Maker Faire 2008

Shawn — Thu, 08 May 2008 05:15:53 +0000

My teenage nephew and his friend came down from Seattle for the Maker Faire. I probably embarrassed him good by going in costume, Steampunk, Scottish style – kilt, gaiters, pith helmet (hey, I wasn’t the only one). Whether it was the costume or just being at the fair I saw him for all of about 3 seconds once we got in the doors. Zoom! He was gone. I hope he & his buddy had a blast. We gave them 4 rules:

(1) don’t blow any thing up
(2) don’t get hurt
(3) don’t get arrested
(4) don’t be late (it’s a long walk home)

The faire was a blast! Just some highlights:
Hung out in the Steampunk area & explored the Neverwas Haul
Mary fan-girl’ed Abney Park’s (link sound warning) Captain Robert and Nathaniel
We made a LED hula hoop from a ProdMod kit with help from the Maker himself
Got to pet a Techno Giraffe & talked to its creators
Fire art!
Kinetic sculptures by Nemo Gould
and Tesla coils, laser harps, a life size mouse trap, ….. This event is huge and getting bigger every year. I love the DIY community. People building things that industry can’t, won’t or doesn’t see a market for, and most likely never will. And then sharing that with everyone else.

While I was leaving a reporter for the Wall Street Journal asked me a question: If I could build One Thing what would that be? He was looking for a canned answer, like a bat powered bicycle, or some thing like that. My answer was simple, I told him I would build something that was fun and that I would enjoy making. That is the essence of DIY.

My Maker Faire Pics (on Flickr)
Maker Faire Group Pool Pictures (on Flickr)

Mudstone » Maker Faire

Maker Faire 2008