Rainbow Maker

by Julie on March 23, 2006 · 7 comments

in Geek Toys, Miscellaneous

It doesn’t take much to entertain me when it comes to geek toys.
Some times the simplest products can be the best products. So, what
do you get when you take a solar panel, a prism, some gears and a
suction cup? You get the solar powered Rainbow Maker. Available
from Lazybone, this little
gadget sticks to your window and makes sunny days more colorful and
also more fun.

The Rainbow Maker is a 6 inch long pendulum looking plastic
thingamabob that sticks to your window by way of a clear suction
cup.

The top of the Rainbow Maker has a small solar panel affixed to
a hinge. The hinge allows you to manipulate the angle of the panel,
so that it can receive the sun’s rays. The hinge doesn’t feel very
sturdy, so I advise that you don’t dork around with it all that
much.

A large Strass Swarovski crystal dangles from the opposite end of the
Rainbow Maker. To start the fun, just stick the device on a window,
and wait for the sun to start shining. When the solar panel starts
receiving rays of direct sunlight, the crystal will begin to slowly
rotate. As the crystal rotates, you’ll start to see rainbow
’sparks’ flying around on your walls and ceiling.

That’s all there is to it. Simple! The only problem is that the
Rainbow Maker will only make rainbows when sun light is shining
directly on it. That means that it won’t work on bright cloudy
days, or even all day on a sunny day, since the sun won’t shine
directly into the same window all day long. Even so, when it is
working, it gives a pretty cool effect that doesn’t require any
batteries.

See it in action…

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Click on image to play the QuickTime video (1min 41sec,
3.4mb). The video is encoded in the H.264 codec. You will need the latest version of Quicktime to view it. VLC is another free viewer.
.

The Rainbow Maker is one of those little gadgets that make a fun
gift for children or anyone that can appreciate something unique
and simple.

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Product Information

Price:32.56
Manufacturer:Lazybone
Pros:
  • No batteries required
  • Cheery
Cons:
  • Does not work on cloudy days

{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Julie March 24, 2006 at 3:25 am

Post your comments on the Rainbow Maker review.

http://www.the-gadgeteer.com/review/rainbow_maker

Just click the POST REPLY button on this page.

2 strider_mt2k March 24, 2006 at 4:11 pm

I love stuff like this!
Please don’t stop featuring little stuff like this!

3 Julie March 24, 2006 at 5:08 pm

strider_mt2k:

Don’t worry, we won’t. :) I like fun little products like this one too :)

4 CraigS March 24, 2006 at 9:34 pm

Cool little toy!

I was surprised your cat was so calm during the light show. My cats love to chase any kind of reflected or refracted light, no matter how dim. I used to wonder why they’d go crazy whenever I pulled a CD off the shelf until I realized there was light reflecting off the jewel case onto the wall!

I may have to get one of these for them… :D

5 Julie March 25, 2006 at 1:43 am

CraigS:

Nothing distracts Max from eating ;) It’s his hobby.

6 Chronos March 31, 2006 at 6:39 pm

Great choice of music! Bruddah Izzy. One of my all-time favorites.

I grew up with Hawaiian slack key music. My folks used to take us to see the “Sons of Hawaii”, “Guava Jam”, and others. Gabby Pahinui was a God to me as a kid! I often wonder if when Izzy says “This one’s for Gabby…” as this song starts if that is for Gabby Pahinui. It must be.:)

7 Sam May 14, 2009 at 11:19 am

I need to find a store near evanston, IL. Skokie is great. I am unable to drive and must purchase one today for a birthday tomorrow.
thanks.
Sam

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