Just thinking about a Maker Faire in Las Vegas gets me excited. As a member of the Maker Faire crew, I understand a little bit about what it takes to get to showtime. So when I consider the scale of showtime happening around the clock in Las Vegas, and the hundreds of talented makers that make the mechanisms that make the City of Show go, I can only deduce that a Vegas Mini Maker Faire could be a really cool Maker Faire.
Pawel Szymczykowski is one of the members of SYN Shop who is making Las Vegas Mini Maker Faire happen on Feb. 2, 2013 at the historic Fifth Street School in downtown Vegas. SYN Shop is Vegas’ hackerspace. According to Pawel, they have 30 regular members, and are just about to graduate from meeting in some member’s garage to an actual shared space. Just in time to celebrate at the very first Las Vegas Mini Maker Faire!
The Vegas Call for Makers is still open, but here’s a look at a couple makers already planning on showing and sharing:
Cirque Mechanics was founded in 2004 by Boston native and German Wheel artist, Chris Lashua. For their shows they build their own mechanical staging rigs, like a pedal powered gantry (see left and top), or other props for acrobatics. Says Pawel: “Cirque Mechanics is a perfect example of the intersection of makers and entertainment that Las Vegas specializes in.”
Brian Munroe is the acting President of SYN Shop. He’s developing the Hydrogadget, a drop-in replacement for your home’s sprinkler computer. A project born from his frustration at trying to program his home sprinkler system, Brian’s goal for the device is that it will be inexpensive, smart, easy to use, and built on completely open hardware and software. It will make its debut at the Las Vegas Mini Maker Faire, but you can follow along on their blog.
Vegas isn’t the only Mini Maker Faire coming up in the near future. Upcoming fairs include:
- Houston Mini Maker Faire (TX): January 19, 2013
- Tyler Mini Maker Faire (TX): March 23, 2013
- Tampa Bay Mini Maker Faire (FL): March 23, 2013
- Edinburgh Mini Maker Faire (Scotland): April 7, 2013
- MAKER FAIRE UK (Newcastle, UK): April 27 & 28, 2013
And then a whole long list of new and renewing fairs for 2013 are about to be go live—stay tuned!
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