perfectly, which is the best part! — It’s the only way you can tell how much practice and work it must take to tap out such an epic song on such a giant instrument.

h/t @mindfulmimi.

Nine year old Caine Monroy made a super-detailed cardboard arcade in his dad’s used auto part store. His first customer happened to be filmmaker Nirvan Mullick, who was inspired by Caine’s inventiveness and decided to get Caine a flashmob of customers one Sunday. This is a film about that day.

We loved this video immediately. And when the video ends, it’s always good when my kid says, “I want to see it again.” If you’re inspired by Caine and his cardboard arcade, too, you can follow @cainesarcade on Twitter and visit CainesArcade.com to donate to his college fund (which is happily climbing)!!

via @Veronica.

Other kids makin’ it happen: Audri and his Rube Goldberg Machine, and Milah and Korben sing Depeche Mode with their dad.