The first National Maker Faire was this past Friday and Saturday in the nation’s capital on the University of the District of Columbia campus. While Dale Dougherty didn’t exactly talk to all the thousands of attendees expected to be in attendance at this inaugural event, the founder of both Make: magazine and Maker Faire did wind up talking to a lot of people.
They ranged from Young Makers to attendees from various cities across America — notably those with their own Mini Maker Faire — and even representatives from numerous governmental agencies and departments.
We were able to capture a lot of those interactions on camera and have a smorgasbord of interviews archived below for you to watch. They’re really fun and exemplify how diverse and productive we are as a Nation of Makers!
Dale Dougherty speaks with Kate Gage, an adviser for the US Global Development Lab at USAID. When not empowering local Makers to come up with solutions for problems in their own backyards, they’re also challenging Makers to tackle global challenges such as health, clean water, or even fighting Ebola — a subject whose story was extensively covered here on the Make: blog.
Bill Derry from the Westport Library — co-producers of the Westport Mini Maker Faire — chats with Dale about the “needs-assessment” for making in that city’s communities, which inspired them to form a makerspace in the library. This facility has since experimented with everything from 3D printing to what they call “Maker Madness.”
5th grader Audrey Hale discusses jumping into the Maker world after reading an issue of Make: magazine, and subsequently kickstarting funds to build this PICAXE-based balloon aerial photography rig.
Here Dale chats with CPT Brent Chapman, who teaches in the Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science at the US Military Academy West Point, and is also a researcher at the Army Cyber Institute. Brent discusses his history of taking toys apart as a kid, and how making occupied his time while he was on deployment in Afghanistan. You can read more about Brent’s story and making in the military in a blog post he wrote titled Tinker Maker Solder Try.
Organizers and supporters of the Reno Mini Maker Faire discuss their recent event in Nevada. They also highlight the DeLaMare Library, whose facility includes support for Oculus Rift, Raspberry Pi, MaKey MaKey, and 3D Printing and Scanning, among other services, in addition to traditional science and engineering subjects. (The library was also voted one of the most interesting makerspaces in America’s West in Make: Volume 40.)
Kumar Garg from the White House Office of Science and Technology discusses the evolution from the White House Maker Faire last year to the Nation of Makers today and beyond!
Ben T. Matchstick shows off the PinBox 3000 Artcade System, a “pinball game system made of recycled cardboard” laser-cut at the Burlington Generator makerspace.
Dave from Cornell Engineering discusses the Intel-Cornell Cup, a competition “created to empower student teams to become the inventors of the newest innovative applications of embedded technology.” The recent winners include GrowBox, whom you might have read about in relation to their IoT-enabled project recently featured here on the Make: blog.
And if you’ve ever wondered how a Maker Faire comes together — or by whom! — look no further than Jonathan and his crew. The guys interviewed in this video are just a sliver of the team who make Maker Faire happen, from driving heavy machinery on down to moving tables and chairs. And just like Makers, they too have a story to tell.
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