This weekend, on Saturday, October 12, Emma Willard School in Troy, N.Y., will host their first-ever Mini Maker Faire, which will also be the first Faire in New York’s Capital Region. A number of the young makers from the school, along with their mentors, ran a booth promoting their event and leading hands-on activities at our World Maker Faire New York last month.
We spoke with Emma Willard Mini Maker Faire organizers Julie Clancy and Meredith Legg to find out more. Here’s what they shared:
Emma Willard School, now in its Bicentennial year, has partnered with Tech Valley Center of Gravity and The Arts Center of the Capital Region to host the first ever Mini Maker Faire in the Capital Region (Troy, NY). The Emma Willard Mini Maker Faire is a modern day public examination of knowledge, a concept deeply rooted in the school’s history. Our founder, Emma Hart Willard, believed firmly in this effort as a means to further the education of women, thereby ensuring that each person become the best possible use to herself and others. The Mini Maker Faire remains authentically true to our founder’s vision as Emma students and attendees will deepen their connections to making through all disciplines including STEM, humanities, arts, movement, and language.
The Mini Maker Faire will be held on the school’s historic campus on the same day (Saturday, October 12) that Madame Willard is inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. Our Faire will showcase 50 makers ranging from backyard farmers to potters to lecturers to film makers to LED duct tape wallet making to Minecraft to Raspberry Pi to stone carvers and beyond. The day will run from 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m. and we expect 800-1000 attendees from all over the Capital Region.
Some of our makers:
The Blink of an Eye
High speed imaging demonstration up to 2000 frames per second. Demonstrations include measuring how long it actually takes the eye to blink, dropping objects into a dish of water, and popping water balloons. Get ready to get wet! Pre-recorded video of high speed events will also be available for viewing. Maker Chris Dehnert is owner and engineer at Couriertronics, offering high performance laser optics and machine vision products.Katharine Stiles Wilson Ceramics
Potter, Katie Wilson, will expose the blurring of boundaries, the dialogue between form and function that is ongoing in a good pot. Breaking away from conventional shapes allows her to blend whimsy and utility, and this melding is the source of the pot’s spirit. Her affinity for clay derives from her pleasure in the natural world, and her pots look as though they were found in the forest nestled in the roots of a tree, or at the edge of a tidal pool where ocean meets sand. Katie’s hope is that her pots might deepen their users’ own connection with the earth.Vital Vio
Vital Vio makes a new kind of lighting for general illumination that looks white, yet safely kills bacteria around people whenever the lights are on. The main application currently of Vital Vio lighting is to attempt to reduce Hospital Acquired Infections (HAIs) in healthcare facilities; a problem that causes around 100,000 deaths a year and costs hospitals 35-45 billion dollars a year to treat.Brooklyn Aerodrome
The Brooklyn Aerodrome promotes DIY RC aircraft in support of arts, education and fun. With plenty of space at Breck Baldwin’s disposal, there will be buddy box flying (student driving for pilots), demo flights, and instruction on how to make things fly in the hopes of you making things fly.MinecraftEDU
This workshop will introduce you to Minecraft through a tutorial to teach you the basics of Minecraft. The server will run a mod called MinecraftEDU that provides additional tools for building worlds and developing curriculum as well as classroom management. If you’re new to Minecraft or you’re interested in running Minecraft in your classroom, this is a good introduction for beginning players and teachers. Maker Michele McColgan, a faculty member of the department of Physics and Astronomy at Siena College, is the director of a STEAM program for middle school students.
Check out their full list of makers for more! We wish them the best of luck with their inaugural event!
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