Good: The return of amateur science

I wrote for an essay for Good magazine's blog about the rebirth of amateur science. Here's an except:

Chemcraft-Amateur-Science
For 72 years, Scientific American ran its popular "Amateur Scientist" column, which debuted in 1928. Projects included constructing an electron accelerator, making amino acids, photographing air currents, measuring the metabolic rate of small animals, extracting antibiotics from soil, culturing aquatic insects, tracking satellites, constructing an atom smasher, extracting the growth substances from a cantaloupe, conducting maze experiments with cockroaches, making an electrocardiogram of a water flea, constructing a Foucalt pendulum, and experimenting with geotropism. Who knew you could have so much fun at the kitchen table?

Good: The Return of Amateur Science