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Whitehorse, the capital of the Yukon Territory and traditional home to Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the Ta’an Kwäch’än Council, gained notoriety (and its European name) in the infamous Klondike Gold Rush. Fast forward one hundred years and the city has grown and diversified, including the opening of the first regional makerspace and innovation hub, Yukonstruct, in September 2014. "The Yukon has a culture of dreaming and doing; a place where we embrace challenges, apply ingenuity, and thrive because of it. At Yukonstruct, we are stewards of that tradition.” An example, since opening in 2014, the organization has run Repair Café Whitehorse, helping people give broken household items a second chance through monthly drop-in repair events — while picking up a few practical DIY repair skills along the way. Now they are applying that spirit and the creativity of this community of 30,000 people to the second edition of Maker Faire Yukon.
What’s Happening?
Check out participating makers here: https://makerfaireyukon.com/exhibitors/
Combat robots: Yukonstruct hosted a build-your-own robot event earlier this month, and the new pilots have been customizing their robots at home. The competition at Maker Faire Yukon will not only pronounce a winner, but show off the new mods competitors have been working on at home. Keeping things local(ish), the Viper kits used were supplied by Fingertech Robotics based in Saskatchewan (and producers of Maker Faire Saskatoon).
Cyberpunk Ball: A gathering of the weird, wonderful, and dystopian! The Cyberpunk Ball, an LED and blacklight fueled costume party where makers can let loose, including glow in the dark drinks and circus performers. No Costume? No Problem! We’ll have glow-in-the-dark paint for you to use and a few easy accessories. Just bring yourself!
Rocket Eggs: It’s like an egg drop, but the egg is on a CO2-powered sled, so the challenge is to see how fast you can make your egg go without breaking it. Check out some of the tests the team ran earlier in the summer.
Each Maker Faire has its own flavor and this one is particularly rich in hand-on activities and opportunities to try new tools, learn skills, and maker things. Some activations and booths definitely have a northern edge, like making your own birdcage awl out of chainsaw files and antler, or making something at our local glass blowing studio. Activities and demos include black smithing, fractal wood burning, soldering, wood burning, jewelry making, wood turning, all free for participants.
In Canada (or anywhere) and can’t make it to the Yukon? Making happens allover the world and all over Canada! If you find yourself on the other side of Canada (which as the second largest country in the world offers so BIG distance to cover) head over to the inaugural (and returning) Maker Faire Waterloo on September 13th!
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