Layout:
Home > Maker Faire

Maker Faire

May 19th, 2014 at 08:44 pm

I saw this on Facebook today. Don't you love it?



---------------------------------------------------

We went to the Maker Faire yesterday. It was awesome.

The plan was to go for one day, and evaluate if we should go two days next year. Though two days would no doubt be absolutely exhausting, I think that is what we should aim for next year. I think if it was just us adults, the one day was good enough (there is probably a lot of overlap year to year; not because we actually got to see everything!). BUT, the kids hands-on stuff was fairly infinite and the kids just ate it up. So, for that, I think it's worthwhile to make the time and financial commitment next year. As is, there was an entire "Kids Hall" that we never even made it to.

LM had a blast with an animation station that was set up. He is talented on the artistic side, and so we will probably look into getting some software or see if there is a website that he can practice on. "Animation" is just not anything overly specific we have looked into for him, before.

He also saw his favorite video game had a booth and they gave him some freebies so he was over the moon.

BM wanted to do something that took like an hour. He is lucky his daddy had the patience and saw the value. It ended up being the highlight of his day. (If I knew it would be the highlight, of course I would have encouraged him). It was an area where they were ripping apart stuffed toys that move and make sounds. You rip it apart and then cover the electronics up with the parts left from the ones everyone else ripped apart. So he turned a bat into a snowman. Dh dubbed it "frankenfrosty".

The other hit was an area where they had just thrown around a bunch of small appliances for kids to rip apart and see what was inside. Admittedly, I don't know if my kids were into the true spirit of this. They were more into the demolition aspect of it. But BM also enjoyed from a "curiosity/how does it work?" standpoint.

SO... I talked to my dad about it and he said he had some stuff laying around that they could rip apart. (My dad grew up poor in small town Kansas and had absolutely no science mentors. BUT, he enjoyed taking things apart when he was a kid. That's really all he could do. His career ambition was to be a repairman, until he went to college and received guidance. The fact that BM Enjoyed this part so much reminded me of my dad, and I know my dad would love to show him how all this stuff actually works).

It was crazy crowded, but not to the point of non-enjoyment. & I have really low tolerance for crowds. But there just weren't that many lines or anything (except for the bathroom!). The venue was so huge and there was so much to see.

I wouldn't even know where to begin with everything we saw. Here is a cute video that gives a overview:

Text is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wlw4qRJ5YZo and Link is
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wlw4qRJ5YZo

The giant flaming octopus reminds me of our neighbor who liked to shoot fire balls in the air. (Keep in mind the high density housing and the desert like climate. !!! CRAZY). Maybe we should just be glad he wasn't *that* ambitious. (Apparently 200 gallons of propane for the giant octopus, for the weekend). {That neighbor lost his home to foreclosure and is long gone. Surprise surprise}.

8 Responses to “Maker Faire”

  1. ThriftoRama Says:
    1400538057

    That is too funny, and I would love to go to Maker Faire. I have a lot of Make magazines. Been saving them for projects with the kids.

  2. Petunia 100 Says:
    1400544429

    Oh, that looks really cool. My son would love that! Was it in Sac? Bay area?

  3. MonkeyMama Says:
    1400552711

    @Petunia - Bay Area

  4. Looking Forward Says:
    1400560442

    Ha!

    Saw some of the Maker Faire on the news.. Cool!

  5. MonkeyMama Says:
    1400592910

    I think most anyone here would have really enjoyed it. I just saw an article in TIME that said that the point is to encourage people to be "makers" versus "consumers".

    "the maker movement... is made up of makers who can be defined as anyone that makes things. While its roots are tech-related, there were people at the show teaching how to crochet, make jewelry, and even one area called Home Grown, where do-it-yourselfers showed how to pickle vegetables, can fruits and vegetables, as well as make jams and jellies. There was another area focused on eco-sustainability, bee keeping, composting and growing your own food."

  6. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1400646236

    Have LM check out abcya.com - 5th grade page - Animate. He might be beyond this, but it could be something he'd enjoy, and best of all it is free. Smile

  7. MonkeyMama Says:
    1400676360

    Thanks FT - that looks great!

  8. FrugalTexan75 Says:
    1400698242

    My students love it. Smile

Leave a Reply

(Note: If you were logged in, we could automatically fill in these fields for you.)
*
Will not be published.
   

* Please spell out the number 4.  [ Why? ]

vB Code: You can use these tags: [b] [i] [u] [url] [email]