From inspiration to action, Maker Faires create an environment that fosters inventiveness. No where is this more apparent when you see kids and young makers getting hands on at the Faire. But Maker Faire isn’t just a place where kids can have fun exploring the exhibits and watching the shows. For some young makers it’s also a chance to stand up before an audience and show off their projects and wisdom beyond their years.
Here are 5 presentations you can see at Maker Faire Bay Area this weekend that are presented by inspiring girls who are excited to make things and want you to get excited, too! We asked them about their projects, what they love about making, and their advice for other young makers.
“Using your Arduino or Raspberry Pi to squirt water”
Waverly Landrith (Age 12)
Make: Electronics Stage – Saturday, 2:00 PM – 2:25 PM
Waverly and her dad are no strangers to Maker Faire. In fact, this will be Waverly’s third year presenting. This year she’ll be showing a Raspberry Pi powered squirt gun. “I like that you can come up with an idea in your head, whether crazy or not, and make it real,” she said. “When I present at Maker Faire, I will make some very unique projects with electronics. If you come and join us, I will teach you the basics of the computer that I am using, and put them to the test in my water gun project. I will also show you the ins and outs of how the parts of my project work.”
Her advice for girls who want to start inventing things: “Be creative and unique and your original idea is wonderful. Always keep making and never give up!” And since she’s a seasoned Maker Faire presenter, Waverly also has this advice to offer to other presenters:
Once you get up on the stage, whether it’s the Main Stage or the Electronics Stage, you need to be confident in yourself and in your creation. People want to hear about what you made. Also, talk loud and clearly and act excited, because the audience is going to share your emotions, and if you talk like a Robot, the audience might get bored. Also, if you’re nervous, don’t be, because the stage is yours and people won’t care if you stumble or mess up.
A Story about Why Making Matters: Sasha, her Cave Mapper, and more!
Sasha Jaffarove
Make: Live Stage – Saturday, 2:30 PM – 2:55 PM
While touring a cave with her family, Sasha became curious about a hole in the wall. She wondered what was on the other side, and got the idea to create a robot that could explore and map caves without damaging them. For her it was the beginning of her interest in making things and exploring her creativity through invention. At Sasha’s presentation you’ll hear more about her Cave Mapper robot and her process for taking her idea and making it a reality.
#RobotGirls: 5 & 8 Year Old Girls Build the Worlds Best Girl Robot
#Robot Girls (Age 8 & 5)
Make: Electronics Stage – Saturday, 3:00 PM – 3:12 PM
At last year’s Maker Faire Bay Area, two sisters met a very special, very large robot, the Electric Giraffe! After petting the giraffe they decided that they wanted to make robots of their own. After a year of building robot kits and making “the World’s Best Girl Robot!” the #RobotGirls are going to share their story. At Maker Faire they will be talking about “how we first discovered robots at the MakerFaire and how we got started building Tamiya Giraffe and the Meccanoid G15.”
They say they’re nervous to present, but happy to be coming to Maker Faire again this year. (Candy may also be an incentive). They’re most excited to showing everyone how their Robot can dance. And what do these two have planned for the future? “Depends on what we’ll discover at this year’s Maker Faire!”
Inspiring Girls in Robotics: Expanding the Next Generations of Makers
Rainbow Le Tech (All members Age 11)
Make: Live Stage – Sunday, 2:15 PM – 2:27 PM
Rainbow Le Tech is the all-girl, award-winning robot team from Pacifica, California. It’s members – Ashley Yoshii, Ella Ryan, Emily Yoshii, Zoe Kapp, Sophia Woehl – are all 11 years old. Besides making robots they’ve been experimenting with chewing gum to make it biodegradable. “We want to present about girls’ robotics, spread awareness that gum is compostable and promote our patent pending gum.” So expect to learn more about the exciting projects that they have been working on.
The team likes making because, “It’s fun. Learning STEM and applying it. Creating inventions.” To others who want to make inventions of their own they offer this advice: “Research a problem and find a solution that’s easy, logical, and affordable. Invite friends to help.”
The team sees Maker Faire as a place to “build new inventions and look at the inventions of fellow makers. A place where people use science to build cool new inventions. A place to learn about new STEM related things.” So besides presenting, they’ll be making the rounds to check out the Ed tech, flaming metal cars, vendors, ferris wheel, and glowing forest.
How to Make a Great Science Fair Project
Evelyn, aka Tinkergirl (Age 9)
Make: Show & Tell – Sunday, 2:45pm to 3:00pm
“I like making things and telling other people about what I have made. I like sharing my ideas and what I have done and showing other people what they can do also.” says Evelyn, aka Tinkergirl. After creating some winning science fair projects Evelyn will be taking to the stage at Maker Faire to share her science fair tips. “When people come see me at Maker Faire, they will learn about how to make a really good science fair project. I’ll tell them about choosing a topic, research, presentation and experiment-type projects, making a display board, and presenting your project. Also they’ll see some award-winning science fair display boards that I have made.”
For her next science fair project, she wants to do something involving genes and DNA, but she also has some big plans for projects outside of the science fair as well. “Well, I have had a dream house planned for the future. Plus, I planned a flying car that will be pretty awesome. I have a project to help my sister learn called a Play and Learn with Me so she can play and learn at the same time. I want to do a woodworking project this summer but I’m not sure exactly what I want to build yet.”
ADVERTISEMENT
