Stormy Start to Maker Faire Detroit

Preparations for Maker Faire Detroit were interrupted when a big storm hit, bringing flash flooding to the parking lot of The Henry Ford. “Fantastic,” said Katie Kunde, who enjoyed the cloudburst from inside the Maker Shed tent. Almost instantly, The LifeSize MouseTrap sat in the middle of a pond. The Power Wheel Racers were nearly underwater next to the flooded racetrack.

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The thunderstorms passed in time for the maker mixer in the evening, and almost all the ground water had found its way to the storm drains.

Tomorrow’s weather is expected to be perfect for the opening day of Maker Faire Detroit.

DALE DOUGHERTY is the leading advocate of the Maker Movement. He founded Make: Magazine 2005, which first used the term โ€œmakersโ€ to describe people who enjoyed โ€œhands-onโ€ work and play. He started Maker Faire in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2006, and this event has spread to nearly 200 locations in 40 countries, with over 1.5M attendees annually. He is President of Make:Community, which produces Make: and Maker Faire.

In 2011 Dougherty was honored at the White House as a โ€œChampion of Changeโ€ through an initiative that honors Americans who are โ€œdoing extraordinary things in their communities to out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world.โ€ At the 2014 White House Maker Faire he was introduced by President Obama as an American innovator making significant contributions to the fields of education and business. He believes that the Maker Movement has the potential to transform the educational experience of students and introduce them to the practice of innovation through play and tinkering.

Dougherty is the author of โ€œFree to Make: How the Maker Movement Is Changing our Jobs, Schools and Mindsโ€ with Adriane Conrad. He is co-author of "Maker City: A Practical Guide for Reinventing American Cities" with Peter Hirshberg and Marcia Kadanoff.

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