Maker Faire

Maker Faire
ORBIT 2 Kinetic Sculpture by Carl Pisaturo shown at 2008 Maker Faire
Location(s)San Mateo, California
Dearborn, Michigan
Queens, New York
Years activeSince 2006
Websitemakerfaire.com
Sharkmobile at Bay Area Maker Faire 2009
A convention where DIY enthusiasts demonstrate their projects

Maker Faire is a convention of do it yourself (DIY) enthusiasts established by Make magazine in 2006. Participants come from a wide variety of interests, such as robotics, 3D printing, computers, arts and crafts, and hacker culture.

History

In 2005, Dale Dougherty founded Make: magazine as a quarterly publication with Tim O’Reilly.[1] The first Make: magazine was published in 2005 and the first Maker Faire took place in 2006 in San Mateo. Over the next 13 years, this inaugural maker faire expanded to more than 200 licensed Maker Faires in more than 40 countries.[2]

Dale Dougherty convened the first Maker Faire in 2006 in San Mateo, California, drawing a crowd of 20,000.[3]

Maker Media Inc. went out of business in June 2019, and Dale Dougherty rebranded as Make Community.[4]

Maker Faires in the US

Flagship Maker Faires

Flagship Maker Faires are held in San Mateo, California and New York City.

The last Bay Area Maker Faire was held in 2019. The Maker Faire Bay Area was not held in 2020. This was due to the potential impact of coronavirus as well as the 2019 transition of Maker Media to Make: Community.[5]

A revived Bay Area Maker Faire was held in October 2023 at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo, California.[6][7]

The New York Maker Faire is also known as the "World Maker Faire".[8] The New York City Faire was cancelled in 2019 due to financial difficulties.[9][10] The most recent New York City Faire was held in Coney Island in 2023.[11]

White House Maker Faire

On June 18, 2014, President Obama hosted the first-ever (and only thus far) White House Maker Faire.[12]

Past US events

2008

Maker Faire 2008 was held on 3–4 May 2008, at the San Mateo County Event Center. Highlights of the Faire included a human-sized Mouse Trap board game, kinetic squid sculpture, 55' wingspan kinetic steel butterfly, bicycle-powered music stage, a solar-powered chariot pulled by an Arnold Schwarzenegger robot,[13] and over 500 other booths from different makers. There were approximately 65,000 people in attendance.[14][15] Featured guests included Adam Savage, Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, Lee David Zlotoff,[16] Tony Baxter and Eepybird.

An additional 2008 Maker Faire was held on October 18–19, 2008, in Austin, Texas.[17]

2020

Maker Faire XV was held online.

Worldwide Maker Faires

Maker Faires are also held in Europe, Asia, South America and Africa.

Afrigadget, a website dedicated to African Ingenuity, was created by Erik Hersman in 2006[18] just a few months after Make Magazine and the first Maker Faire Africa took place in Ghana in 2009.

The first Maker Faire in the United Kingdom took place on March 14–15, 2009, in Newcastle upon Tyne, as a joint venture with the Newcastle ScienceFest.

In the US, the 2009 Maker Faire Rhode Island was scheduled for September 6–19.[19] The first Maker Faire North Carolina was held on April 25, 2010, in Durham, North Carolina. It moved to Raleigh, North Carolina for 2011.[20]

In 2010, Canada had their first Mini Maker Faire in Ottawa, Ontario on November 6–7.[21]

Maker Faire has spread worldwide, and the first Maker Faire in Hong Kong was held in 2014. The next year it grew significantly and was organized by The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, led by Dr. Clifford Choy from the university's School of Design in November 2015 as well as in April 2017.[22][23]

In 2015, the US Embassy in Cairo and Fab Lab Egypt started organizing Maker Faire Cairo that received thousands of visitors.[24][25]

Mini Maker Faires

Children participating at a Maker Meetup in Garden City, Idaho
An organizer examines a project

Make Magazine assists independent event organizers in producing small-scale Maker Faire events in local communities.

In 2011, Mini Maker Faires were held in Canada (Toronto, Vancouver), the United Kingdom (Brighton) and a number of cities in the USA: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Phoenix, Arizona; Oakland, California; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Fishers, Indiana; Providence, Rhode Island; Atlanta, Georgia; Kansas City, Missouri; Raleigh, North Carolina; Poulsbo, Washington, Ann Arbor, Michigan; Linthicum, Maryland; Westport, Connecticut; Louisville, Kentucky; and Urbana, Illinois.

School Maker Faires

Schools are also able to host School Maker Faires.[26]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Dale Dougherty". Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  2. ^ "Company Behind Popular Maker Faire Closing Down Due to Financial Struggles". KQED. 8 June 2019. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  3. ^ "Maker Media Has Shut Down. But Founder Dale Dougherty Isn't Calling It Quits". 2019-06-09. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  4. ^ "Make: Community". Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  5. ^ "Important update". Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  6. ^ "Big news! Maker Faire Bay Area will return this October". 13 July 2023.
  7. ^ "Maker Faire returns to Bay Area after more than four years". 21 October 2023.
  8. ^ Maker Faire, retrieved 2011-12-16
  9. ^ "Maker Media Has Shut Down. But Founder Dale Dougherty Isn't Calling It Quits. - EdSurge News". 9 June 2019.
  10. ^ "Statement on World Maker Faire by Margaret Honey". NYSCI. 2019-06-10. Retrieved 2021-06-04.
  11. ^ "Tinkerers, Crafters and Builders Unite At The Coney Island Maker Faire". 2023-10-04.
  12. ^ "The First-Ever White House Maker Faire: Celebrating a Nation of Makers". 2014-06-04. Retrieved 2021-04-01.
  13. ^ Autobots, Freaks and Geeks: Welcome to Maker Faire, Wired magazine, May 3, 2008, accessed May 4, 2008
  14. ^ "Home invention". The Economist. 1 May 2008. Retrieved 5 May 2008.
  15. ^ Terdiman, Daniel (2008-05-04). "Maker Faire more popular than ever". CNet News. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
  16. ^ "Holy Crap: MacGyver Blockbuster Film Coming!". Gizmodo.com. 2008-05-03. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
  17. ^ "Maker Faire Austin 2008".
  18. ^ "AfriGadget.com relaunch – AfriGadget". www.afrigadget.com. Retrieved 2022-09-24.
  19. ^ "Home Page". Providence Mini Maker Faire - June 8–9, 2019.
  20. ^ Maker Faire North Carolina, retrieved 2011-12-16
  21. ^ "Electric Fields - Festival of Electronic Art and Sound (2010)". artengine.ca. Archived from the original on 2014-04-30. Retrieved 2014-08-06.
  22. ^ "Home". Maker Faire Hong Kong 香港造節. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  23. ^ Design, PolyU. "PolyU Design: Maker Faire Hong Kong 2015". www.sd.polyu.edu.hk. Retrieved 2016-03-23.
  24. ^ "Egypt's Second Annual Maker Faire Kicks off Saturday". U.S. Embassy & Consulate in Egypt. 2016-03-25. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
  25. ^ "Home". Maker Faire Cairo. Retrieved 2019-03-01.
  26. ^ "How to Make a School Maker Faire". Retrieved 2021-04-01.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Maker Faire.
Wikinews has related news:
  • Maker Faire 2009 wraps up in San Mateo, California
  • Official website