Hacking the Tubes, Class of 2017-Style

Proving that you're never too old to have fun with packaging materials, early admits to the Class of 2017 tricked out their acceptance-letter tubes after the Office of Admissions encouraged them to devise funny, creative, or artistic new interpretations of them.

Some went the practical route, like Grace Li, who made a mug with a lid, pencil holder, several hair ties, and some bracelets, and Tom "TJ" Burns, who crafted iPhone speakers.

Becky Bell turned her tube into a hipster. Rachel Katz devised a shadow puppet (shown). The pillars of Building 10 spell MIT and the waves at the bottom are meant to represent the Charles River.

Aaron Morris made a cannon (there's a video), and Efetobore Tasker made an Arduino-powered, automatic window-shade opener (below). And there's more. Check out the gallery of tube hacks, including those from last year's class.