Scenes from Friday at Maker Faire

For the first time ever, Maker Faire Bay Area started on Friday this year, and it was fantastic — hundreds of makers showing their stuff for thousands of lucky kids. Check out the photo gallery here for just a small preview of what you’ll see this weekend at Maker Faire.

Rhino Redemption by Reared in Steel.

Cab view of Rhino Redemption art car.

Kickin’ it in the Tumble Leaf sculpture by Karen Cusolito.

Beautiful but doomed, the Pittsburgh Art Car gets finishing touches from artist Jason Sauers before its inevitable destruction by the MegaBot this weekend.

Monster Bumper Car cruises the South Lot at Maker Faire.

The Nautilus Submarine Art Car created by Five Ton Crane.

Wheels inside a wheel embellish this crazy home-built trike.

Justin Gray’s fire sculpture robots battle in the sand.

Flames dance to the music in this quintuple Rubens’ tube from Minor Catastrophe Productions.

A robot arm aces the old knife-between-the-fingers trick at Google’s Making Science exhibit.

This maker stands 8 feet tall in his handmade wooden robot costume.

The Bicycle Ferris Wheel is powered entirely by the riders. Contraption by Paul Cesewski.

The Electric Trout Car by artist/maker Alvin Petty.

People’s imagination inspire Paul Nosa to draw custom patches with his sewing machine.

Puppeteer and friend in the Steampunk zone.

The Golden Mean snail car by Jon Sarriugarte and Kyrsten Mate.

Handmade accoutrements and gypsy wagon in the Steampunk zone.

The AJAX Exosuit is a pneumatically powered exoskeleton that allows the wearer to lift 400lbs with little or no effort.

The M.G. Locost home-built sports car with Lotus-type frame and MG running gear.

Robot eye surveys the West Lot at Maker Faire.

Jerrold Karmin builds solar vehicles and portable solar power stations for Burning Man.

Model airplane at Google’s Making Science exhibit.

Setting up large-scale artworks on Friday@Maker Faire.

The LegoJeep is interactive art sculpture is a real car — driven daily!

The Gatobot, a collaboration between art and robotics classes at Benicia High School.

Where else could you ride in a rooster?

We call it Friday@MakerFaire, with special open hours of 1-5pm reserved for schools, community-based youth-serving organizations, and individual teachers and a smattering of other folks. (While there is a published cost on our website, any schools who cannot afford our low-cost tickets — but who know for sure that they can get their kids to the San Mateo County Expo Center — can contact us about discounts.) We hope to continue Friday@Maker Faire as part of the schedule for years to come.

Educators love Maker Faire. The weekend is bursting with learning opportunities with over a thousand inspiring Makers showcasing their projects alongside hands-on making opportunities, performances, and talks.

If you’d like to participate next year, check out makerfaire.com/teachers for info about field trips, prep materials, discounts, and getting free tickets as part of the teacher team.

And if you’re not a teacher or student, make your way to Maker Faire this weekend! The show runs 10am-8pm Saturday and 10am-6pm Sunday.