Alex Rider Gadget Contest

Fellow COBRAS site Mister 8 points the way to a very cool Alex Rider contest for kids and teens aged 8-18. Hosted by MAKE Magazine, the contest calls for entrants to design their own spy gadgets! You can see some neat schematics that people have already created at the Alex Rider Flickr Group, where entrants are encouraged to upload any schematics they create. From the MAKE website: "Design your dream Alex Rider gadget, inspired by an everyday object (i.e. an iPod, toothpaste, a pen). The winning gadget will be built right here at the MAKE Labs. Send us a schematic of what your gadget is made from and how it works. (Your schematic can be a diagram, a drawing or an explanation by you)." I'm afraid you don't have long to do it in now, though. The contest began last month and ends next week, just before midnight, Pacific Time, on December 22. The grand prize pack includes a signed collection of hardcover Alex Rider novels, an iPod nano with a personalized message from author Anthony Horowitz, a backpack full of goodies and gadgets from the Maker Shed and the opportunity to have the winner's dream gadget produced in the MAKE Labs and featured on Make: Online! Wow. Runners-up will receive a signed hardcover copy of Crocodile Tears and an Alex Rider t-shirt, which, frankly, are also pretty cool prizes. Head on over to MAKE Magazine for the contest rules and all the details on how to enter.

Stay tuned to Double O Section for more reviews, interviews and other goodies in the ongoing Alex Rider Week (which will actually turn out to be about two weeks).