Hello everyone,

Plans are underway for the next Wayne County Mini Maker Faire on May 19th, 2018.  Be sure to mark your calendar to attend and especially to participate as a “maker”.  The Daily Record said it best: “Dubbed the ‘Greatest Show and Tell on Earth’, over 1,300 people flocked to the inaugural faire at the University of Akron Wayne College this past May where they were able to step back in time and see the future at the same time.

But you don’t have to wait until 2018 to enjoy the excitement and awe of Maker Faire.  These events are happening all over the country (and all over the world), over 220 of them each year.  Need inspired?  Be sure to attend the largest Maker Faire in the world, the World Maker Faire New York on September 23-24.  Over 120,000 people attend this annual event with over 750 maker exhibits, now in its eighth year!  A wide variety of projects will be exhibited such as microelectronics, 3D printing, drones, and robotics. Also featured will be topics such as arts and crafts, kinetic art, engineering, science, health, virtual reality, fire art, music, and more.  Please click here for more information.

 

For those wondering, what, exactly, is a maker faire, it is “a gathering of fascinating, curious people who enjoy learning and who love sharing what they can do. From engineers to artists to scientists to crafters, Maker Faire is a venue for these ‘makers’ to show hobbies, experiments, and projects,” according to its website.

We are proud to showcase Ohio makers who participated in the Wayne County Mini Maker Faire.  One such person is Dianna Stahl.  She hosted the Learn To Solder booth sponsored by Moog Flo-Tork.  This was one of the most popular booths at the faire!  People of all ages learned to solder robot shaped badges with flashing LED eyes.

Dianna has many years of soldering experience.  She worked in a quality assurance department, inspected circuit boards, and is certified in military soldering specifications.  She is also the president of Ethos Possibility Center, a learning center for advanced technologies and exploration.

Rounding out our makers who participated are students from Lincoln Elementary School.  Their 4th graders created a showcase of design challenges that they shared with the Maker Faire community. The students’ goal is to inspire families and schools to provide design challenge opportunities to even more children.

The project is a collection of over 20 design challenges that their fourth graders have engaged in throughout the school year. Almost every Friday, science teacher Joe Shalala gives his students a design challenge and then lets their incredible creativity loose! Their project is a showcase of the engineering that student have engaged in that will hopefully inspire other families and teachers to provide similar opportunities for their children.

Lincoln students (and a teacher) were at the table to answer questions and describe their thinking as they worked using the design process during construction. They included a hands-on activity (drinking straw rockets) at the booth that participants at the Maker Faire made and took home!

If you would like to know more about the Dianna’s Learn to Solder booth or Joe Shalala’s Lincoln Elementary science projects, please reply to this email.

 

Plans are underway for the 2018 Wayne County Mini Maker Faire!  Mark your calendar for Saturday, May 19, 2018 for the 2nd Annual Wayne County Mini Maker Faire.  The event is free to attend and participate.  To be a maker at the faire, be sure to signup here.  We’d love to have you and participation is free.  Thanks and we look forward to you joining us in 2018!

Until next week,

Tom