Brace yourself, this video is a bit longer than most of my Maker Faire coverage. I’m still exploring different methods of capturing these events. This time, I felt that a single long tour of the Maker Faire would do quite well.
Maker Faire Hong Kong was incredibly fun. It was put together as a joint venture between the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong and Standard Chartered Banks. The grounds for the Faire were beautiful and the people were incredibly welcoming.
Each Maker Faire has its own unique “flavor,” and this one was no different. If I had to put a theme on Maker Faire Hong Kong, I would easily say that it was education. Every single conversation I had with someone turned toward education. Either they were talking about teaching young children STEM principles or they were talking about how students could educate the general population. I don’t think I talked to a single person who didn’t shift the conversation toward education. I suppose this should not come as a big surprise as the Faire was organized by a university.
Innovation and technology were pushed to the forefront, as is the case in many of the Maker Faires I have been to. I would have liked to see more representation of the local traditional hand-crafts, but this could have just been because I am a westerner with limited knowledge of Hong Kong and its history. Of course I would be drawn to more historical things, since I am stepping into a new culture. However, the locals may not share this view, and they are the people for which the Maker Faire should be organized for, not me. Despite wanting to see more of these things, I was not let down at all. The mixture of old and new here was fantastic, and the weekend was truly a feast for my eyes and ears.
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