By: MicroMechTronic Team

January is National Hobby Month, so what better time than now to start the hobby you’ve always wanted to try?

There are hobbies for every interest, from building ships in a bottle, to ping-pong, to drone flying. Whatever your interest, guaranteed there is a group of people somewhere with the same interest – many of them just learning and many of them passing on the education. 

5 Hobbies to Try for National Hobby Month

1) Woodwork: Handmade Scrabble Board

Woodworking is a great skill and rewarding hobby to learn. Not only can you make incredible things with wood, but you will suddenly become very handy around the house. 

With only one board to work with and no joints to connect, this handmade wooden Scrabble board project on Instructables could be a good one to start with.

Plus you have the added bonus of starting up a board game hobby with the family too!

2) 3D Printing: Blinking Iris Goggles

With the cost of 3D printing dropping rapidly, it’s not unfathomable to get into this hobby anymore. In fact, once you buy the 3D printer, the rest is quite reasonable. 

Of course there is some technical knowledge required, but there’s tons of information to get you started. We picked this 3D Blinking Iris Google project on Thingiverse for a great 3D printing hobby to try for National Hobby Month because of it’s relatively simple, yet hilarious design.

Once you get the knack and you’re feeling ambitious, you might want to have a go at this incredible 3D printed Iron Man cosplay suit.

3) Home Automation: Hidden Rooms and Compartments

Smart homes and the Internet of Things (IoT) are the rage these days. It’s new ground for us humans and a lot of exciting new products and projects are popping up all over (connected toaster anyone?).

Adding your own flair to boost your home’s intelligence isn’t as difficult as one might think. With some properly placed electric linear actuators and some secret switches or remotes, you could trick-out your entire house with hidden cupboards, shelves, wine cellars and doors to evil lairs (also a good time to perfect your evil laugh).

4) RC Hobby: Build a Drone from Scratch

Radio Control hobby takes us back to being a kid doesn’t it? The projects serious RC hobby enthusiasts build are anything but!

From drag racing nitro cars, racing yachts, vintage replica military planes, complex construction vehicles to sky-dominating multicopters, the RC hobby world is alive and thriving. Each one having their own dedicated groups who are both active online an in live social groups. You would not be alone starting a hobby in radio control.

Since UAV’s (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles – aka Drones) have taken the RC world by storm we think it’s only fitting to include this project on how to build a drone from scratch as one of our top 5 hobbies to try for National Hobby Month.

5) Robotics: Create a Motion Controlled Robot

With the popularity of motion control, automation and robotics on the rise, we’d be remiss not to include a project on how to create a motion controlled robot for our 5 hobbies to try for National Hobby Month.

If visions of complex robots and red-eyed, human destroying Terminators suddenly fill your mind’s eye, fear not. This project is very simple with only a few moving, motion controlled parts. It will take many more hours of creativity and work in your secret evil lair before this robot can take over the world.

Where to Find Hobby Groups

As mentioned earlier, there’s no shortage of groups to get involved with, either in person or virtually. Here’s a list of some of the most popular groups:

• Meetup
• Instructables
• Hackster
• element14
• Reddit
• Maker Spaces
• Online Forums – just search for your hobby+forums
• Facebook Groups – just enter your hobby in Facebook search and select the groups tab

Where to Get Hobby Ideas and Instructions

Looking for some inspiration and/or instruction? Again, no shortage! Here’s a list of some of our favorite DIY instruction sites.

• Instructables
• Thingiverse
• MakeZine
• Hackster
• Adafruit
• LadyAda
• All About Circuits
• Circuits Today 
• DIY Network
• Maker Ed
• DIY
• Pinterest
• Etsy

Most of these sites are tech inclined, but many of them offer instructions on just about anything under the sun.

Tips for a Sticking to Your New Hobby

So you’ve decided to jump in and start a new hobby for National Hobby Month. Awesome! Like many new projects, the initial excitement will wane and you’ll be inclined to let it slowly drop off and collect dust.

Here are a few tips to keep you motivated on your new project for National Hobby Month:

• Write down your most passionate interests
• Find a buddy to practice with or sign up for a class
• Volunteer to help a friend with a project
• Schedule time to work on it
  

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Remember, new hobbies take time to learn, so be patient, have fun and stick with it!

What new hobby will you take up for National Hobby Month? We love hearing about the projects you make. Let us know in the comments.