Mike Chino

Inhabitat’s Spring Greening DIY Design Contest!

by Mike Chino, 03/19/09

Spring starts this Friday, and Inhabitat is getting into the spirit with our first ever Spring Greening DIY Design Contest! Repair and reuse are important concepts to teach kids, so we’re asking you to do a bit of spring cleaning and refurbish, repurpose, and rethink your old household items rather than throwing them away. There’s lots of fun DIY projects that you and your kids can engage in, and we’ll be hosting an online voting competition to showcase our favorite entries. The winning project will receive all of the fortune and fame of being showcased on Inhabitat in addition to a shot at a $200 gift certificate to the Inhabitat Shop!

The deadline for submissions is Friday March 27

All that you have to do to enter is:
1. sign up for the Inhabitat newsletter
2. send a description and photo of your project to editor at inhabitat.com

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FASTRONAUTS: Action Figures Powered By Play

by Mike Chino, 02/17/09

One of fifty inspired entries in this year’s Greener Gadgets Design Competition, Fastronauts was one of our favorite entries. Fastronauts are a dynamic trio of power-packing superheroes that aim to make renewable energy accessible to eager young minds. Each eco-friendly action figure is powered by play: the more you charge your little fastronaut (through motion), the more it will talk, light up, and zoom around in its little vehicle. Each fastronaut uses a dynamo to generate energy for lights, sounds, a bicycle speedometer and more. These versatile action figures are a great way to introduce kids to energy conservation while encouraging them get outside and play.

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POWER HOG: Piggy Power Monitor Teaches Conservation

by Mike Chino, 02/11/09

Looking for a fun way to teach your kids about the merits of conserving electricity? Check out the cute Power Hog, a pint-size power monitor that introduces kids to energy efficiency by piggybacking upon the familiar format of the piggy bank. Simply plug the hog’s tail into an outlet and feed it a coin to meter out 30 minutes of energy for TV, video games, or other activities. A novel way to associate energy conservation with savings, the Power Hog is just one of fifty great finalists in this year’s Greener Gadgets Design Competition.