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Maker Faire Orange County is back for another round at the OC Fair & Event Center this weekend, September 12th &13th. The event has been growing for year over year with new makers, workshops, and activations. Get there: https://oc.makerfaire.com/tickets/
In an effort to create connections and collaboration among likeminded makers and enthusiasts, as well as those looking to learn something new, Maker Faire OC is divided in topical “villages.” Arts & Crafts Village is neighbors with 3D Printing Village; Cosplay Corner and Robotics Village share a quadrant, while Electronics Village and Makerspaces share another. The amusingly named Maker That Money, is, as you might expect the village shop right in the middle of the action.
Five Standout Projects
Expressive AI Animatronic
A real-time expressive animatronic head built on open-source Al: face recognition, emotion detection, memory of past interactions, and servo-driven facial mimicry – all running on ~$200 of hardware. The pipeline: a webcam feeds MediaPipe and DeepFace, producing landmarks and a 7-class emotion signal. A local agent maps those to servo positions for the eyes, brows, and jaw. A Facenet embedding database recognizes returning visitors. An audio-driven lip sync engine synchronizes speech with jaw motion. Everything is written in Python, orchestrated through a Flask + SocketlO control panel, and open-sourced.
Its almost Halloween and makers around the country are planning and scheming and getting their tools out. For cosplayers, everyday is a little like Halloween and their practice is on real display at MFOC.
Halloween + making = a hauntingly good time! IE Haunters helps home and professional haunters build spooky effects and level up their decorations. Come see addressable LEDs and projection effects in action and get a little spooky.
Meet Man Made! Joey turns “Wouldn’t it be cool if…” into wildly overbuilt creations. From custom furniture to immersive spaces, his projects prove that making is about figuring it out as you go. Catch Man Made Saturday only at Maker Faire OC 2026!
Laser-Based Analog Free-Space Optical Communication
This project by project demonstrates an analog free-space optical communication system that transmits audio using a laser beam. An audio signal is used to modulate the intensity of a 650 nm laser, encoding sound information into variations in the laser’s brightness. The modulated laser beam is then transmitted through free space to a separate receiver. At the receiver, a magnifying glass collects and focuses the incoming laser light onto a phototransistor. The phototransistor converts the changing light intensity back into an electrical signal, which is then demodulated, amplified, and played through a speaker. During the demonstration, visitors can use the provided MP3 player or use their own phone through a 3.5 mm audio jack, choosing their own song, and transmit using the system. Visitors can also interrupt the beam with their hand and observe how blocking the optical signal immediately stops the audio transmission.
Making Jewelry from Pennies
Craft-maven & designer Tamara Berg shows how to transform the pennies sitting at the bottom of your junk drawer into stunning jewelry. Make-and-take a penny project, materials and tools provided. Come make your own pretty penny! Here are the (approximate) statistics:
1060 – number of pennies used
4240 – number of holes, hand drilled
4100 – number of jump rings used
6.5 pounds – how much the final product weighs Those 1060 pennies – that’s a total of $10.60 The jump rings cost more than that! Each penny was hand-drilled with 4 holes – so that’s about 4240 individual holes drilled. So, there are more than 4000 copper jump rings, hand connected. I used zinc pennies, ones that were minted after 1983. They are made from copper coated zinc, and weigh 2.5 grams each, as opposed to the pre-1983 pennies, which weigh about 3.1 grams each. The zinc pennies are easier to drill, and also made the final product weigh significantly less. All in, the top weighs about 6-1/2 pounds. And yes, it hurts my shoulders!
ReUpOurOcean
ReUp is a circular design and sustainability initiative based at AltaSea at the Port of Los Angeles. We explore creative ways to give discarded materials a second life by transforming recovered plastics, fishing gear, banners, and other waste materials into functional, durable products. Our work combines design, prototyping, material experimentation, education, and hands-on fabrication. Materials are collected, sorted, cleaned, and processed before being reimagined into products such as wax combs, coasters, keychains, bags, accessories, surf-related products, and other prototypes. A major focus of ReUp is demonstrating that materials commonly treated as waste still have value. We continually experiment with new applications, improve product durability and design, and develop ways to use difficult-to-repurpose materials, particularly those connected to coastal and marine environments. https://reupourocean.com/
Clay, math, robots oh my!
Discover, Learn, and Be Inspired! Our sessions bring together makers, innovators, and experts to share their skills, stories, and ideas. From hands-on workshops to inspiring talks, there’s something for every curious mind. Browse the schedule below and plan your day—whether you want to dive into a new skill, hear from creative minds, or simply explore what’s possible. Learn more: https://oc.makerfaire.com/activities/
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