Chapter 4

4 "Magnificent Maker Watches ready?" shouted Dr. Crisp. She stood in front of the door with her hand on the knob. "Yes!" replied the Makers, each holding an arm in the air. These special watches appeared on their wrists when they were about to start the challenge. They used them for all kinds of things in the Maker Maze, like shooting lasers, recording

their answers, scanning holograms—and most importantly, keeping track of time. "Good!" said Dr. Crisp. "We'll be traveling pretty far!" The Makers needed to finish the challenge in less than one hundred twenty Maker Minutes if they wanted to return to the Maze for more fun. Dr. Crisp slowly opened the door, and the Makers' watches vibrated and glowed. As Pablo, Violet, and Deepak walked through door number fourteen, their mouths dropped open. Rotating slowly in the middle of the wide room was a model solar system! In the center shone a bright yellow sun. Around it circled the eight different planets. And in between the orange glow of Mars and the stormy surface of Jupiter, tons of different-sized rocks floated like confetti.

Pablo pointed. "That must be the asteroid belt!" He definitely remembered reading about that. "It's the place in our solar system where most of the asteroids are found." Violet reached out to run her fingertips through the edge of the model solar system.

BIZZAP! "Okay, Makers. Listen up! For this level, we're going to get up close and personal with different space objects. But first, we'll need some special equipment!" Dr. Crisp pressed a button on the side of her watch and shouted, "Maker Maze, activate space suits!" The room immediately went dark, and the floor began to vibrate. Suddenly, a blast of purple light shot out of the model sun and blinded the Makers. BOOM SNAP BWHIZ SAP After a few seconds, they were able to open their eyes again. The model solar system was gone. Pablo slowly lifted his arms to examine

them. He patted his chest with his hands. Then he touched the helmet now covering his face. "This is…," Pablo began. But he couldn't find the word to finish his sentence. "AMAZING!" Violet yelled as she jumped in the air.

The Makers were now wearing purple space suits! A black M was drawn on each of their chests. Clear helmets covered their faces. Dr. Crisp was in a space suit, too! Hers was black with a bright purple M on her chest. They all had silver space gloves. "I can't believe it," said Deepak. "I'm a real astronaut!" "You bet, space cadet!" said Dr. Crisp. "Okay, Makers. We need one last piece of equipment before we start." Dr. Crisp opened her backpack and began to pull out a long rope. She kept pulling…and pulling…and pulling. With one final tug, she said, "There! Now let's hook ourselves up." "What is this for?" asked Violet. She looked closely at the four metal clasps attached to the rope. "It looks like a leash," said Deepak. "I know what it is!" said Pablo proudly. "It's a space tether!"