203. Green Machines
The teams go green as they work with the Food Project, an organization that creates social change through sustainable agriculture. Two young Food Project volunteers challenge the teams to design a compost lifter for their urban farm.
204. Gravity Bikes
Watch the Design Squad teams in a head-to-head competition as they build high-speed, gravity bikes for Gravity Sports International champion Tom Whalen.
205. Water Dancing
Dancer and performance artist Lisa Bufano, a bilateral leg and finger amputee, challenges the teams to build specialized prostheses for an underwater performance.
206. Backyard Thrill Ride
The teams bring the adrenaline rush of an amusement park ride to the backyard of 13-year-old Andreas Hoffman.
207. Big Bugs
Design Squad gets back to nature as the teams sculpt large-scale insects from found forest materials. The winning arthropod will be on display at the New England Wild Flower Society's Big Bugs exhibit.
208. Aquatic Robots
Super Duck Excursions, the Boston-based terra-amphibious touring company, challenges the teams to create underwater radio-controlled robots to spice up their narrated tours.
209. Band Cam
There's nothing like the World Music rhythms of Zili Misik to send the Design Squad teams into an artistic groove. The all-female band challenges the teams to create remote-controlled aerial camera systems to cover their live performance.
210. No Crying in Baseball
The teams must hit a home run for Del "The Dogman" Christman—local hot dog vendor for the Lowell Spinners (a Class A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox)—who is in need of an onion dispenser to dress up his dogs.
211. Hockey Net Target
They shoot, they score! Boston Bruins defenseman Matt Lashoff challenges the teams to build remote-controlled hockey net targets.
212. Off-Road Go-Karts, Part 1
213. Off-Road Go-Karts, Part 2
In this two-part season finale, the teams revamp go-karts in a high-speed off-road race. The fastest go-kart will be featured in MAKE Magazine, and the contestant who ends up with the most total points wins… a college scholarship provided by the Intel Foundation.
SEASON 1
101. The Need for Speed
A professional racecar builder challenges the teams to convert kiddie toys into motorized dragsters.
102. Rock On!
The teams compete to create original musical instruments--one stringed and one percussive--for Off White Noise, a local band. The instruments are put to the test when Off White Noise rocks out at the Middle East nightclub.
103. Skunk'd
When a guy named Skunk comes looking for a bike bizarre enough to impress the members of SCUL (Subversive Choppers Urban Legion), well, you give him what he wants. The rubber really hits the road when DS parades their newly created choppers on a SCUL mission.
104. DS Unplugged
The teams take a crash course in pre-industrial building techniques, as they compete to build 20-foot bridges—without the aid of power tools, forklifts, or...flushable toilets. It's a show for the (Middle) Ages!
105. Got Game?
Challenged to come up with a way to cover all the angles of a basketball game via remote-controlled cameras, the teams dive into action and compete to prove who's got game!
106. A Collective Collaboration
The teams set their sights on designing the most durable, portable and low cost peanut butter making machines for a women's collective in Haiti.
107. Just for Kicks
The challenge: design a REVOLUTIONary device that automatically feeds a stream of balls to Michael Parkhurst, a professional soccer player with the New England Revolution.
108. Functional Fashion
It's a marriage of high-tech and haute couture (well, sort of!) as the teams compete to see who can design the best dual-purpose clothing. Join DS on the runway as the garments/gadgets make their fashion debut.
109. Batter Up
How to make a perfect pancake? The DS teams seek the right ingredients for a machine that will cook, flip, and serve up delicious flapjacks at the flick of a switch. The winning machine is put to the test at a busy diner.
110. Pumped
An 11-foot tall water slide will be a cool addition to the community pool...once there's a pump to deliver the water. See which invention makes the biggest splash with YMCA campers.
111. Blowin' in the Wind
The teams tap into their inner artists as they compete to design and build wind-powered kinetic art from recycled materials. The winning sculpture is put on display at the DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park in Lincoln, Massachusetts.
112. Bodies Electric
DESIGN SQUAD-ers take a shine to hip-hop artist Wyatt Jackson when they try to create a sound and light show triggered by Jackson's moves and grooves. In a live performance, it's DS night at the Strand Theatre!
113. Winner Takes All
Continuum (a design consultancy) asks the DS teams to develop and test a "summer sled" for retail giant L.L. Bean. It's a bumpy, downhill slide to the finish line!
