The Wire

Instructables is a site for makers: the content is user-generated, and (in the spirit of Mouse's DIY Competition) users submit step-by-step guides for making everything from LED light boxes to the perfect pie crust. Instructables also connects makers from all over the world with online forums, community projects, and...contests!

Here's what Instructables has to say about it: Share any project and answer four questions about what you learned over the course of the build. That's it. Whether you're making a pinewood derby car, a short movie, a videogame, a painting, a garden, a sweater, a science fair project, a school assignment, or practically anything else that required you to make something, you're encouraged to enter it into the contest! Click here to get all the details.

Here's what you need to know to enter:

• WHAT: Create a step-by-step how-to with photos and written instructions or a video tutorial that will teach someone how to do something--anything--that you know how to do!
• WHO: This contest is open to makers between the ages of 13-18.
• WHEN: The deadline to submit your entry is April 15.
• HOW TO ENTER: Go here to submit a project, and when you're publishing your submission be sure to check off the "Make to Learn" contest.
• WHY DO IT? Apart from the chance to share your wisdom with an awesome worldwide community of makers, you can also win great prizes--including a mini iPad and gift certificates to SparkFun, Home Depot, and Amazon!
• SUPPORT GREAT WORK: If you create a member account, you can vote for projects you love between now and April 18!

But...where to begin? And what comes next?

If you're not sure where to begin, check out the Just Do-It-Yourself! activity in Module 10 of the Certification Curriculum. It's a great guide to creating a stellar D.I.Y. Project, which is a tool that teaches others how to do something you know how to do.

As for what's next: hold on to your Make to Learn submission and enter it in the D.I.Y. Competition starting in April! Watch the Wire for an announcement in the first week of April.