Miami Mini Maker Faire returned to the Wynwood Art District in Miami for its second year with over 100 Maker exhibits and 3700 attendees. The event expanded from last year’s venues, The Lab Miami and The Light Box, out onto 26th street and into the Wynwood Warehouse Project. Having Makers set throughout the art district gives the attendees a great sense of exploration while also highlighting the diversity of the Maker Movement.
Even before you enter the event, you find yourself surrounded by art on almost every surface.
When I arrive at a new Maker Faire, I’m always excited to find new projects and then being able to talk to the creator to learn their inspiration and the story of how they created their project. I’d only been at Miami Mini Maker Faire a few minutes when I saw such a project. The DUINOKit is an All-in-One Arduino Kit packaged in a small case, ready for learning. I could immediately see the influence of the Radio Shack Science Fair 150-in-One series that I used to learn electronics as a kid. The DUINOKit creator, Daniel Alich, shared that he’d also used learned electronics using the Radio Shack Science Fair series and wanted something similar – so he made it!
Walking into the robot area at Miami Mini Maker Faire, i was immediately drawn to the robotic chimp on a scooter that was being controlled with a full-featured tablet app. The chimp’s creator, Hamilton Davies, is part of a South Florida robotics group called Bot Geeks. If you build robots in South Florida, they’d like to meet you!
Robots by Jorge Roldan returned to Miami Mini Maker Faire with “Junk” Robots made from a variety of objects including old musical instruments.
3D printers were prevalent, including the DeltaMaker 3D printers, manufactured in Florida. The DeltaMaker team was highlighting their results in the Make: Ultimate Guide to 3D Printing 2015, where they received an award for “Smart Software Integration.”
The E-nable team was exibiting a giant prosthetic hand, and showed off the Structure 3D scanner that they use for measurements when making prosthetics.
Zero Point 3D brought their “3D photobooth” full body scanning rig, and after being scanned, you can order a custom 3D-printed version of your scan.
Miami Mini Maker Faire sponsor Jaycon Systems highlighted their own products such as a new large 7-segment display and they showed how they’ve been providing engineering and manufacturing support for popular Kickstarter projects such as the Droplit home automation system and the iBox Nano 3D printer.
Kids (and adults) enjoyed the many hands-on activities at Miami Mini Maker Faire.
Robot battles always draw a crowd, and this area was packed with robot builders and spectators.
A sign offered “Drone Selfies”, and did not disappoint!
A huge thank you to the Miami Mini Maker Faire production team for growing the event and strengthening the South Florida Maker community – it was a fun event, and I can’t wait for next year!
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